Dead or alive, the real things in Paxton Gate not only seem odd, but unbelievable

By Brendan Barry

The odd, the unusual and the unbelievable. This is not Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Venture down to the hustle and bustle street of 20th and Valencia and you will find yourself in a fascination of our natural world.

Exotic animal heads are hung on every square inch of the rafters. Unusual plants mark the entrance. The atmosphere in the store takes you to another world; you have to look outside to be reminded you are in the Mission.

Paxton Gate accommodates all levels of curiosity, from your veteran taxidermy collector to the young one who is enrolled in one of its insect-mounting classes. Its inspiration is drawn from 1800’s botanist, architect and natural sciences expert Sir Joseph Paxton.

Daniel Libby and his three kids walk in and are immediately fascinated by the exotic insects mounted in a glass case. “This place is a trip, you get to see stuff like this close up that you normally don’t get to see anywhere,” said Daniel. As his oldest and most curious son, 8-year-old Aiden tugs on his jacket pocket, he points to a ferocious leopard above the cash register staring down at them. Of course the leopard has been dead for some number of years but these are the usual reactions from customers.

Founded in 1992 by landscape designer Sean Quigley, Paxton Gate began as an eccentric gardening store with a hint of natural sciences. As time progressed and clientele began to push for the more bizarre side of nature, insects and taxidermy became a relevant focus for the store. When you tinker in unusual subjects such as this, demands and requests go in obtuse directions at times. “We get unusual requests daily for weird taxidermy, people are always trying to bring in their dead cats and dogs to get mounted,” said retail manager Kylea Borges. “We specialize in exotic animals like leopards, antelope and mooses. We have held classes on how to stuff your pet mouse, but that’s as far as we’ll go on doing taxidermy in house.”

All of the taxidermy is on consignment, refurbished and sold from a private collection. “Most of it is antique and over a hundred years old,” said Paxton Forgue, sales associate and no relation to the stores inspiration, Sir. Joseph Paxton.

For many patrons, items displayed in Paxton Gate are as close as they get to nature in the city. Once they walk through the doors, they either get transported to high school biology class or the San Francisco Zoo. Ian Perdikodimus stands with his wife looking for a possible gift. He thinks Paxton Gate is better than the zoo. “It’s free to walk in, that’s a plus, and at the zoo sometimes you can’t see the animals. Here you can look at them close up and see all of their features.”

Recently, Paxton Gate introduced their children’s store, Paxton Gate’s curiosity for kids, just a couple of doors down on 766 Valencia Street. Like their parent store, the Curiosities For Kids shop has a wide assortment of odd and beautiful objects. Not quite ready to give your 9-year-old a mounted deer head? Curiosity for kids offers mounted teddy bear heads. “Kids would come into the main store and be fascinated with the bugs and fossils, so we opened up a children’s store to give them a place to learn about natural sciences in an educational atmosphere.” Borges continued to say, “This caters to the kids in the neighborhood and offers them something different than plastic toys.”

“We are constantly taking notes and trying to cater to our clientele as best as we can,” said Borges. The main store, which is located at 824 Valencia Street, was formerly associated with the Bromeliad Society who promote and maintain public and scientific interest in the research, development and preservation of all natural sciences. Paxton Gate is always welcome to the strange and unique aspects of our natural world.