Exploring Antique Markets in Columbia, PA
A few weeks ago we decided to take the day off from our house renovation projects and go explore the antique markets in Columbia, PA.
Columbia, PA is located along the Susquehanna river in Lancaster County, 28 miles southeast of Harrisburg. There’s some wonderful architecture throughout this small city, reflecting it’s long and varied history.
The 3 antique markets we visited are all located in old brick mill buildings and all within walking distance or each other and the downtown area. Parking is available on the street or in parking lots adjacent to the shops.
Our first stop was at Burning Bridges Antiques Market. We’ve been here several times and each time find a bustling market with 3 floors of inventory to browse through. As with most antique markets, there are many dealers offering a wide variety of goods. Many booths display sale signs offering some great savings. the people who work at the market are very friendly and always there to assist if needed.
Burning Bridges Antiques Market
304 Walnut Street
Columbia, PA 17512
717-684-7900
Hours:
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 10 AM ~ 5 PM
Thursday & Friday 10 AM ~ 8 PM
Saturday 10 AM ~ 5 PM
Sunday 11 AM ~ 5 PM
(air-conditioned building open every day except for major holidays)
*restrooms available, handicap accessible.
We found a fun mix of mid-century modern and vintage in several of the booths. These chairs are really fun.
Several booths offer a variety of architectural salvage and vintage sign letters.
Some very tempting globes, maps and paint by number were also found. It’s well worth a visit if you’re looking for something specific to round out a collection or just start one.
Bootleg Antiques Shops
135 Bridge street
Columbia, PA 17512
717-684-009
Hours:
Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday: 10-5
Friday: 10-8
Sunday: 1-5
Closed Monday/Tuesday
*Restrooms available, handicap accessible, cafe, refreshments available
A few blocks away was our next stop at Bootleg Antiques. I originally found this place through Instagram and was excited to finally pay a visit. With 2 very nicely curated floors of merchandise, covering over 10,000 s.f., in a wonderful late 1800’s brick building, there’s a lot to take in.
I was particularly aware of the care taken to decorate the space with blown up antique photos from historic Columbia, and old antiques scattered throughout, that came from the buildings’ past life as a washing machine factory and prohibition era bootleg distillery. There is a great attention to detail.
Owners, Tom and Connie Anderson, clearly have a passion for the business and are happy to provide historic information about the building and local area. They have monthly events, including Bootleg nights featuring live music and sometimes host ghost tours in the building. Check their website for upcoming events and sales.
Spotted these great up-cycled vintage and industrial lamps created by Stone House Lighting.
Found some really nice furniture dealers spread throughout and one of my favorite mid-century modern dealers, Cool Cat Vintage, has a booth here with some beautiful pieces. 
If you are looking for mid-century and Danish design in excellent condition, check out Cool Cat Vintage.
We really liked looking around Bootleg Antiques, the vibe was upbeat, they had some fun music playing and the little cafe was perfect for grabbing a snack and beverage to refuel before visiting our next stop.
Tollbooth Antiques
215 Chestnut Street
Columbia, PA 17512
717-684-5555
Hours: Monday-Sunday 10AM-5PM
If you like picking through booths that are not curated or arranged perfectly, Tollbooth is the place for you – we kind of love this kind of digging through stuff, so it was pretty enjoyable. With 30,000 s.f. of space filled with over 200 vendors spread out over 2 floors of the former Kahn Lucas Clothing Factory, this place can take some time to go through, but isn’t that all part of the adventure?
The building has great light in some rooms where there are huge windows spreading lots of natural light, and 15 foot ceilings!
There’s a lot of variety to see here, so wear comfortable shoes and check out all the floors and spaces.
All 3 of these antique markets are worth a trip to Columbia, PA. There are several other shops to visit and you can find out more on this handy listing on Yelp, or just by Googling it. There are several places to eat and drink and a nice river side trail for walking or riding a bike and a nice visitor center. We plan on taking another trip this summer and hope to bring the bikes and explore some more of the Columbia, PA area and the shops located there.
If you go please let us know how you liked it and if you found any good treasures!
