ARCADES
In this Pre-Malls exhibit, we explore the history of the centralized shopping center, which had its beginnings in antiquity and evolved, in the late 1940s, into the standard, United States-style shopping mall.
One of the earliest shopping center incarnations, a roofed commercial passageway, was built in Damascus, Syria in the 600s and is still in use. The concept was introduced in Europe with an enclosed gallery of shops. This was built in Saint Petersburg, Russia between 1757 and 1785.
Showing posts with label Arcades and Early Shopping Centers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arcades and Early Shopping Centers. Show all posts
Damascus, Syria's AL-HAMIDIYAH SOUQ has been in operation since the seventh century. This weather-protected bazaar extends for 1,300 feet.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Bernard Gagnon"
A 19th century rendering of St. Petersburg's GOSTINY DVOR. The commercial complex, dedicated August 19, 1785, took 28 years to complete. In its original state, it encompassed 570,000 square feet and housed 100 shoppes. Today, it is one of The Continent's most upscale shopping venues.
Drawing from Wikipedia / "Ghirlandajo"
Nearly 150 enclosed shopping arcades were built in Paris between the late 18th and mid-19th centuries. Twelve of these survive to this day. Britain's first arcade-type structure was completed, in Oxford, in 1774. The concept was also tried successfully in London, Brussels, Naples and Milan, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
London's BURLINGTON ARCADE first traded to the public in 1819. It opened with seventy-two 2-storey shoppes. Over the years, some of these were combined. Today, there is a total of forty.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Solipsist"
The ROYAL ARCADE opened, in Melbourne, Australia, in May 1870. There are presently thirty-four shoppes in the complex, which was renovated between 2002 and 2004.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Biatch"
The world's very first "Galleria" retail complex consisted of two criss-cross concourses which met at a dramatic, 96-foot-high, octagonal atrium.
Photo from Wikipedia / "G. Dallorto"
A contemporary view of GALLERIA VITTORIO EMANUELE II. The shopping venue features tony tenants, such as Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton. It also has a McDonald's!
Photo from Wikipedia / "Alterboy"
The shopping arcade debuted in the United States in 1828. Over the next 90 years, several more were built. A partial listing of these would include the following;
PULLMAN'S ARCADE (1885) {Chicago, Illinois},
CLEVELAND ARCADE (1890) {Cleveland, Ohio},
NASHVILLE ARCADE (1902) {Nashville, Tennessee},
DAYTON ARCADE (1904) {Dayton, Ohio},
PLANKINTON ARCADE (1916) {Milwaukee, Wisconsin}
and
PEACHTREE ARCADE (1917) {Atlanta, Georgia}.
Sometimes classed as shopping malls, arcades are really not malls in the traditional sense. The (quote / unquote) "shopping mall," which debuted in the early 1950s, was suburban in orientation and regional in scope. The typical "mall" was surrounded by a large auto parking lot and featured at least one large department store as its "anchor."
Arcades were always located in a central city and were not regional in format. They were never situated in the middle of a vast parking area and their retail area was, more often than not, leased to small, boutique-type stores.
The traditional mall and shopping arcade do share one similarity. All arcades -and most malls- feature a fully-enclosed shopping concourse.
PULLMAN'S ARCADE (1885) {Chicago, Illinois},
CLEVELAND ARCADE (1890) {Cleveland, Ohio},
NASHVILLE ARCADE (1902) {Nashville, Tennessee},
DAYTON ARCADE (1904) {Dayton, Ohio},
PLANKINTON ARCADE (1916) {Milwaukee, Wisconsin}
and
PEACHTREE ARCADE (1917) {Atlanta, Georgia}.
Sometimes classed as shopping malls, arcades are really not malls in the traditional sense. The (quote / unquote) "shopping mall," which debuted in the early 1950s, was suburban in orientation and regional in scope. The typical "mall" was surrounded by a large auto parking lot and featured at least one large department store as its "anchor."
Arcades were always located in a central city and were not regional in format. They were never situated in the middle of a vast parking area and their retail area was, more often than not, leased to small, boutique-type stores.
The traditional mall and shopping arcade do share one similarity. All arcades -and most malls- feature a fully-enclosed shopping concourse.
Providence, Rhode Island's WESTMINSTER ARCADE was the first such structure built in the Western Hemisphere. Designed by Russell Warren and James Bucklin, the complex was completed in 1828.
Photo from Library of Congress
WESTMINSTER ARCADE was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
Photo from Library of Congress
The facility narrowly escaped demolition in 1944. It was given a 3 million dollar refurbishment in 1979-1980, but was shuttered in December 2008 for another renovation. This was completed in October 2013.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Nutmegger"
The Buckeye State's CLEVELAND ARCADE was envisaged by John M. Eisenmann and George H. Smith. The structure, which opened its doors in May 1890, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 1973. It was given a 60 million dollar renovation, which was completed in May 2001. At this time, the facility was incorporated into a hotel complex.
Photo from Library of Congress
EARLY SHOPPING CENTERS
The advent of the automobile in the early 1900s brought drastic changes to the United States retail industry. At the time, commerce was centralized in the downtown areas of America's cities and towns, with very few shopping options available in the outlying suburbs.
This began to change in the period immediately before -and after- World War 1. A group of dilapidated buildings in the downtown district of Lake Forest, Illinois were razed and replaced by a "car-friendly" complex of retail structures. This heralded the start of a new age in American retail.
The advent of the automobile in the early 1900s brought drastic changes to the United States retail industry. At the time, commerce was centralized in the downtown areas of America's cities and towns, with very few shopping options available in the outlying suburbs.
This began to change in the period immediately before -and after- World War 1. A group of dilapidated buildings in the downtown district of Lake Forest, Illinois were razed and replaced by a "car-friendly" complex of retail structures. This heralded the start of a new age in American retail.
Chicagoland's MARKET SQUARE, in suburban Lake Forest, was completed in April 1917. It was the nation's first planned retail complex designed to accommodate shoppers arriving by automobile.
Photo from http://www.lflbhistory.org / Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society
The original plan for the center, which was designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw. It was built for 750 thousand (1917) dollars and housed twenty-four stores, twelve offices and twenty-eight apartment units. There was approximately 64,000 square feet of retail space.
Original drawing from www.idaillinois.org / Illinois Digital Architecture
In May 1928, Chicago-based Marshall Field & Company opened its first suburban branch in Lake Forest. The store moved into this MARKET SQUARE building in March 1931. It was enlarged, taking in all of the first floor and basement, in August 1931. In May 1941, the second floor (which had housed a YWCA) was also acquired. All operations of Marshall Field's were rebranded by Macy's in September 2006. The MARKET SQUARE store was shuttered in January 2008.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Slo-Mo"
Kansas City, Missouri's COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA was the first regional-class, "car culture" shopping center in the nation. The complex was developed by J.C. Nichols and designed by Edward Buehler Delk, George E. Kessler and Edward W. Tanner. Its first structure, known as the Suydam ["Soo-dam"] Building, opened for business in March 1923.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Charvex"
Click here for our in-depth COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA article...
http://shoppingmallmuseum.blogspot.com/search/label/Kansas%20City%27s%20Country%20Club%20Plaza
OTHER SIGNIFICANT 1920s SHOPPING CENTERS:
SUBURBAN SQUARE, a fixture in Philadelphia's tony Main Line region, opened in
1928. Originally known as HESTOBEEN SQUARE, the complex was renamed in 1936.
Strawbridge & Clothier opened one of the nation's first branch department stores
here in May 1930.
Photo from the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians / "The Diffusion of
the Community Shopping Center Concept during the Interwar Decades" / Richard Longstreth
WESTWOOD VILLAGE an on-street collection of shopping, dining and entertainment venues, opened -in the western environs of Los Angeles- in 1929. The domed building on the right originally housed offices for the Janss Investment Company, who developed the shopping center.
Photo from Hoover (Thelner B.) and Hoover (Louise E. B.) photographic collection / https://digital.library.ucla.edu
Greater Cleveland's SHAKER SQUARE was a de facto downtown for the Shaker
Heights planned community. The shopping center was serviced by the Shaker
Rapid, a streetcar network connecting the southeastern suburbs with downtown
Cleveland. The line began revenue service in April 1920, with the first SHAKER SQUARE stores opening in October 1929.
Photo from https://www.shakersquare.net
Washington, DC's CONNECTICUT AVENUE PARK & SHOP courted its first customers in December 1930. The shopping complex, one of the first in the nation to provide an off-street parking area, was developed by Herbert Shannon and Morton Luchs and designed by Arthur Heaton.
Photo from Library of Congress
The PARK & SHOP encompassed 59,000 square feet of selling space and originally housed fourteen stores and services. Among these were Woodley Foods & Liquors A & P Market, Sanitary Food Stores Piggly Wiggly Market, Whittlesey's Drug Store and Jimmie's Ladies Beauty & Bobber Salon.
In January 1931, stores in the "Unit B" building at HIGHLAND PARK SHOPPING VILLAGE opened for business. These included an A & P Market and Hunt Grocery Company store. This Greater Dallas complex was perhaps the most innovative of all those mentioned thus far. Its store fronts faced inward, instead of onto a street.
Photo from www.hpvillage.com
Click here for our in-depth HIGHLAND PARK VILLAGE article...
http://shoppingmallmuseum.blogspot.com/search/label/Dallas%27%20Highland%20Park%20Village
The next advancement in the evolution of the American shopping center took place between 1935 and 1939. Three New Deal-era "Greenbelt Towns" were built, which had suburban-style shopping complexes as their downtown areas. GREENBELT CENTER, in Greenbelt, Maryland, made its debut in December 1937.
Photo from Library of Congress / Marion Post Wolcott
Click here for our in-depth GREENBELT CENTER article...
http://shoppingmallmuseum.blogspot.com/search/label/Maryland%27s%20Greenbelt%20Center
Next was Greater Cincinnati's GREENHILLS CENTER, whose stores began opening in July 1938.
Photo from Library of Congress / John Vachon
Click here for our in-depth GREENHILLS CENTER article...
http://shoppingmallmuseum.blogspot.com/search/label/Ohio%27s%20Greenhills%20Center
Tenants in Greater Milwaukee's GREENDALE CENTER (a.k.a. GREENDALE VILLAGE CENTER) began business in September 1938.
Photo from Library of Congress / John Vachon
Click here for our in-depth GREENDALE CENTER article...
http://shoppingmallmuseum.blogspot.com/search/label/Wisconsin%27s%20Greendale%20Center
The Linda Vista development, north of San Diego, was built in the early 1940s to house defense plant workers. Its defacto downtown, LINDA VISTA PLAZA, is seen in the diagram above. Although hurriedly put together, the PLAZA advanced several concepts that would be used in America's first mall-type shopping centers.
Original drawing from http://history.sandiego.edu / "Evolution of the Shopping Center" / Steven E. Schoenher
A physical layout of the original LINDA VISTA PLAZA. Its first store, a Safeway grocery, welcomed its first patrons in February 1943. The complex encompassed 82,000 square feet, with a retail roster of twelve stores and services. Its less-than-ample parking area accommodated 240 automobiles.
Original drawing from http://history.sandiego.edu / "Evolution of the Shopping Center" / Steven E. Schoenherr
LINDA VISTA PLAZA was situated around a landscaped courtyard. A movie theater was added in the early 1950s. By the early '70s, the historic center had declined into a dilapidated, graffiti-ridden eyesore. It was demolished in 1972 and replaced with a traditional strip plaza.
Photo from Online Archive of California / Huntington Library Photo Archives / Maynard Parker
Midwest City, Oklahoma, another defense-based development, featured an ultra-modern strip shopping center as its commercial hub. Business began at ATKINSON PLAZA in May 1943. The first major shopping complex completed after the war, BELLEVUE SHOPPING SQUARE {in Bellevue, Washington}, would open for business in August 1946.
Photo from http://www.flickr.com / White Chipmunk's Photostream / Atkinson Heritage Center
Click here for our in-depth ATKINSON PLAZA article...
http://shoppingmallmuseum.blogspot.com/search/label/Midwest%20City%20Oklahoma%27s%20Atkinson%20Plaza
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