A familiar sight to LA locals rolling down La Brea is the massive lot of recycled treasure known as Nick Metropolis Collectibles. To everyone else, open your eyes and gawk at the insanity on display here; it's pretty outrageous, and you won't find many other places in weirdo Los Angeles, or anywhere else, like it.
Some might call it a magical garbage dump come alive, while others might foam at the mouth, feverishly browsing through the hundreds of discarded trinkets for sale. Either way, there isn't much actual garbage here—just a bunch of really cool artifacts piled up, scattered about, and arranged into an enormous blob of vintage memorabilia. It's like an open-air market (or maybe a graveyard of sorts?) for some of Hollywood's wackiest and most random items from its sordid past.
There's a lot of special things going on at Nick's: used signs, weird art, unique furniture, and amazing relics from closed down businesses across California. You never know what you'll run into.
Need a portrait of a sad clown? Check. Could you use a garden gnome wearing a tuxedo for your front lawn? Of course you could. How about a neon sign promoting cherry slushies? Nick's got you covered! I kid you not, they have everything under the sun here, and you might even stumble across something that brings all those feelings back. A win for all!
That's not to say that it's all fun and games here, Nick's is also pretty good at dishing out the nightmare fuel, offering creepy mannequins, terrifying posters/props and who could forget this winner:
And aside from the shopping, I gotta say that the best part about visiting Nick's is the adrenaline rush you get from surviving the experience; this place is basically a death trap. There are so many labyrinths, nooks, and crannies that one could easily go missing for weeks and possibly starve to death. They should be dishing out those corny shopping cart flags that Target has or enforcing the old buddy system while exploring. Just do whatever it takes to survive and see the light again.
And don't discount the danger involved with grabbing something and ending up on the wrong end underneath an aquarium. There's stuff on top of stuff on top of stuff around these parts, so watch out from above.
And alas, like most establishments that throw around the word "antique," Nick's isn't easy on the wallet. A vintage Ronald McDonald piggy bank might run you a few hundred bucks, but it seems like Nick will fairly haggle with you. Remember, kids, one man's trash is another's treasure, and vintage means big $$$ for the right clientele, even if that gumball machine sold for only twenty bucks back in 1988.
But there's no need to purchase anything; it's more than worth stopping by and peeking into the legendary realm that is Nick Metropolis. Whether you need movie props that'll take your production to Mars or are just looking to spruce up your crib with some gnarly Hollywood memorabilia, Nick's got you covered!
