Entry No. 52 — the Des Moines file — filed under: records

Paradox Antiques, Art, & Oddities

An eccentric Victorian-era curiosity shop where collector Matthew Parsons deliberately juxtaposes light and dark, so a prosthetic leg might sit next to delicate antique jewelry. Beautiful chaos, and the stock turns over constantly.

The move: Give yourselves a budget and a dare to each find the single strangest object in the shop, then make the other guess what it actually is.

📍 Before you go Paradox outgrew its original 8th Street location and now fills a storefront at 723 Story Street, downtown Boone's main drag — older write-ups (and the shop's own '818' web handle) still point to the old address, so aim for Story Street. Boone is an easy day trip, about 45 minutes north of Des Moines, and the schedule skews Wednesday-through-Saturday, so don't build an early-week plan around it. The same few blocks are Boone's little vintage district — Iron Horse Antique Mall and Urban Heirlooms sit within steps — so leave time for a crawl.

• 📍 Boone
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 818 8th St., Boone, IA 50036

Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3

last checked: 2026-06-09