Susquehanna Antique Company built its Georgetown reputation on three generations of family expertise in the antiques trade, tracing back to a shop the current dealer’s grandfather opened in Port Deposit, Maryland, along the banks of the Susquehanna River. That family name followed the business south when it opened its Washington storefront at 3216 O Street NW in Georgetown around 1980, after dealer David Friedman had already spent years in the trade following in his father’s footsteps as an auctioneer and furniture specialist. What started as a family operation along a Maryland river town eventually became one of Georgetown’s most established sources for serious antiques.
Inside the O Street shop, the specialty runs toward traditional furniture and fine art rather than mid-century pieces or general collectibles: baronial dining tables, Philadelphia highboys, Continental chests, Chinese porcelains, and period artwork fill the space, alongside a notable collection of more than 600 period picture frames that collectors and interior designers have sought out over the years. Garden ornaments and statuary from the late 18th and early 19th centuries round out an inventory built around the idea that each piece carries genuine history rather than serving as simple decor. Friedman has described his approach as less about chasing trends and more about developing a knack for buying what his customers actually want, a philosophy that kept the shop relevant even as broader interest in traditional antiques cooled over the decades.
The Georgetown location sits in the historic core of the neighborhood, a short walk from the shops and restaurants along Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, in a part of the city long associated with antiques dealers and fine art galleries even as that reputation has shifted with changing retail trends. Housewares, decorative objects, and smaller collectibles fill out the shop alongside the larger furniture pieces, giving visitors a range of price points to browse whether they are furnishing an entire dining room or looking for a single decorative accent. Regular hours run Monday through Saturday from 11am to 6pm and Sunday from noon to 5pm, making it easy to fold a visit into a Georgetown afternoon of shopping or sightseeing near the C and O Canal.
What distinguishes Susquehanna from a typical antique mall or multi-dealer showroom is its single-dealer, family-run character. Friedman has positioned himself as something of an educator for customers new to serious collecting, using decades in the trade to explain why a period frame or an 18th-century garden urn carries value beyond its physical materials, framing antiques as objects that carry passion and history rather than simply furniture to fill a room. That personal, knowledge-driven approach to selling has helped the shop stand out in a Georgetown retail landscape that has seen plenty of turnover among independent antique dealers over the years.
Susquehanna Antique Company is a family-run Georgetown antiques shop specializing in traditional American, English, and European furniture, fine art, Chinese porcelain, and period frames, built on three generations of expertise dating back to a river-town shop in Port Deposit, Maryland.
