Leonard Hilldale to put everything on the table

Leonard Hilldale, owner of what was formerly Save More Furniture, is putting everything on the table with an ambitious transition to The Auction Auditorium, and has a grand opening scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 1, at 11 a.m. at his 100 Elm St. location in Owego.

At this time, you will be able to preview items scheduled for auction on Sept. 1 by visiting www.auctionauditorium.com. You can also stop by their Elm Street location to preview the items between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. 

According to Hilldale, the auditorium has 400 luxury leather seats to view items available on a movie screen.

Across the hall from the auditorium is a 9,000-square-foot preview room with over 3,000 feet of display tables. There is also unlimited wall and showroom floor space available throughout the auction house.

With a 22 percent consignment rate and an 8 percent buyer’s premium, The Auction House has items already on site that will be up for auction, and is also looking to buy outright or consign individual items, private collections and estates. There is no credit card fee at the sales. You can learn more at www.theauctionauditorium.com.

Auctioneer Frank Greenwood, along with Kevin Haycook, will be calling the auctions, planned for the first Saturday of each month beginning Sept. 1.

Frank Greenwood completed his Auctioneering and Auction Sales Management at the Missouri Auction School and was given the honorary title of Colonel, a title that is a tradition dating from the Civil War.

Founded in 1905, the Missouri Auction School is the world’s oldest and largest auction school. The training includes lectures and workshops featuring prominent auctioneers from throughout the United States.

Subjects covered during the course include antiques, livestock, furniture, business liquidations, real estate, auto, machinery, general merchandise, and all types of estate auctions.

To learn more about the auctions, visit www.theauctionauditorium.com or call (607) 972-3786 or (607) 687-2709. 

In addition to preparations for The Auction Auditorium, Hilldale has also begun researching to locate several time capsules buried on his Elm Street property.

Once serving as a school in Owego, the property was purchased by Hilldale at an auction in 2009. Now, Hilldale is interested in the history that is buried on his property, and began some excavating to search for the time capsules last week.

According to Hilldale, there is a 50-year-old capsule buried on the property, another one from 1991, and a time capsule from 1987.

Although he has not been able to locate them, he is asking the public for their help and is inviting them to the Elm Street property on Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. to conduct a search. Hilldale is also hoping that someone might know about these capsules, and arrive to show him an approximate location where they were buried.

Once located, the items for the time capsule will be donated to the Tioga County Historical Society and Museum in Owego.

To learn more, call (607) 972-3786 or arrive at the property on Aug. 15. You can also email to Leonard@theauctionauditorium.com.