Down Memory Lane

Down Memory Lane is in a very old and dilapidated building. The sales floor is small and crowded with raw old materials and souvenirs of the past. Crowded is an understatement. The place is very unorganized with little room to move in places. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but here they are creeping close to the line of demarcation between quint hodgepodge and random garbage dump. The antique shops in Clintonville are of three types. Where Boomerang offerings are post restoration in excellent condition, and the Antique Mall is "what you see is what you get," DML deals in raw nostalgia, pre-restored items of interest to hobbyist or someone skilled in fabrication. Think the houses of hoarders on History Channel's show Pickers.Among the items I seen were signs, bike frames, lots of wood framing and casings, bent up furniture, and a pound-per-square inch of dust. I wasn't interested in anything, i don't have the skill to whip a ancient item into shape. But I can see this being a treasure find for those that do. I must subtract a star for the shape of the building itself an antique. The crown molding of its ceiling was cracked and peeling. Their backdoor was lopsided on the frame and letting cold air in. As a lover of historical architecture this makes me sad and a little peeved. They need to maintain and preserve, or at least make it look like they care. Ugg.

I love finding treasure and this place has it! You have to be willing to dig a little, to embrace the chaos and be open to finding stuff you never even knew you needed...And then you will find it! I saw some beautiful Russian nesting dolls, a lot of old barbies in those old plastic carrying cases, a ton of smalls, a giant basket of pennants, mason jars, old old old books... you name it, it's here.I scored a Moroccan lamp, two beautiful vintage plates, a weather predictor (a kitschy little thing with directions on the back) and some vintage paper Christmas bags, made in west Germany. All things I didn't know I needed but am super glad I found. What did I leave behind? An amazing flush mount vintage fixture priced super reasonably, several old books that would have been amazing on my mantle, a huge purple stained glass window... I could go on and on.The owner is super nice, I loved poking around and can't wait to come back again!

I'm not really impressed with this place. Lots of stuff here and great if you want to dig around and find stuff, but there's no real presentation at all. Probably best for fixtures and such for old homes.It's very cramped and claustrophobic. It's hard to get around things. I'm always afraid I'll bump into something and have to make a fast decision on whether to get out the plastic or just make a run for it.People there aren't overly friendly either. The photos by the way aren't really accurate, it's not nearly so organized or clean.

This store is completely unorganized and piled to the top, but the items have tons of character. You will not find anything that is reproduction or refurbished here, just genuinely old stuff and all the dust that comes with it! While Down Memory Lane is probably not for everyone, antique enthusiasts like myself can appreciate it. I also rate it high because the lady who works in there is very nice and they have a cat living in the store. Bonus points for cats! If you love unique old items, and are not too claustrophobic, this place is definitely worth a visit!

This cute little antique store has a little bit of everything. It is cramped and sometimes a little junky, but still always manages to have something I just can't leave without. I've found quilts, step stools, silverware and 2 beautiful glasses that I had a matching pair for at home that I found in CA. What were the chances?!The daughter is the talkative salesperson, her father sits at the back of the store and fixes things. She will barter with you a little bit, too which is always fabulous! The only bad thing about this shop is that it is small and crowded. It's tricky to get around if any other shoppers are there. Or, if you're like we and are constantly with a stroller or hipbaby!You can park on the street or go east on Como and park in the church parking lot.

Cute little shop. It is not a huge place, but it is absolutely packed with stuff! Prices were pretty decent and the lady working there gave me a deal because I bought so much! She was very nice. Will come back and visit when we are in town again.

Wanted to love it here but it's like someone backed up a truck and dumped it in there and they cleared a path. There's no rhyme or reason and most things aren't marked (at least the stuff I looked at). I have found some cool things from my childhood there but the lack of presentation keeps this from being a really great antique store. If you're into digging around, this place is for you! (The pics of this place are when it must've been much more together. At no time in the past year did it look as neatly presented as the pics on this listing.)

A wonderful antique place if you're looking for a magical little experience! Yes, nothing is "displayed" like the pricier antique shops, nothing is "tidy" or arranged perfectly for prim hipster-cum-soccer-moms, but it's an ANTIQUE SHOP. I think people have forgotten the Dickensian Old Curiosity Shoppe concept. It's not SUPPOSED to be an upscale boutique, it's supposed to be a fun rummage where you find amazing treasures you've never been able to find ANYWHERE else. If you want a stale, overpriced, "everything has been slapped with white/black paint" experience that reeks of someone else's curation and will fit perfectly with your IKEA furniture, by all means, shop somewhere else.If you're looking for an authentic, rummaging-in-the-attic, discovering unbelievable bargains experience, then this is the place. The owners are an amazing pair (a father and daughter team that have been in business since at least my wife and I have lived here) and they've never been anything but polite and sweet. The older gentleman often sings beautifully as he refinishes antiques in the back.Go to Pier 1 or World Market if you want to LOOK like you have old world taste, go here if you know what you're looking for. I wish more people frequented gems such as this store, because soon they'll be gone and all we'll be left with is a sad little IKEA ANTIKUE HUT that sells nothing but reproductions of the stuff you COULD have found here. (Also, I know for a fact that the two owners are professionals, not thieves. They buy the entirety of their stock, usually from the Springfield Antique Mall or Estate Sales. They sometimes buy from Yard Sales -- like ours -- but so does EVERY antique store owner. If something was left in an alley and turned up in an antique store, that's not thievery, that's a misunderstanding of how Columbus works at best.)

So this place is old school, which I mean in a good way. Yes it's messy and crowded but it means you could find something cool that's not overpriced, if there is a price on it at all! But this means that you might be able to come to terms on a price, but in a very relaxed way. No hard core haggling, which I also don't care for. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, but ended up getting quite a few things as they were such a deal. They were having some problem with their credit card machine so I had to go get cash, but there is a bank literally across the street so it wasn't too bad. It was a good experience overall for me, but I guess it depends on what you're looking for.

The old man who runs the shop is so freakin' grumpy and unwilling to haggle, I've heard from many people (and now I'm reading even more on yelp) that this is a store full of stolen merchandise. It's cramped, dusty, moldy, and not in the good way. The antique store across the street is much nicer.