Photo by James Coreas
The place does not announce itself boldly. It is slightly hidden off the main thoroughfare (Skillman) at 6830 Walling, yet it has not escaped the eyes of Lake Highlands’ astute treasure hunters. Advocate readers named City View Antique Mall best gift shopping in Lake Highlands, and it is a win for sundry antiques dealers — City View is home to 65 of them.
Lake Highlands residents Joan Williams, sister Ellen Paulsen and their mom Joan Paulsen opened their first antique store on Greenville in 1990. They relocated to the design district (father Max Paulsen and sons, by the way, own a fantastic store there called Lots of Furniture) where they gained a loyal following.
After a decade on Riverfront, they moved and opened the Lake Highlands store two years ago. They purchased the property partly due to the amount of land out back that allows for the bi-annual market that showcases dozens of extra vendors, Williams says. It’s held every April and October and is a big deal, she adds.
City View is respected by collectors and designers because they have a fairly strict policy that requires vendors to stick to antiques, Williams notes.
“Some of the malls we’ve seen carry new items, mixing them with antiques, or retro, things from say the 1970s, and we frown on that. Sure, there will be things here and there that are new, or retro, but they have to be clearly marked as such. We try to keep it pure antiques.”
One of the exceptions to the new-market-item rule is a wildly popular product called Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan, which City View vendor Karla Ritchie carries at her Lady Butterbug shop inside the mall.
The Store in Lake Highlands (10233 E. Northwest) and Makers Connect (10242 E. Northwest) are runner up and third place, respectively, in the Best Shopping category.
