Rediscovering The Arcades Of Paris

"Their heyday was brief. Later trends in consumer architecture — notably the mid-century department store, another Paris invention — rendered these small-scale archetypes passé. This didn’t prevent other countries from copying a proven model. Glass-enclosed, sunlit bazaars soon appeared around the world. Every suburban galleria where you amble among a warren of upscale stores protected from the elements can trace its ancestry to the Paris arcades.

For a while the passages were frequented largely by architecture students and social historians curious to see where the shopping mall was born. But the city has in recent decades made an effort to commemorate their cultural importance (most have historical markers at their entrances) and to restore them as pleasure domes. Several have undergone thorough renovations and are again chic shopping destinations.

Even if you buy nothing, the reverberant acoustics and filtered light in any arcade make a stroll-through a worthwhile excursion. Like the factory loft and the barge canal, they are sentimental ruins of the industrial past and, as such, full of atmosphere for the post-modern tourist."