The Paddock Arcade is a 19th-century shopping mall located in
Watertown, New York
Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the ...
. Built in 1850, it is the second oldest covered shopping mall and the oldest continuously running enclosed shopping mall in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Since it has seen uninterrupted use since it opened in 1850, it carries the distinction of being the country's oldest, continuously operating covered shopping mall.
[ ''Note:'' This includes an]
''Accompanying photographs''
/ref> The Paddock Arcade was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1976.
Location and architecture
At No. 1 Public Square
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...
, the arcade remains the benchmark structure in Watertown's historic downtown district. The structure runs perpendicular to the adjoining Paddock Building. The arcade was built in the Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
style, topped with a glass roof that allowed daylight to filter through. The Paddock Building contains a 19th-century Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
facade.
History
The arcade was built by Watertown native Loveland Paddock and designed by architect Otis Wheelock. It was based on similar arcades built during that era in the United States and Europe. Shops occupied the bottom floor, while the upper floors were used for office space.Woolworth Building
The Woolworth Building is an early skyscraper, early American skyscraper designed by architect Cass Gilbert located at 233 Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was the tallest building in ...
. In the 1920s, arcade owners put forth a major redesign of the arcade, eschewing its original Gothic interior with a more modern design, which included the installation of the current translucent, steel-and-wire-glass dropped ceiling between its second and third stories.
Today
The arcade still functions as a shopping and business center in Watertown's downtown district. In recent years, structural and aesthetic improvements, coupled with new businesses are helping to guarantee the arcade's future. The arcade is the current (2013) home to Europe Cakes, Johnny D's Casual Dining, Paddock Club Tavern, Steve Weed Productions, The Village Peddler bicycle shop, Paddock Antiques, Satyana Yoga, Beauty Bar, Vito Gourmet, Bova Photography.Malls and Stores.info
/ref> In 2007, it was announced that the arcade would be host to Watertown's popular farmers' market for its extended fall season.
See also
* Public Square (Watertown, New York)
The Public Square Historic District is a Historic District that serves as an open mall in the center of Watertown, New York, containing 58 buildings, one contributing site, and three contributing objects. The district was listed on the National R ...
* Italianate architecture
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
* Gothic Revival architecture
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
* Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II () is Italy's oldest active shopping gallery and a major landmark of Milan in Italy. Housed within a four-story double arcade in the centre of town, the ''Galleria'' is named after Victor Emmanuel II, the first ki ...
* Cleveland arcade
The Arcade in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, is a Victorian-era structure of two nine-story buildings, joined by a five-story arcade with a glass skylight spanning over 300 feet (91 m), along the four balconies.[Westminster Arcade
The Westminster Arcade (also known as the Providence Arcade, Arcade Providence, or The Arcade) is a historic shopping center at 130 Westminster Street and 65 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island built in 1828. It is notable as t ...]
, the oldest enclosed shopping mall in the United States
References
External links
City of Watertown
Watertown Downtown Business Association
Official Website National Register of Historic Places
Farmers Market Moves To Arcade
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York
Shopping malls established in 1850
Shopping malls in New York (state)
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
Tourist attractions in Jefferson County, New York
Shopping arcades in the United States
National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, New York
National Register of Historic Places in Watertown, New York