Paxton Gate

Good news everyone.  I finally found a store that sells HUMAN SKULLS.  Right here in Portland.  It will cost you $1,700 but it’s worth it right?  It’s the perfect touch for your underground lair or laboratory.  But seriously, there’s a really amazing store on North Mississippi, called Paxton Gate that I highly recommend.  They’ve been open for 3 years, I can’t believe it took me this long to hear about it.

The first thing you’ll notice is all the animal heads.  The store is full of taxidermy, skeletons and all kinds of other specimens.  In a lot of ways it feels more like a museum than a store. The walls are lined with display cases full of amazing treasures, including some very big ticket items.  You can get a real taxidermy lioness, but it’s going to cost you thousands of dollars.
Paxton Gate is all about a “facination with the natural world” (That’s what it says on their website).  So in addition to all the animals, you’ll find bugs, butterflys, minerals, crystals, shells, and plants along with some glassware and strange art work.

The plant section is really cool.  Not your usual houseplants.  They carry succulents, air plants and even carniverous plants like venus fly trap.  Have you ever had a venus fly trap?  I had one as a kid, I’m thinking about getting one again.  It’s so much fun to feed them.   That brings up another cool thing, Paxton Gate offers classes on things like terrariums, bug pinning and how to make your own carniverous bog (I put my name on the mailing list for that one).

On a sunny Saturdy afternoon the store was packed with people and lots of kids. Hopefully they are always that busy. I considered buying a number of books, but finally walked out with a piece of bornite.  On the advice of The Artist’s Way I’m collecting some beautiful rocks and shells to keep in my home as a reminder of nature.

This is a really fun store to stop in and browse.  Next time you’re on Mississippi Avenue, check it out!

PAXTON GATE
4204 NORTH MISSISSIPPI  AVENUE
OPEN DAILY 11AM-7PM