Chelsea Flea Market

Now closed, the Annex Markets (most recently Chelsea Flea Market and Hell's Kitchen Flea Market), were part of a long legacy of antique and flea markets in New York City stretching back to the first market opened in 1976, The Annex Antiques Fair & Flea Market, all founded by Alan L. Boss (now retired from the flea market business), a New York City native who was the undisputed Lord of the Fleas. E

quipped with a degree in Economics, entrepreneurial drive, and a strong dislike of run-of-the-mill office culture, Boss created a globally-recognized and weekends-only destination location for discerning shoppers, fashion designers, prop masters, interior decorators, collectors, and others. The collectively, the Annex Markets--including the Annex's only indoor market, The Garage, Inc.--proved to be a source of inspiration not only for notables including Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz, and a plethora of "secret shopper" fashion designers, but 100,000s of shoppers keen to hunt and haggle for the best of antiques, collectibles, ephemera, and more--from 19th-century, early-20th, and mid-century antiques and décor to vintage clothing, accessories, estate jewelry, historical artifacts, original and collectible art, architectural decorative elements, militaria, vinyl records, and more. The Annex Markets also served as the setting for various TV commercials, fashion shoots, travel articles, films, flea-related reality TV shows, and--most importantly--an eclectic community of dealers and customers who gathered every weekend, rain or shine (except for during the very rare instances of blizzard or downpour conditions). While the outdoor parking lot locations of the original Annex and the indoor parking garage of the weekend Garage market are now obliterated by high-rise residential buildings and a hotel, the Annex legacy lives on not only in the collective memory of the community of shoppers and dealers--both tourists and regulars--but in the thousands of cherished items from the markets that have homes today in residences, offices, and archival collections all over the world.