DISCOVERY / NEWPORT ANTIQUE MALL

There are malls and there are malls.

Newport Antique Mall may be in the same city as the mega South Coast Plaza mall, but the comparisons end there.

The 8,400 square feet of the 8 1/2-year old antique mall are stuffed with antique furniture and collectibles in about 45 rooms of various sizes.

Antique and collectibles dealers rent space to sell their goods.

According to owner Marilyn Powell, the ground rules are that all pieces sold at the mall must be authentic antiques (no reproductions) and older collectibles. No contemporary handmade crafts are allowed. The prices are set by the dealers.

Most of the dealers specialize in a particular type of antique or collectible, Powell says. To get them, “they attend auctions, go to estate sales or on buying trips across the country to put together a collection.”

Many of the mall’s rooms, therefore, have a theme. Unusual old toys, for instance, dominate an upstairs room, where you might see Raggedy Ann dolls resting beside antique toy firetrucks. In another, antique and unusual kitchen utensils dominate.

“The dealers can get pretty specific,” Powell said. “One might prefer Victorian furniture, or English or American.”

Speaking of furniture, Powell says her mall probably has a greater variety than most other antique malls, which tend to emphasize smaller collectible items.

A second location, to be called Newport Antiques, will open next month on Brookhurst Street in Garden Grove, Powell said.

“It will based on the same premise, and we’ll have at least 35 dealers there,” she said.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday-Saturday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday

Address: 1957 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa

Telephone: (714) 645-4272