Antiques attract visitors to Essex

By DAVID JOYNER

Essex County Newspapers

Exploring Essex is like wandering through a stately New England house, marveling at fine furniture and objects that have survived the generations, then squeezing into its crowded and dusty attic.

About 35 shops in the town appeal to various tastes, from parlors where serious buyers consider expensive period pieces, to crowded spaces drawing treasure seekers and people in search of collectibles.

"It's hard not to have a good experience here," says Robert Coviello, who has been selling antiques in the town for about two decades and owns three shops with his wife, Susan-Gould Coviello.

Coviello isn't sure why the antique trade settled in Essex, otherwise known in history books for shipbuilding.

Maybe it's because New England is antique-rich, he says, and the town has a "perfect location" along Route 133.

The first dealers arrived in the 1940s, he says, and the industry boomed in the 1980s. Today the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce describes Essex as "America's Antique Capital," and Coviello estimates it has 60 to 70 dealers _ roughly one for every 50 residents.

Coviello says offerings "vary from dollar postcards to tens of thousands of dollars in terms of fine antique furniture and art."

Of his shops, the largest is Main Street Antiques and its several floors of densely arranged books, furniture, jewelry and other items.

Then there are places like Neligan and Neligan, where owner David Neligan specializes in furniture and objects that date to the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, most of which fetch $2,000 and up.

Neligan says he attracts a clientele from around the world and dealers, interior decorators or collectors who typically come in search of specific pieces.

Some buy furniture there because it's a better deal than mass-produced pieces of today, which don't match the quality and materials of what was made centuries ago, he says.

Antique shoppers aren't the town's only draw, however, evidenced by cars crowding its causeway on a given weekend to visit restaurants dotting the spectrum from casual to up-scale.

The dean of local eateries is Woodman's, an 87-year-old family business that specializes in fried seafood and a casual "eat in the rough" style.

Family lore maintains that Lawrence "Chubby" Woodman invented the fried clam on July 3, 1916. In years since, eating there has become what marketing coordinator Terri Lafferty calls "a Yankee tradition."

"We try to keep things basically as they used to be," she says, adding that some who visited in their youth have since brought their children and grandchildren to share the experience.

More recently, the town's waterfront has sprouted river cruises, charters and even a kayak tour business that give visitors unique vantages of the Essex River, its birds and wildlife.

Trips include clam bakes, chowder tastings and wine tastings. Cider and doughnuts come out in the fall to complement views of foliage along the tidal estuary.

The town also has hiking trails and historic attractions, such as the Essex Shipbuilding Museum and Cogswell's Grant farmhouse.

But most still visit for its antiques _ to collect them, treasure hunt or simply browse the pieces that offer a glimpse into the past.

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