Joe Ley Antiques in Louisville

Joe Ley Antiques in Louisville, KY

By Pamela O’Meara

Joe Ley Antiques in Louisville

Joe Ley discusses his antique business.

As an orphan who had no toys and was passed around unwanted from family to family, Joe Ley bought up all the old toys he could find – dolls, carousel horses, sleds, cradles – when he grew up. He bought up junk other people were discarding during urban renewal in the ‘50s and refurbished some of it to sell. All of this and far more – old posters, records, dishes, furniture, jewelry, chandeliers, doors, hardware, musical instruments, military memorabilia-- is now crammed into his 1890s three-story red brick former schoolhouse and yard in Louisville.

“As time passed, what once was junk became very collectible,” he said.

A carousel horse is on display.

His place is now popular for filming movies, for buying special pieces for decorating restaurants like TGI Fridays and for restoration projects.

All sorts of lights are featured.

In business here for 37 years, he buys and sells all over the U. S. though about one-third of his calls are from the Louisville area. He said 100,000 people come through in a year on a recent Saturday, 600 people stopped to look through his crammed rooms of stuff. He said he gets 40 to 50 calls a day to buy things. Sometimes he buys a whole estate, selects what he wants and disposes of the rest. He has bought salvage rights on buildings about to be torn down.

House Beautiful, Travel and Leisure and Southern Living magazines recommend Joe Ley Antiques as a source of unique and special items for a home or garden.

 “You could call me a “buyaholic,” he said. “It’s like surrounding yourself with beautiful things.”

Photos by Pamela O'Meara

For more information go to http://www.joeley.com.