Swap Meets

by Robert Pavlik
June 1, 2011

Also known as Flea Markets, swap meets have been a California staple since the end of World War II.  They have occupied empty parking lots on Sunday mornings, and allowed people to bring their trash and their treasures, spread them out on blankets or on top of folding tables, and negotiate with bargain hunters, interior designers, and antique dealers.  Some of the sellers are disposing of excess weight (to make room for more stuff), others are moving, and more are selling remnants of estates.  Several parties make their living, buying and selling and traveling around the state, showing up every week with their booty. Friendships are made (and broken),  money and objects are exchanged, history is made, lost, traded, reclaimed, and abandoned.

The available goods at the swap meet have changed little over the years.  For example, eight track tapes have given way to CDs, and  electronics have evolved, but otherwise there is a continuity to the eclectic collections that can be seen on the blacktop on any given Sunday. Books, ceramics, clothing and shoes (both new and used), antiques, collectables, tools for the workshop and garden, furniture, sports equipment, food and drink, all can be had for a reasonable price at the swap meet. 

As Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith once observed, "There's something for everybody at a swap meet, whatever your taste, age or purse."  [from Jack Smith, "The Swap Meet," in The Big Orange (Pasadena: The Ward Ritchie Press, 1976)]

Here are some images of swap meets past and present.

Swap Meet - 1974	Camera Man - 1974
Tooth Necklace - 1974 Swap Meet	Swap Meet Cowboy - 1974
Chuck Pavlik & Friend - 1998	Sweet Old Bill - 1998

See Page 2 of Swap Meets