By Stephanie Raygoza
Staff Writer
The Long Beach Antique Mall II, formerly home to Long Beach Lumber and Plywood Company, will be celebrating its grand opening and extension to the Long Beach Antique Mall on Saturday, June 18.
The original antique mall has been in business and serving the Long Beach area for 17 years, and its expansion to serving the Signal Hill community in such a historical location has been described as a great opportunity by the mall’s owner, Andrew Jurkiewicz.
“It’s been there since the mid-40s,” Jurkiewicz said. “When I heard that it was closing down, I decided that it would be a good time for me to go over and talk to them and inquire about the building because it’d be a perfect antique mall.”
The lumber and plywood company was established in 1947, and the building opened its doors in 1952. Because of the economy and financial hardships, co-owners and daughter and son of the original owner, Dianne Franklin and Philip Wiedrick, made the difficult decision to close down the company.
“We’ve had oodles of people come in, and a lot of them said, ‘Oh my gosh, you can’t close. I’ve been coming here with my grandpa when I was a kid.'” Franklin said. “It was hard to do because you form a lot of friendships with a lot of people you just think of as family. From what I hear and the businesses close by that we know of, they’re supportive of it and they say it’s a pretty good deal.”
The re-conditioned building, located at 1851 Freeman Ave., will be home to more than 50 vendors within the indoor and outdoor areas. The street will be blocked off for the celebration, and Jurkiewicz will provide visitors with free food and a display of classic cars.
“It was very hard for them to leave because they’ve been there all their lives so they’re there every day,” Jurkiewicz said. “They’re happy with how we’ve fixed it up cosmetically and, you know, made it work for us. They’re good people. We’re happy with the outcome too.”
Although Franklin does not collect items herself, she understands the business and how it comes into play in the community.
“Personally, I’m not an antiquer,” Franklin said. “A lot of people like collectibles. Some do it for their business, for their income, and then a lot of people are retired and do it as a hobby.”
According to Jurkiewicz, the locations will complement each other and provide antique mall enthusiasts with the same quality items they have seen from their existing location across the street. Being a collector himself, Jurkiewicz said the new location will continue to provide antique items, furniture and jewelry from the area that they recycle.
“We’re pretty filled. We have anything from before the turn of the century to after the turn of the century to art deco,” Jurkiewicz said. “We have a lot of ’50s and ’60s kind of furniture, which is what we’re kind of concentrating on because it is very popular right now.”
The company has preserved much of the building and added skylights for a bright and airy atmosphere. Jurkiewicz is looking forward to the celebration and continuing the tradition of antique collecting and selling for the Long Beach and Signal Hill communities.
“We don’t want to have general stuff you can get anywhere. We want to have quality and unique stuff,” he said. “It’s just another extension of what we got here, and everyone just loves it.”
