A Day Date Antiquing in Springfield, OR

It’s not always easy for a couple to find time in the evening for romance with kids in the home, which is why my husband and I often choose a day date over a night out. 

For us, a perfect day date involves antiques and great food – a quiet lunch at a table set for two, a dopamine-driven antiquing treasure hunt where you can learn more about each other, and dessert at the end. So this winter, we headed to Springfield, best known for its proximity to Eugene and connection to The Simpsons, but also a prime spot for great food and stuff with old soul. 

There are two main areas where antique shops are clustered in Springfield – on Main Street in downtown (Trash n Treasures Antiques & Collectibles, Antique Peddlers) and in the blocks around Main Street and 21st Street (The Vintage Industry, Timeless Treasures, Time Travelers Antique Mall, The Rusty Porch, and Little Shop of Hoarders), One additional shop, Sweet Salvage/Sweet Market, is located further afield at 44th Street and Main but is well worth the side quest.

Most of these shops in Springfield follow the antique mall model where vendors rent a space in the shop and are free to curate their items in any style, era, or categories they like. 

But first, we lunched. Downtown Springfield has a ton of dining places, so we opted to start at Lovely All Day Cafe for its healthy bowls and fresh salad options (as well as a bar with mid-day cocktail offerings to balance it all out). It’s a vibrant place with cool salvaged light fixtures, community art, and colorful seating. We nabbed a cozy windowside bistro table away from the action. I had the Beet Burrow Salad with winter veggies galore and the Glow Smoothie, Adam had the Tuna Melt with sustainably fished tuna and a hot toddy.

Afterwards, we strolled a bit downtown and got our game faces on for the hunt.

My husband and I have completely different antiquing personalities. I am a race horse married to a Clydesdale. I scan rooms quickly for something of interest and move on just as fast. Adam considers items more slowly and enjoys really taking in as many objects as he can. Our approach in antique shops is to poke around separately, then find each other and de-brief.

We both have our categories that we sleuth for. I’m partial to baskets, ceramics, sculptural chairs, and any products that might be used for styling homes. Right now, I’m into candelabras, animal imagery, tiny landscapes and vintage linens. 

Adam’s got eyes for exceptional materials like alabaster and marble, anything handmade and functional objects that are also beautiful. He is always open to being surprised.

We started at the downtown shops, at Trash n Treasures, where we found a lot of collectible items from the Star Wars, Marvel, and DC Comics as well as old tools (always a good choice, they are made better), trains, lunch boxes and records. Nearby at Antique Peddlers, we came across glassware, linens (much-coveted old cotton), dishes, Americana and jewelry.

East Side Antique Spots

The second area we scouted out is clustered one mile to the east, also on Main Street. The Vintage Industry is the largest of the antique malls, with vendors packing stalls tight with antiques and collectibles in a building you could get lost in. That’s part of the charm. With every turn of the head, it’s like a new world opens up.

Here we discovered more stalls curated around a specific vibe, cottage core offerings, and rustic objects that would do well in a farmhouse (modern or not). Some of the vendors curate their objects like rooms rather than retail shops, which helps you see the creative potential for use at home.

So-very-Oregon Stuff

We especially loved the selection at The Time Travelers Antique Mall, just across the street, where we  found a number of items that are high in-demand among antiquers and also culturally specific to the Pacific Northwest. Here I mean things like historic signs with local Pacific Northwest company logos, Pendleton clothing and blankets, Mid-Century Modern furniture from the 1950s–60s (chairs, tables, credenzas), fishing creels and city belt buckles. Other items we came across that have a storied Oregon heritage include Pacific Northwest Art Glass, Stanley Logging Tools, early tourism posters and early fruit crates from Hood River and beyond.

Blasts from the Past

Many of these antiques and vintage places are high on nostalgia – toys, technology, clothing or home goods associated with a specific era from our childhoods and before. For us, what strikes the nostalgia button is Troll dolls, 80s board games, comic book figures and 90s telephones. 

Sweet Stuff

It is my duty to tell you that you can't share an afternoon of antiquing without sharing dessert. Right downtown in Springfield, Estelle Bakery (dedicated gluten-free) makes flaky galettes made with seasonal fruits that are the stuff of legend, especially for people who don’t eat gluten and the people who love them. This is a favorite spot.

But this time on our way out of town, we sought out the new raw/vegan Coco Nut Cafe in West Eugene, where we were able to try the chocolate peanut butter as well as the raspberry cashew cream with mango pie. Vegans rejoice!

It was a sweet end for a couple of looky loos in love.