St. Louis’ Antique Row turns the outdated into stylish vintage, the obsolete into desirable vestiges—or at the very least, it is a place to find some cool old stuff that would make great props and costumes for a movie. To be serious, there are a variety of stores on the row that feature unusual and interesting wares.

Cherokee Street’s Retro 101/Cherry Bomb Vintage was named the 2006 Best Vintage Store by the Riverfront Times, and it’s no surprise why. Gathered on the shelves of the store is an eclectic variety of trinkets including various shapes of salt and pepper shakers and horn-rimmed glasses—sans the actual glass—which look like peacocks. The glasses come in an assortment of colors and varying styles of inlays. Retro 101 also features the vintage store staples of old hats and racks of retro clothes at reasonable prices; many hats cost around $20 and vintage blouses around $15.

Janet Maevers, one of the owners of Retro 101/Cherry Bomb Vintage, has been on Antique Row for years and had previously owned another vintage establishment in the area. Maevers explained that in the past, she used to acquire vintage pieces from estate sales, but now a lot of their merchandise is donated. Other establishments on Antique Row still go to estate sales to find pieces, while others attend conventions.

Outside of Retro 101, the Row has some stores you probably never knew existed. One example is Jasper’s Antique Radio Museum and Tropical Fruit Gift Baskets. As the legend (on the Web site) goes, Jasper landed in St. Louis in 1953 after serving a three-year tour in Korea and started a fruit stand, which eventually evolved into a fruit basket business. As far as the radio museum part of this establishment is concerned, Jasper’s boasts the largest collection of radio and radio-related items in the world.

Saxquest is another store that certainly can be considered out of the ordinary. This store’s specialty is, as the name implies, vintage saxophones, as well as other woodwind instruments. If you have an instrument of this sort that needs restoration, look no further, for restoration is among Saxquest’s specialties. From the store, you can buy, sell and trade instruments. While you’re there, be sure to check out the sax museum, another great feature of the store. Saxquest, too, was a 2006 winner of a Riverfront Times award, this one for Best Musical Instrument Store.

Several art galleries, such as the Boots Gallery and phd gallery, as well as antique furniture stores dot Antique Row, so if you’re an art or antique lover, this area might be worth checking out. And if antiquing leaves you famished, a few eateries are peppered throughout the Row as well. A fun one to try is the Mississippi Mud House, a coffee house selling fair trade organic coffee as well as soups, sandwiches, wraps and tasty pastries.

If antiquing drives you to drink, you’re in luck with that, too. O’Malley’s Irish Pub is, as they claim, “where the Celts drink.” Here you can find traditional Irish fare, an assortment of alcohol and even live traditional Irish music.

Check out Antique Row and you’re sure to have some old-fashioned fun.

Cherokee Street’s Antique Row is located downtown on Cherokee between Jefferson and I-55 South.