Sylvia Antiques relocating
Historic Ray's Court building to house specialty pieces
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Handsome reminders of eras gone by line every wall and fill the floor spaces in the historic Ray's Court home of Sylvia Antiques. Some pieces are polished, some painted, and all were hand crafted before the advent of screws, power tools and short-cutting of quality in the pursuit of mass manufacturing. These fine items of furniture, sea chests and folk art are the treasured remnants that John Sylvia grew up with. He now represents his family's third generation to running the respected antiques business, and is about to make a move to the modern side.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent John Sylvia: "I'm moving forward. There is no such thing as a standing business. You are either moving forward or backward. I'm expanding. I'm happy to increase the business."

This month, Sylvia is relocating the shop to 167 Orange St. and hopes to be open by Daffodil Weekend. He anticipates using 6 Ray's Court for storage of inventory that does not fit at the Orange Street building, as well as for particularly unique pieces he will show only by appointment.

Sylvia Antiques was founded in 1927 by Frank F. Sylvia, who also opened a shop on Charles Street in Boston. The senior Sylvia first did business in the former Hardy's building on South Water Street and, in the 1930s, had a second island location on the corner of India and Centre Streets. In 1941 he bought Zero Main Street - now referred to as Zero Main on the front and Zero Washington on the side - and moved the business there. In 1949 he purchased the early 19th century building on Ray's Court where clients including Jackie Kennedy, Bill Blass, the Duponts and other notables came to find antiques for their homes.

Sylvia operated from both Ray's Court and Zero Main Street with his sons, Richard and Frank Jr. helping out. Shortly after their father's death in 1979, Richard Sylvia took over at Ray's Court and his brother maintained the downtown shop until a couple of years ago. When Richard died in 2003, his son, John, became head of the business.

"I can't do anything else," he joked.

John Sylvia explained that his mother Roberta "Bobbie" Sylvia now lives in Sherburne Commons and has no need for the rambling Ray's Court property. Because it is anticipated that someday she will want to sell the building, John Sylvia decided to take advantage of an opportunity to move the majority of the shop to a vacant Orange Street location owned by Robert Mooney. He likes the idea of having the business more visible than in the tucked away Ray's Court spot, and plans to cull the current inventory and only keep the types of antiques he favors and respects.

"My personality will really come out. I like early American and I have a special thing for early 19th century Nantucket art," he said, adding that the family has also owned Four Winds Craft Guild at the Pacific Club for 25 years. "I'm moving forward. There is no such thing as a standing business. You are either moving forward or backward. I'm expanding.

I'm happy to increase the business." I