Entry No. 11 — the Dallas file — filed under: haunted
Curiosities Antiques
An indoor flea-market-meets-cabinet-of-wonders out by White Rock Lake, where the inventory runs to taxidermy, the occasional shrunken head, artificial legs, and foreign movie posters — voted the city's best oddities shop and easy to lose an hour in.
The story
If you're hunting for pristine mahogany sideboards or polite bone china, you're in the wrong place. Mother-son duo Terry and Jason Cohen opened Curiosities back in 2006, slowly building a collective fever dream along Garland Road on the edge of White Rock Lake. Six dealers pile into a maze of floor-to-ceiling booths, packing every square foot with taxidermy crows, glass eyeballs, artificial limbs, sideshow banners, tramp art, and hand-painted Ghanaian movie posters. Look up, and you'll spot vintage bicycles dangled from the rafters right alongside mounted buffalo heads.
Right next door at 8916 Garland Road, Jason Cohen expanded into a former auto repair shop to launch Curiosities the Garage. Where the main storefront hoards macabre natural history and medical oddities, the Garage tilts toward heavy industrial gear and grease-monkey kitsch—vintage transportation signs, purple Harleys, black velvet paintings, and rugged ironwork. Between the two buildings, you get an unvarnished catalog of relics someone decided were far too strange to throw away.
What it's like
Pulling into the small storefront strip on Garland Road, the modest parking lot gives away nothing—you have to keep an eye out for the sign tucked among neighboring shops. Inside, creaky floorboards and narrow aisles snake through interconnected back rooms where every surface demands close looking. Weekend afternoons bring steady foot traffic that makes squeezing past cabinets tight, especially when leaning in to examine vintage medical instruments or postmortem photography. Aim for an early afternoon weekday visit if you want space to browse slowly, and don't leave without stepping into the Garage next door before retail hours wrap up at 5 or 6 p.m.
The move: Set a $20 limit each and hunt for the single strangest object you can agree to put on a shelf together.
📍 Before you go You'll find it on Garland Road in East Dallas, the retail stretch that runs along the edge of White Rock Lake — the storefront sits among other shops, so watch for the sign rather than a landmark. Daytime on a weekend gives you room to browse slowly, which the inventory rewards. Don't skip the sister shop right next door, Curiosities the Garage, which leans automotive and industrial. Pair the trip with the Dallas Arboretum or a loop around the lake, both just minutes up the road. It keeps standard retail afternoons, so go earlier in the day rather than counting on an evening stop.
- 📍 Lakewood / White Rock
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 8920 Garland Rd, Dallas, TX 75218
Pair it with
- Old Fish Hatchery Nature Area — Trade indoor taxidermy and relic cases for an overgrown 50-acre nature preserve hidden just past the White Rock Lake spillway.
- Adrian E. Flatt Hand Collection — Continue your tour of physical oddities four miles away inside a hospital lobby housing over 120 bronze casts of famous hands.
- Dolly Python — Keep the oddity hunt going at Dallas's other famous vintage emporium, known for wet specimens, postmortem photos, and bone collections.
- La Viuda Negra — Cap off an afternoon of hunting through curiosities with secret mezcal cocktails hidden behind a fake bridal shop storefront.
Good to know
Who owns Curiosities and when did it open?
Mother-son team Terry and Jason Cohen opened Curiosities in 2006, later consolidating their operation into this Garland Road spot near White Rock Lake.
What kind of items are for sale inside?
The inventory runs from taxidermy, skulls, and artificial legs to vintage scientific tools, glass eyeballs, sideshow banners, and foreign movie posters.
What is Curiosities the Garage next door?
It is a sister shop at 8916 Garland Road set inside a former auto repair building, focusing on vintage transportation signs, motorcycle culture, and industrial antiques.
When is the best time to visit?
The shop opens at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday and noon on Sunday. Weekday afternoons offer much easier parking and room to wander the aisles.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: dallasobserver.com · Tripadvisor · lakewood.advocatemag.com · Reddit
last checked: 2026-06-06