We have a small early 19th c. one. There are quite a lot around the country. This lovely one's in Norwich, Norfolk. I was there last autumn.

There are two arcades in Cleveland. Beautiful architecture!

I've been to the ones in London. They are lovely. Now I have to get to Cleveland!

Cleveland’s old arcade is beautiful! I worked across the street at the Fed when I first graduated from college and walked through it frequently.

How about this arcade?

I always thought the mall, a section of it, would be great for a senior housing community. Indoor walkability, food, add a grocery and pharmacy (not many US malls have those). One big drawback is the lack of natural light and air, and distance to your car. When my dad was in sklled care, I thought it would be so nice to just wheel down the hall to a restaurant, or go shopping and he could select the shirt, or toothpaste, or whatever, that he wanted, because he was absolutely capable of that, and missed that part of his autonomy. My aunt is in independent living, but no longer drives but gets around with her walker, and relies on the bus to go to the grocery store or wherever, but their time is limited and tightly scheduled. And she’d love to eat lunch or dinner somewhere else besides the dining room with the same people, on a whim.

I saw the heading and I immediately thought of two arcades I know of. Both are in beach communities.

One in Santa Cruz, at the Boardwalk:

The other used to be called the Fun Zone in Balboa (Newport Beach)

You're obviously referring to a different kind.

They're rather common in Europe in urban centers, in older buildings. Maybe these were the first form of shopping centers. In French, such places are called "passages" or "passage couverts"or "galeries".

I was ready to reply that we have a Dave and Busters at our mall, but realized you were talking about something way more beautiful.

"The Arcade is a historic landmark in the heart of downtown Nashville, TN. Built in 1902 and modeled after the famous arcade, Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele, in Milan, Italy, the property has been completely restored with the help of the talented local architects at Dryden Studio. Covering nearly five acres and spanning two city blocks, our vision is to showcase The Arcade as it was originally conceived—a thriving, mixed-use epicenter for downtown Nashville."

I think it's pretty interesting that it continues to thrive and is the epicenter for downtown.

I did wonder how many other US cities have them, since it's an old world thought that exists even in the south? That's an odd mixture.

floral, yours are lovely!

I had the same understanding as chisue- I thought of gaming arcades. These are absolutely beautiful.

It reminds me of Westside Pavillion in West L.A.

I used to shop there a bit when I lived in Culver City or when I would go to F&S Fabrics across the street from the mall.

The Beverly Center also has skylights:

and I used to shop there also.

I remember that large shopping malls in Texas generally had skylights. It probably saved on electricity.

I’m not sure if this is an arcade. West Edmonton Mall in central Alberta has a mall with 800 stores, an NHL sized hockey rink, a waterpark, a full size replica of the Nina or the Pinta or the Santa Maria. I can’t remember which one.

I don’t shop there.

There are places like this all over Europe. There were many in the US that have been torn down. It was a way to have lots of shops in one location, protected from the elements, with glass to still let light in.

Cleveland had in incredible one.

Philadelphia has The Bourse, which had become a hipster food court that I believe is now permanently closed.

Kendrah, I think I was in that one in Cleveland. My husband and I were in Cleveland for a business convention many years ago and I remember shopping in a beautiful downtown place.

arcade(n.)

1731, "vaulted space" (as arcado from 1640s), via French arcade, which probably is from Italian arcata "arch of a bridge," from arco "arc," from Latin arcus "a bow, arch" (see arc (n.)).

The English word was applied to passages formed by a succession of arches supported on piers or pillars, avenues of trees, and ultimately to any covered avenue (1731), especially one lined with shops (1795) or amusements; hence arcade game ”

This is in Dayton Ohio

Built between 1902 and 1904 and consists of nine interconnecting buildings topped by a glass-domed rotunda

These are all amazingly beautiful, and I think the timeframe overlaps for all of them? It must have been a thing back then. Thank you for sharing.

" I think the timeframe overlaps for all of them? "

That's perhaps true in the US but not so much in Europe, where the building style originated.

A search led to Wiki, I have no info other than what I found. Outdoor markets with roofs existed in the 16th century. The first "modern" shopping arcade is thought to be the Covered Market in Oxford, which opened in 1755.

Some cut and paste info:

" Examples of these grand shopping arcades include: Palais Royal in Paris (opened in 1784); Passage de Feydeau in Paris (opened in 1791); London's Piccadilly Arcade (1810) and Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele (1878). "

" Other notable nineteenth century grand arcades include the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert in Brussels which was inaugurated in 1847 and Istanbul's Çiçek Pasajı opened in 1870. Shopping arcades were the precursor to the modern shopping mall, and the word "arcade" is now often used for malls which do not use the architectural form at all. "

Paris has almost two dozen of them.

Apparently the one in Nashville was inspired by Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele in Milan. I haven't been to the one in Nashville but I have been to the Vittorio Emmanuele - it is lovely.

Ours is lovely. And I meant, those in the US are the same timeframe. Not all. Nothing in America is as historic as Europe.