Old Paris Flea Market

[evh5150]

havent been there in a while, last time i did i bought some stale popcorn and a flat soda there and shopped around while i worried the whole time about if my car was been broken into.

has it changed much?

[kevinpate]

yeah, I think now there's no reason to worry about your car. You can just assume it will be broken into. You can focus more on the shopping and stale popcorn when you aren't sweatin' the small stuff <VBG>

[Jettmiester]

Does anyone know what this building was originally? Or was it always Old Paris Flea Market?

[oklip955]

I don't know where it is now. It used to be in the old AMC building. I think it was a kind of department store before it closed around the early 1980's. I never made it in there before they closed. Its now torn down. It was at 10th and Penn.

[Tritone]

Well, not exactly. Old Paris, on the west side of S. Eastern Ave between the former Frisco overpass and S.E. 15th was "GEX" back in the 'sixties. To be a member you had to be a government employee as GEX stood for Government Exchange.

AMC was American Mutual Company, located at N.W. 10th and Pennsylvania (southwest corner). You had to be a member to shop there but gaining membership was pretty easy. (After all, I was a member. So, I guess they'd take just about anyone.) It later became a flea market as well. The name of the flea market escapes me at the moment but I'm sure about anyone reading this is saying that name. They were similar; big, busy, and full of opportunities to find a few true treasures amid a bunch of uh, well, not exactly treasures.

Is Old Paris still open?

[mkjeeves]

Actually, GEX stood for Government Employees Exchange. They were a division of National Bellas Hess Corporation, a mail order company that dated back to the 1800's and somewhat known for a landmark SCOTUS ruling. This tells part of the story but none of the story of GEX. The Ballad of Bellas Hess | Multichannel Merchant

Bellas Hess may have declared bankruptcy in 1971 but at least some of the GEX stores weren't closed until '75. I imagine they were in chapter 11 during the interim, which was during the recession of the early-mid '70s.

GEX trademark registered in the early '60s. http://www.trademarkia.com/gex-72144265.html

[Martin]

AMC was American Mutual Company, located at N.W. 10th and Pennsylvania (southwest corner). You had to be a member to shop there but gaining membership was pretty easy. (After all, I was a member. So, I guess they'd take just about anyone.) It later became a flea market as well. The name of the flea market escapes me at the moment but I'm sure about anyone reading this is saying that name. They were similar; big, busy, and full of opportunities to find a few true treasures amid a bunch of uh, well, not exactly treasures.

that's easy... it was amc flea market. guess they didn't need to change out that much signage that way. in its last couple years, i believe the place was bought up by some hispanic investors and rebranded san miguel flea market but I don't think that lasted too long.

as a young kid i spent many saturdays with my dad going to old paris, amc, and other flea markets around town. good times. -M

[Roger S]

i believe the place was bought up by some hispanic investors and rebranded san miguel flea market but I don't think that lasted too long.

Yep, I don't know all the investors but one was Marcelino Garcia, the owner, of Chelino's.

[Tritone]

Government EMPLOYEES Exchange, thanks for clearing that up. AMC Flea Market, huh? Clever.

[mkjeeves]

It was not connected to any government either. That was business plan idea for marketing and access control to prevent shoplifting.

[MCC]

OK. So I'm thinking the Old Paris location isn't a great place to hang out. Where are some of the better flea markets in the area. I don't want to drive all the way down to Canton TX.

[Martin]

you might try mary's swap meat on ne 23rd and midwest blvd. it's an open-air setup in a field but last time i went (around 4 years ago?) they had plenty of vendors. -M

[Tritone]

Sorry, Martin, but my smart aleck demeanor is creeping in. Do they really swap meat there? No ill-will intended.

[Martin]

maybe I can find a used one of these at mary's or old paris... apparently mine's busted. : )

[jerrywall]

OK. So I'm thinking the Old Paris location isn't a great place to hang out. Where are some of the better flea markets in the area. I don't want to drive all the way down to Canton TX.

So I like Old Paris... maybe I'm weird. I park in the back lot, which helps. There is a varied and decent selection of vendors, plus I can grab a beer to drink as I walk around. I've found some hard to find comics and collectibles there, plus BS Unlimited has a shop, and there are some good biker shops there. I tend to hit the place about once every month or two and walk around. Yeah, there's a lot of "omg, people" moments. That just adds to the experience.