The Arcade Providence

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The Westminster 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 the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States and has been lauded as a fine example of commercial Greek Revival architecture. It served as a shopping center for many years before falling into decline in the late 20th century. It has since been closed for renovation and rehabilitation several times, and most recently reopened its doors in October 2013 as a residential and commercial mixed-use building. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.HistoryThe Arcade was developed as a commercial business venture by Cyrus Butler. Its preliminary design called for two floors of shops, and a third floor was added to the plans before construction began. The building was designed by Russell Warren and Tallman & Bucklin. Their design called for an arcaded lane of shops with skylights in the roof providing illumination, in emulation of similar structures then found in some European cities. Construction of the mall roughly followed the original plan, but some hasty alterations were made to meet the need for a vestibule and stairway on the Weybosset Street side of the building to provide access to the third floor. These were not well-constructed and required repairs in the 1940s.At the time of the Arcade's opening, there were few retail stores on the west side of the Providence River. Most shopping was located on the east side or Cheapside district. The arcade was slow to attract customers and was known as "Butler's Folly" for many years because of its distance from the retail districts. This changed when a fashionable hat shop opened next door which attracted wealthy female customers to the neighborhood. After that, Westminster Street and downtown developed into a major shopping area.