The Evanston Historical Society’s annual flea market has always been a pretty good reason to roll out of bed on a Saturday morning. First there’s the allure of all that serendipitous stuff–donated by folks moving out of big old Evanston houses, assiduously collected by the ladies of the Guild of the Evanston Historical Society all year long, washed, boxed, and squirreled away in the far reaches of the mansion until the single fall day when, in one fell swoop, it’s all offered up for sale. Then there’s the site: the fabulously overdone Charles Gates Dawes lakeside chateau, with its swollen towers and ornate arches and profusion of odd outcroppings (chimneys, dormers, pinnacles)–a 100-year-old fairy-tale castle that’s a hoot of a place to hang out in. The whole thing has an orgiastic quality that screams “Too much! Too much!” and is completely irresistible.
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This year there’s an added reason to be there. Since the first flea market 34 years ago, nothing has stood in the way of this event. Although a good part of the sale takes place outside, it has gone forward in some of the nastiest weather fall can bring–driving downpours that soaked the furniture on the front lawn and turned the boxes of goods lining the driveway into retention ponds. I’ve been there when the grass squished underfoot, rivulets ran through the tents, and any bare patch of ground went to mud. Dripping customers climbed the front steps, paid a dollar each, and trekked into the house, where china, jewelry, and consignment goods were displayed under full-length portraits of Charlie and Caro Dawes and the stuffed heads of a gazelle, a moose, and a bison. Every sale has been bigger and better than its predecessor; last year there were more than 3,000 paid admissions to the house and another thousand shoppers who worked just the lawn. So it was a surprise to hear that this year’s event–scheduled for this Saturday and guaranteed to be the biggest ever–will be the last.
The 34th annual Evanston Historical Society benefit flea market will be held from 8 AM to 4 PM Saturday at the Charles Gates Dawes House, 225 Greenwood (at the lake) in Evanston. Admission to the house is $1; lawn admission is free. Hecky’s Bar-B-Q will be selling food, and a free shuttle bus will run between the sale and the Davis Street CTA/Metra station. Call 847-475-3410 for more information. –Deanna Isaacs
