23rd Street Antique Mall: Making it After All
By Sara Jordan-Heintz
Through perseverance and hard work, Bill and Denny McConnell of 23rd Street Antique Mall in Oklahoma City celebrate 35 years in business.
Bill and Denny McConnell of 23rd Street Antique Mall in Oklahoma City.
OKLAHOMA CITY — 23rd Street Antique Mall in Oklahoma City boasts an 11,000-square-foot showroom spotlighting the wares of more than 70 high-quality vendors who don’t sell anything more contemporary than the 1960s. Owners Bill and Denny McConnell, a dynamo husband and wife team, have 42 awards on display, touting their mall as the best place in town to shop for antiques. While their reputation draws buyers from all over the world, they don’t take success for granted, noting that their 35-year-old business was built the old-fashioned way, with sweat equity.
Bill spent years working for Lee Way Motor Freight Inc. unloading trucks. “The last few years I worked at Lee Way, we began to look around to see if there was something we could do to carve out some kind of financial future for ourselves,” Bill recalls. “Lee Way was a good job in a lot of ways, but it wasn’t something I could do all my life. It would break me down. So, we started buying some old rental properties and fixed them up, and began doing that, and thought that would be our key to future financial security.”
But in 1984, when the local real estate market went south, the couple lost it all. “We went to work for ourselves,” Bill says. “We called ourselves ‘The Odd Job Couple.’ We mowed lawns and painted houses and hung wallpaper and washed windows and hauled junk to the dump and struggled for about five years.”
Then fate intervened. The owner of May Antique Mall approached them about needing a manager. Would they be interested in coming aboard?
“I’ve always loved antiques. I was kind of a strange kid, I guess. My parents and siblings couldn’t have cared less about it, but I used to drag home all kinds of mostly junk,” Bill says. “At the time, I had a Big Chief tablet with over 300 things written on I was looking for. I’d ride my bicycle to our neighbors’ houses growing up in southern Oklahoma and show them my list and beg for things — actually got some pretty good things — but I never dreamed as a young person that I’d wind up in the business.”
Denny said she didn’t know much about antiques before she and Bill wed 50 years ago, but she learned quickly when it became their livelihood. “The antique business was started in July 1989, but we purchased it in February 1992. We served as managers for the first two years,” Denny says. “We decided to create an antique venue that reflected a love of antiques, history and the spirit of community.”
In 1997, they decided to relocate and rename the business, transforming the old Adairs Tropical Cafeteria building into 23rd Street Antique Mall, named for the street it’s on. With no startup and no credit history, they secured a small business loan.
“The building was in terrible shape and had been vacant for over two years — broken windows and leaky roofs and transients living in the back, but our sons and friends and church members jumped in, and a lot of professionals too, some of our dealers, all kept us rehabbing,” Bill says.
Three months later, the store was up and running, with most of its dealers following them to the new place. Some are still with them today. Inventory spans the late 1700s through the 1950s, with everything from American Victorian furniture to vintage jewelry, Native American items, coins, antique guns, art glass, antique lighting, vintage toys, advertising signs, porcelain, pottery, and more.
One of the McConnells’ favorites: a Wells Fargo
model Wooton desk crafted from American walnut.
Up until a few years ago, the duo ran the place, which was open six days a week. Now, they have some part-time help, allowing the couple to take some time off. Being hands-on, they say, helped them cultivate a “hometown merchant” vibe where customers can also chat and enjoy a cup of coffee.
“After all these years, I still love going to work every day. I enjoy the antiques, enjoy the friends we make, and the people we meet. It’s a win-win for me,” Bill says.
A brush with Hollywood
Their 1948 Ford panel truck is an unofficial mascot used for filming a paddy wagon scene in the 2024 film Reagan. “We took the truck to Guthrie where they were shooting the movie to leave it for the week. They removed our 23rd Street logo and applied their ‘Los Angeles Police Department’ logo,” Denny recalls. “The day they were to shoot that part of the movie there was going to be a police chase, roll some cars and arrest some guys.I knew our young grandson and granddaughter would be out of school that day and would love to watch.”
However, production came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So, we had to go get our truck back, remove their police logo and re-apply our 23rd Street logo. They said they might restart shooting in the spring. About a year later, we were contacted, and they were ready to start again. So, we took our panel truck back, they removed our logo and applied their logo again. Bill and I did get to see the day they did the scene our truck was in and it was great fun.”
Alas, the truck was shown only briefly in the film. Even so, movie buffs can own a piece of film history when shopping at the antique mall. Props from the 2023 film Killers of the Flower Moon are available. As Denny explains, one of their dealers provided items to the film crew that were purchased back once filming wrapped.
What’s hot, what’s not
The McConnells are big fans of Victorian-era furniture and décor, including Wave Crest glass and opaque white glassware. “My absolute favorite collection is our figural napkin rings, and they’re getting kind of difficult to find these days,” Denny says.
But Bill points out that tastes and trends evolve. In the 1980s, there was demand for Victorian-era items, but over time, there’s been less enthusiasm and lower asking prices. “For glassware and furniture, interest has gone down,” Bill notes. “But advertisements and signs keep getting stronger, as well as jewelry.”
The McConnells are always eager to see younger generations of shoppers come into the store. “The last couple years, we’ve had some young couples buying Victorian furniture who love the beauty and quality and durability and individualism — all those things. So that’s encouraging to us,” Bill says.
One such interaction with a young antiques fan took Instagram by storm. A woman bought her 11-year-old daughter a secretary desk from the couple, and her glee was caught on camera. To date, the video has had 38 million views and counting.
When asked about the secret to their longevity, McConnells said that high-quality dealers and treating customers respectfully have paved the way. Would they encourage young entrepreneurs to follow in their footsteps?
This Polyphon music box from the late 1800s is the largest and
most beautiful table model the McConnells have handled in 35 years.
“If they’re wanting to really sell true antiques, it’s a tough market. There have been several really large malls open in Oklahoma City fairly recently. Still, they’re all vintage and gift items, so if someone’s really wanting to go into the antique business, I think it’d be tough,” Denny says. “We feel like the Lord led us into it. And so we’re really praying that God will show us what we’re supposed to do in the future.”
23rd Street Antique Mall is located at 3023 NW 23rd St, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and may be reached at 405-947-3800 and antiques23@gmail.com.
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