Arcade (architecture)
See arcade for other uses of the term. |
The Cleveland Arcade in downtown Cleveland (late 1960s) |
An
arcade is a passage or walkway covered over by a succession of
arches or
vaults supported by columns, or else it is a covered passage fronted by a series of arches.
In cities, buildings along their street-level fronts, the interior faces of
city walls, and
bridges covered by arcades all became popular locations for small shops and stalls. They were protected from sun and weather and attracted considerable, guaranteed foot traffic. Over time, the term "arcade" came to be used specifically for streets lined with small vendors. (Roofed-over arcades, known in Italy as
gallerias, later developed into
shopping malls.)
The term was also adopted by
carnivals and
amusement parks, where the row of shops selling food and other goods were joined by those offering
games of various sorts and were called "amusement arcades" or "midways". Amusement arcades were later opened as permanent establishments called
penny arcades. The games came to be known as
arcade games, and since the explosion of electronic games in the
1970s these establishments became known as
video arcades.
*
Burlington Arcade,
London*
Cardiff city arcades. Cardiff
*
Cleveland Arcade,
Cleveland, Ohio*
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II,
Milan*
Galleria Subalpina,
Turin*
Galleria Umberto I,
Naples*
Westminster Arcade,
Providence,
Rhode Island*
Real Monasterio de Nuestra Senora de Rueda,
Aragon Province, Spain
*
The Arcade,
Redhill, Surrey,
England*
Nickles Arcade,
Ann Arbor, Michigan
