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The Showplace Antiques Center is across the street from one flea market and down the block from another, but there’s nothing flea-bitten about this four-floor retail arcade. Over 150 individually-owned "shops" sell fine antiques with guaranteed authenticity. While it’s impossible to predict what arcana will turn up from week to week, offerings are strong on jewelry and decorative items like lamps, paintings, and art pottery. Prices are kept reasonable by an eagle-eyed clientele that skews toward industry types, with collectors brandishing resale certificates alongside decorators clutching paint chips. (Many other customers are overseas tourists exercising strong currencies against the dollar.) The Showplace is open seven days a week, but most dealers are shuttered on weekdays. As with other flea markets, serious buyers show up early on Saturdays for the freshest merch; but unlike the competition, the Showplace accepts credit cards and has delivery. Conveniently, there are also bathrooms and a small café. — Karen Tina Harrison

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