So, before I went, I heard a lot of hype about this place. Â When I asked people about good locations for antiques, I was referred to this place. Â I even read all of the reviews on here. Â The place does not live up to the hype. Â Maybe I went on a down week, but I was greatly disappointed. Â It was something I was excited about all day. Â Don't get me wrong, there is stuff there, and some of it is really neat. Â However, it isn't some amazing step back in time or something I would go to every week. Â Everyone seemed nice, and the prices were okay. Â Will I go back? Â Sure. Â I will try anything a couple of times before I say it is complete crap.
Review Source:As I sit here trying to write this review, I realize that I am at a loss for words, which is an incredibly rare occurrence. But why is it hard for me to describe Cowtown Mallroom? Really, you have to go to understand. Cowtown Mallroom is in the old Cowtown Ballroom building which is well-known to pretty much all music nerds in the KC area. This building is dripping in Kansas City music history, but has been re-purposed into a quirky flea market/music venue/place where you can sometimes get a chair massage/place where you can sometimes get some yummy eats/place where you can do some fun people watching.
That's about all I can say about it, other than it's great fun to explore.
Not impressed. Â
The pros: Â Lots of stuff, two floors of it, lots of music related items such as instruments and records, open every Sunday, Â easy to find, lots of parking.
The cons:  Vendors stood /sat in or blocking their booth making it hard to shop.  I found this to be the most annoying part.  Also vendors chatting with each other made it difficult to ask questions, many items were not priced and because vendors were so engaged in their chat with others, I felt like I was interrupting asking for the price on everything.  I move on when items are not priced.  One vendor was smoking in his booth which  nearly gagged me.  I couldn't approach any of the booths within feet of his.  I don't want to purchase anything that smells like cigarette smoke.  This was a real turn off.
I'm a huge vintage shopper.  My over all experience was that I probably won't go back.  There was lots of small trinkets but not much  furniture or large items.   I ended up not purchasing anything.
Walking into Cowtown Mallroom is one heck of a trip. You get time-warped into the 1970s where Kitty is making you cookies, Red is telling you to shut up, and everyone's getting high in the basement.
The weirdest yet most amazing place ever.
Cowtown Mallroom is a maze of antiques, treasures, collectibles, and a lot of crap, too. Behind every door is another stairwell. Behind every stairwell is another room. It's practically endless.
I saw a man walking around in a rainbow poncho and a coon-skin cap.
One booth had a shelf of Free stuff. Upon this shelf was a bag of Trix cereal, still in the plastic bag but missing it's box.
I didn't buy anything, but it was the best Sunday afternoon people- watching ever. Such an interesting and intriguing place.
The Cowtown Mallroom is a great place to rummage around for everything, large or small. It's kinda junky/dingy in some spots (downstairs), but nicer in others. Each vendor is in charge of manning their own booth; prices vary but you can find some really great deals. We like to look for vinyl records.
What sets this place apart is that they turn their day into an event. Â There's food for sale and live music! Â It's usually just singers with guitars, but occasionally they'll get a full band like the Good Foot.
A couple of annoying things, which varies from booth to booth -- more often than I'd like, items don't have a price tag on them. Then, worse, sometimes it takes forever to track down the person whose booth it is.
Only open on Sunday -- catch it when you can.
I'm always up for rummaging through piles of "stuff" to find hidden gems, and I thought Cowtown Mallroom would be great. Â However, I wasn't really that impressed. Â With so many places in Kansas City for great thrifting or antiquing, this one feels lukewarm. Â Prices are high and some of the wares for sale looked like literal garbage when I was there. Â My friend was looking for some frames for an art installation when we were there, and a vendor tried to sell them to her for $10 apiece. Â Trololololol. Â When your janky-ass 20 year old frames are competing with Target on price, you did it wrong.
This one's on my "to skip" list next time I'm in town.
I think this Sunday flea market of sorts is okay. It has a cool old venue and usually some decent music is drifting about. And the peeps running the booths are friendly enough. Today I saw everything from an old Toledo scale to a meat scoring roller to a mantle to a bust (we bought it) to an old Honda Shadow motorcycle. That stuff was a lot nicer than the wiring harness (from a stolen radio, no doubt) and a bunch of Swisher Sweet tips on the road along the Paseo on the way there. lol
Review Source:So much fun! The Cowtown Mallroom is like a curated flea market or garage sale. The huge space (upstairs and downstairs) is divided into booths of sorts where vendors set up their wares. There are so many different types and styles of items it's hard to know where to start! Like any flea market, some booths are mostly junk but others are treasure mines.
They only open on Sundays and they are not as neatly organized as Urban Mining Housewares. They have live music at 3pm on their amazing and loud sound system - I think it's a great inexpensive thing to do with friends and family. You can browse, score some records, vintage ashtrays, aprons, horseshoes, bicycles, you name it... and also listen to some cool KC bands as you sip on the beer you slyly tucked into your purse. Wink!
Most vendors are game for a little friendly haggling and there is so much to look at that you should plan on spending at least an hour there. Cash is king here, although some folks are set up to swipe credit cards using their iPads or iPhones.
This place is packed with all kinds of cool stuff.
 It's pet friendly so bring your mutt for a putt.
 Two floors of vintage items most priced well below the west bottoms shops.
 In fact I have seen vendors from the bottoms shopping here for their stuff.
 I was here in Nov. and found a metal Snoopy lunch box for 3 bucks and working pocket watch from the early 1900s for 20
 Live music starts at 3:00
I don't throw around 5-star ratings like facebook likes or crappy tweets. A 5-star Yelp review should mean something. Â The Cowtown Mallroom earns that with every dust bunny you'll definitely find in this cavernous two-story, many decades-old building that is now home to one of the coolest venues for flea-market-ish jewels, diamonds in the rough, obscure treasures and yes, lots and lots of dust bunnies.
If you've vowed to only buy things you love, this is probably the kind of place for you. There's not a lot of grey area in what you'll find here, either you'll love it or you won't but man, when you find that treasure, you can't leave it behind.
I have found everything from furniture, original art to vintage work shirts (Schlitz!), and old maps of countries that don't even exist anymore. And I've never had to leave something I love behind because it was too expensive - stuff here is crazy inexpensive.
Cowtown Mallroom is only open on Sundays (11-4) but they spend the week refreshing the items and there's always enough new stuff to stop by each week.
Oh, and there's often live music.
If Cowtown Mallroom was a gruff neighbor, he'd be the one that helped you do things without saying anything and then skurk back to his house. But oh, you'd secretly know he liked you.
Cowtown Mallroom is a fascinating venue+antique mall+event space. How had I not heard about this place until yesterday!? My roommate and I ventured into a mysterious wonderland crammed full of vintage antiques for sale.
Cowtown Mallroom is located in the Spanish looking El Torreon ballroom. This once hoppin' ballroom was a former jazz club in the late 20's. This building houses A LOT of history. Former jazz club, gone 70's skating rink, gone antique mall/event center. Yet through it all, its historic quirky Spanish flare still remains.
Every Sunday from 11-4 Cowtown Mallroom is an event dedicated to history, antiques, and all things funky. While shopping around yesterday, old men in cowboy hats were standing around a stereo for sale crankin' out Johnny Cash hits. Cowtown Mallroom attracts people of all ages looking for a good buy. They sometimes have live music on Sundays and food items for sale as well.
Vendors set up stands and shoppers mosey around. Clothing, jewelry, furniture, fabrics, decor, electronics, etc. Downstairs is a hallway/large room that leads into more hallways and backrooms. Vendors sell all sorts of old items and treasures tucked away in each hallway, room, and entrance.
I would recommend Cowtown Mallroom for a Sunday afternoon full of antique shopping and quirky finds. Great place to roam around and shop.
This is my first time at Cowtown Mallroom, so why it says I'm a regular, I'm not. I just went there to check it out.
It's where the old Eltorrean used to be, and infact, it says that on the back door, where I mistakingly entered. Â Upon entering, there's all kinds of paths. I don't know how to describe it really. There's stairs, and paths, and there's things for sale, and people lulling around. I probably knew some of them.
I saw everything from tiny toy dogs, (antique), to an Adam Sandler t-shirt, to a sold couch. And down another path, into another room, they had antique cloths, and tea towels that look like they came form my grandma's kitchen.
Through another doorway, into a another path, there were a couple of bikes, and signs, and just alot of cool things. There's a room where they have CD release parties at 2:00.
Up another stairway they had more things to look at. I have no idea where they find these things, but it's cool. It'd be cool to become a regular here. I think it's one where, again, if you see something you want, you need to get it. I found the prices very fair. Â
I think they did a great job with this building. Antiques don't fascinate me to buy, but there's a certain energy when running your fingers over the items. The building is dark, and mysterious, and fitting for what they are doing. I didn't stay for the band. I probably should've. Well, that's something I need to plan on doing on a Sunday afternoon.
LOVE it!! Really. Swap meet/antique mall/venue/performance space/nightclub...holding space? Â The Cowtown Mallroom defies all expectations. It's the kind of place with a bunch of different entrances, all kinds of secret rooms leading into more secret rooms, many of them enormous. If raves were still all the rage, one would no doubt be held in this cavernous space.
I look forward to seeing even more stuff being done/sold here, although there are already plenty of places to pick pick pick (or so it feels. It does seem cheaper than any other antique mall...more like a salvation army, but with far less *junk* and far more fab finds). The room where the vendor booths are is just SO huge...like an airplane hangar!
I spied with my shopping eye:
-several lots of cool mid-century plates and glassware
-tons of cocktail ware from the 40-70s
-window pane art (made from those giant wooden windows that no one uses anymore because they let in drafts. I used to grab them from the curbs in NYC fully intending on making art with them. Instead they'd stay in my garden until a good wind knocked them over and smashed all the glass into oblivion. Sigh).
-thousands of bottles in all colors and sizes (perfume, milk of magnesia, laudanum...JUST KIDDING!!)
-original pages from a Vargas girl calendar
-kitsch galore
-records (Halcyon Diversified Trading has a booth!)
-old signs
-ancient sewing machines
-lamps
-couches (including a lovely yellow mid century sofa that if it matched our living room, I so would have bought)
-antique Asian cabinet that matches the one I left behind in Brooklyn. Way out of my price range, but amazing to see. I took it as a sign.What kind of sign, I couldn't tell you.
-dolls and stuffed animals
-clothes
So, there you have it. Another fantastic Kansas City antique offering. I keep saying this is one of the best cities for affordable antiques and Cowtown Mallroom is yet more proof of this!
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