by Paul Nielsen Long before Railside experienced its revival over this past decade, Third Street in downtown Grand Island was known for its antique stores. They appropriately dubbed themselves Antique Avenue and continue to dig up treasures to please their customers. I remember my first purchase in a Third Street antique shop as a high schooler in the mid-1990s. Wandering around the Heartland Antique Mall, one of the stalwart anchors of the district at the time, I bought an old container of flypaper as a white elephant gift. Antique dealers from the coasts come looking for items they can mark up in big cities while the antique shops here in Grand Island, serving as a wholesaler of sorts, are also able to make money. Other regular clients of Antique Avenue in Railside include local and regional collectors and baby boomers. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, and baby boomers like to have reminders of their childhood: The doll they cared for growing up, the Lionel train they received for Christmas. Others shop antiques looking for ways to replace broken dishes from china sets they have at home. Younger generations also frequent antique shops. Shopping for vintage A vision for vintage THIRD STREET Farmhouse No. 508 Railroad Town objects is still popular with millennials, and last I checked mid-century modern furniture was still a hot ticket. Hipsters carrying Kodak Brownies and medium-format film cameras most likely purchased them at antique or second-hand stores. I recently asked a couple in their early 20s, Angelica and Jake Morrow, if I could tag along as they shopped along Third Street in Railside. They were up for it, even though the time we agreed on was during the first half of a Husker football game. It had only been two weeks since they’d last shopped in Railside. Jake and Ang are both recent graduates and were just married this summer. A welcome and unexpected job opportunity brought them back to Grand Island, where they are both from, after graduation. It had only been two weeks since they’d last shopped in Railside, when they purchased some things to decorate their porch. Angelica mentioned that they shop Railside once a month, although she arrives Railside much more often at The Chocolate Bar for business. I strolled with them through most of the antique shops on a cool, Autumn afternoon; Grand Island Vibe | Winter-Spring 2019 Railroad Town