Art and Antiques in Ponchatoula
The bustling main street of Ponchatoula is the center of a flourishing antique market and a blooming artists’ community; it’s hard to believe that a few decades ago, it was a sleepy rural community. This city has kept its small-town charm while promoting a successful downtown area, centered around the main drag, Pine Street, which is lined with antique shops and art galleries. People stroll through the historic downtown district, where well-known artists like painter Bill Hemmerling and wildlife photographer Julia Sims display their work.
“There are more artists living here in Ponchatoula than the rest of Tangipahoa Parish,” says Kim Zabbia, owner and director of the Art Station, the new visual arts school for adults in Ponchatoula. “There are many professional photographers, potters, sculptors, stained glass artists, even bronze casters. Artists are drawn to this city,” she says. Zabbia retired from teaching visual art at Ponchatoula High School in May of 2007 to open the Art Station the following month. “We have had such a wonderful art program at the high school for so long, but there was nothing really for adults, so I decided to start the school.”
The Art Station became an instant success, offering everything from quilting to pottery, and it is in the center of the action, just half a block away from the antique and art galleries on Pine Street. It is right down the street from Louisiana Furniture Gallery, a whimsically decorated, unpretentious gallery space featuring the folk art of Bill Hemmerling and the eclectic work of several other imaginative artists. Paintings, photography, and sculptures fill the rooms of the gallery, along with comfortable furniture and unusual articles. The musical sound of trickling water issues from a fountain made from an old claw footed bathtub, and a peaceful, relaxed ambiance puts visitors in a Zen-like state.
This gallery is one of several in the downtown district; be sure to check out the Swamplight Gallery and Coffee Shop, where you can find framed photos, prints, paintings, and handmade wood sculptures as well as coffee, tasty snacks, and free WiFi. Also on Pine Street is Charlotte’s Webb, a great gallery space for local artists that also offers custom picture framing. There are countless other gallery spaces in the Ponchatoula area, and many restaurants and cafés have rotating exhibitions.
Pine Street holds many quirks and surprises for visitors of all ages. Check out the Art Car at the old train depot; it is a train car that has been converted into a gallery space for local painters. Nearby is the Strawberry Train, an old steam engine strung with Christmas lights, and a live alligator, “Ole Hardhide.” Hardhide is credited with “writing” a column in the Ponchatoula Times newspaper; he is usually sunning himself nonchalantly in his deluxe caged environment, complete with a pond and big rock, located in front of the Country Market.
After pretending to ride the train and marveling at the live alligator, walk down Pine Street and find some antiques! Ponchatoula was named “America’s Antique City” in recent decades due to the explosion of the antique industry, but despite the dealers’ immense success, they still offer reasonable prices and friendly, unassuming service. The historic brick buildings, which haven’t changed much over the past century, provide a more authentic setting for the merchandise in many shops. There are about fifty antique dealers in the Ponchatoula area, each one specializing in something unique, so no two shops are quite alike.
One of the most intriguing places I found was Roussel’s Specialty Shop, housed in the old hardware store on Pine Street. Owner Neil Roussel has made antiques his lifelong passion; he has been refurbishing antiques since he was twelve, and he opened his first antique shop on Airline Highway in LaPlace in 1978. Roussel’s moved to Pine Street in 1989, during the time in the late eighties when the area was just beginning to develop. “In 1978, people were looking for old furniture that they could restore; nowadays, customers have come to appreciate the construction and workmanship of these pieces more. They are accepting the furniture as it was meant to look when it was made, loving it for that,” he says.
Roussel’s offers a large inventory spread throughout several rooms and a backyard area; they specialize in Victorian antiques, silk florals, Armani porcelain dolls, Tiffany-style lamps, collectible gifts, prints, jewelry, curio cabinets, and stained glass. While Roussel’s space is large and has lots of inventory, nearby Oldies and Goodies is a smaller, more intimate space. Though they have furniture, gifts, and various home accessories, they specialize in collectible Life magazines and stained glass. Next door to Oldies and Goodies is the Antique Shoppe, specializing in jewelry, glassware, and small furniture; this is also a smaller shop with a more intimate atmosphere.
“Each shop has a different ambiance,” says Miriam Summers, president of the Historic Commission. “Shoppers can choose from 100-year-old antiques to fine reproduction pieces. If a shopper is looking for something in particular, the shopkeepers will help you find it. If they don’t have it, they’ll point you in the right direction. Everyone works together.”
Nearby, Wholesale Antiques I has a large, sprawling space filled with merchandise of all sorts. Though they carry many fine antique pieces and reproductions, and there are also lots of funky flea market finds and fun knick-knacks. Wholesale Antiques I specializes in carved American Oak, Victorian, Empire, and French Antiques; they also have a large selection of stained glass windows, glassware, paintings, bronze statuary, and estate jewelry.
Wholesale Antiques II, under the same owner, is right around the corner, but this shop is going out of business and offering clearance prices. This shop also carries antique furniture, reproductions, stained glass, and various home accessories, but they specialize in cast aluminum pieces. If you hurry, you can get some fantastic deals here, and you may find something you fall in love with. For me, it was a cast aluminum monkey. I saw it and I couldn’t say no! It now resides on my front porch.
A self-proclaimed bibliophile, I found the most enchanting atmosphere to be the Philosopher’s Stone bookstore, where they buy, sell, and trade rare antique books. “It’s not just a bookstore,” Summers says. “It’s a gallery, too.” They have a magical collection of handmade porcelain faerie dolls and artwork as well as a wide selection of metaphysical supplies and gifts. At this one of a kind bookstore, they say, “If you want a book, go to Barnes and Nobles. If you want a library, come to the Philosopher’s Stone!”
There are too many other shops and galleries in Ponchatoula to mention, and each one is worth a look. Whether you’re searching for something specific or just browsing at a leisurely pace, you will fall in love with this small city and its appreciation for all things wondrous and unconventional, old and beautiful. ✦
