Sumner's Old Cannery: Coolest Furniture Store on the Planet

I finally got a break in the weather enough for me to spend some time in Sumner, on Saturday morning and early afternoon.  It's been a real long time since I went down there.  The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse occupies a small spit of land between the railroad tracks and highway 167 on one side, and the Stuck River on the other.

It's the coolest furniture store on the planet.  I find myself wanting to replace our furniture, just so I can shop there.  

This time of year, they go all out.  I am hoping to return there some night this week to take pictures of the lights.

They offer carriage rides to the far parking lots...

...because the store occupies 10 acres.

A little motorized train for the kiddies.

The front doors and the inside supports and counters are made with the most magnificent gigantic wooden logs.

This is the main entrance.  There is a whole other room, the same size (but more industrial looking) on the other side of the left hand wall from this room.

The store was pretty crowded when I was there, so I was unable to get a good photo of the Fudge Shoppe.  It's tucked away on the left aisle and created with the huge old logs.  Their counter is stuffed with jars of all kinds of candy.  And they make their fudge on site.  I have chocolate and nut allergies, so I can't take the chance on it, but it's extremely popular, as evidenced by the fact that it was packed with people the entire time I was there!

Can you guess what this is?  It's the entrance to the Ladies Room!!!  I've been inside and it looks like a beautiful old Victoria-era bathroom. 

Lots and lots of trains whizz by overhead, their different whistles happily singing out.  There are Christmas trains like this one.  Freight.  Modern silver-car trains too.  The Old Cannery is very train-themed.  

Above the beautiful brick archways between the rooms are vintage room displays.

The store straddles the border between Sumner and Puyallup (pronunciation reminder:  pew-ALL-up).  Crossing into the back of the store, you enter Puyallup.

I went into the other side of the store and found it crowded with a long line of parents and children.  I didn't realize that Santa was there.  So this room was full of all the recliners for sale, and loads of exhausted looking family members draped in them as their over excited children shrilly chattered in line, waiting to see Da Big Man.  

This hangs from the ceiling, in homage to our aviation history.

Reindeer.

I wanted to try and shoot this w/o my flash, but it was so crowded.  Parents brought their children in their holiday finery to shoot pictures of them in this scene, so I only had to time to get off one shot.  This area was actually very dark and with the holiday lights and cottony snow, it was quite magical.

If I'd known they were doing canned food drive I would've brought something to donate.

This creepy looking chap is flying above the rug department.

Lots of animated animal heads on the walls as well.  They move their heads, blink their eyes, and recite a bit of quick trivia about the store (I think....maybe it was about the valley's history....).

I do love these giant tree trunks and brick arches.  I swear I could live in this shop.  It's fun to just go and walk around, and damn hard to keep from buying something, even if just a lamp or a vintage picture!

It's hard to tell, but all those icicles were lit up in white and pale blue.

Nautical themed furniture and accessories department

All of the train bridges on the suspended tracks had lights covering them.

This is the front of a very large, wooden train engine that little kids can climb into.  There's also a really neat wooden train whistle that kids operate by pulling on a rope.  This boiler is internally lit as if aglow with a real coal fire.

Player piano

The posters behind Betty include my beloved Jimmy Dean, and those nostalgia posters that always show Elvis, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart in a diner or drive in.

I shot these pics with and without flash.  The flash really washed out the posters and reflected off the pinball machine so I went with the pics w/o flash.

Brian wants this sign but we don't have anywhere to hang it (and it's a big spendy).

A happy little caboose crossing another bridge.

The Old Cannery really was a cannery.

These guys are actually near the entrance, and they, too, are motion activated.  They talk and move.  I find these things kind of creepy actually, ever since being a little unnerved by the animated Pilgrims at the museum in Plymouth, MA when I was a kid.