Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

This Vintage Window Display In Edgewater Shows Off Santa's Naughty Side

By Linze Rice | December 1, 2016 5:51am
 The window displays at Broadway Antique Market and Edgewater Antique Mall harken back to a vintage Christmas scene.
Edgewater Window Displays
View Full Caption

EDGEWATER — Macy's Downtown isn't the only place to see window displays full of holiday cheer.

In Edgewater, some local businesses have decked out their storefronts to show the holidays are a big deal nine miles to the north, too.

The Broadway Antique Market at 6130 N. Broadway and Edgewater Antique Mall at 6314 N. Broadway dedicated their expansive windows to throwback Christmas nostalgia complete with vintage crushed red velvet, a scene of "Santa's Boudoir" and sparkling aluminum trees galore.

"We take it seriously," said Eric Swanger, manager at Broadway Antique Market. "As a retail store you obviously want to stand out, and we have some of the largest windows in the neighborhood, so we try to play it up."

Swanger said his store starts getting in holiday decorations from dealers in November and it takes owner Jeff Nelson about a week to put up the initial display. 

One-by-one, glossy ornaments are strung to tinsel, measured and hung along the storefront, mannequins are dressed, and other items are carefully cultivated to set a scene Swanger said many of his customers say they can identify with.

Nelson "gets pretty artistic about it," Swanger said. "We tend to see a lot of people buying things they remember from when they were a kid, things from their grandparents' house, and a lot of people are sort of re-introducing their holiday traditions with loved ones." 

Most of the items showcased in the windows, like the popular aluminum trees, are for sale — save for a set of large decorative lights from the 1950s or '60s Nelson bought about 20 years ago that help illuminate the windows each year.

The retro vibe is shared over at Edgewater Antique Mall, where the scene is set with a classic neon sign for Bryn Mawr Barber Shop glowing behind a fashion-forward mannequin seated in an old barber's chair. 

The store's other window gives passersby a rarely-seen "intimate behind the scenes look of Mr. and Ms. Claus before the big night," the store wrote on its Facebook page. 

A sultry Mrs. Claus is rocking a vintage velvet dress and her famous reading glasses atop a light pink quilt as Santa looks on.

 

Vintage neon signs, barber chairs, clothing and classic Christmas decorations help make the antique store's window display a memorable one. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]

The 'Santa's Boudoir' display at Edgewater Antique Mall, 6314 N. Broadway. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]

Christmas is sassy this year at Edgewater Antique Mall. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]

The well-known fashionista mannequins at Broadway Antique Market show off holiday outfits. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]

A female Santa watches over passersby on North Broadway. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]

Broadway Antique Market, 6130 N. Broadway. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here.