What's on 2nd?

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What's on 2nd?, August 2010

What's on 2nd? is a store specializing in antiques, art, and collectibles located at 1101 20th Street South in the Spanish Stores building

Long-time antiques dealers Steve Gilmer and Michele Wilson opened the store on May 2007 in a two-story building at 2306 2nd Avenue North, which inspired the name. The grand opening was celebrated on July 6 of that year.

The shop specializes in nostalgia items rather than decorator antiques. Along with hundreds of thousands of postcards and pop-culture items the store has a selection of advertising and architectural fragments, t-shirts, toys, model kits, comic books and other collectibles, including letter-size photocopies of a wide selection of Gilmer's postcard collection. Some furniture pieces, books and folk-art creations also find their way into the store. In later years a diverse line of vintage video game systems and cartridges was added to the store's offerings.

Gilmer fills the windows with seasonal displays, including a science-fiction theme during the OmegaCon and a political theme during the election season. The store also served as a venue for fundraisers and art shows, and as an artist site during the Artwalk festival when it was located in the Loft District. Co-owner Ian Philips came on board in 2011.

In April 2016 What's on 2nd? downsized and moved to a smaller location at 2323 1st Avenue North in the Wooster Lofts building (the former Calder warehouse). After four years there, Gilmer's lease expired and, at the invitation of building owner Bob Moody, he moved the store into its last 1,729 square-foot location. Gilmer died in November 2023. Friend and part-time employee Alfred Smith kept the store open through December.

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