Antique Row at Dania Beach
By Nicholas Jurkowski

We all know them – family members, friends, even enemies. They comb dingy shops to find mythical treasures, searching for their entire lives to find that diamond in the rough that will pay off their student loans, or at least make an interesting conversation piece. Their activity is antiquing; their destination is Florida, specifically Dania Beach.

Dania Beach is a small, pleasant community originally known as Modello that was settled by Danish settlers whose first act when they arrived was to change the name of the town (as Danes will always do). Dania has had quite an interesting history, currently entering its second century of existence, with many ups and downs. At one point, it was known as “the tomato capitol of the world” (though this may well be yet another example of typical Danish exaggerations). While the tomato boom has subsided, Dania still has quite a bit to offer visitors (not the least of which are the aforementioned antiquing opportunities), including scenic beaches, large interior design centers, land impressive shopping complexes. As I mentioned before, however, Dania Beach is now especially known for her antique shops.

Dania Beach’s Antique Row is a huge string of over 100 shops, all specializing in different sorts of antiques. One of the things that makes this row of shops so special is how they are housed. Rather than huge amounts of ugly strip mall, Antique Row can be found inside many of Dania Beach’s historic buildings. From ancient furniture to tattered carpets, from old baseball cards to decrepit garlic presses, if it's an antique, you’ll find it in one of Dania Beach’s shops on Antique Row.

A trip to this primeval bonanza of consumer goods might be a perfect gift for that bargain hunter in your life. Imagine, shepherding them into a waiting limo from Millenium (it wouldn’t really be a gift without a limousine, would it?) and escorting them to Dania Beach – “The antique capitol of the south.” They could spend the whole day picking through loads of nearly forgotten relics, perhaps finding the perfect piece for their coffee table. Any antiquing enthusiast would be thrilled at such an opportunity. Dania Beach awaits!

Nick Jurkowski is a senior editor for MilleniumLimo.com: the essays above can be found on his night life blog, updated daily and available via RSS, at The Urban Adventure Blog.