Arcades

Arcades were relatively common in American cities of every size. There might have been one in your town.

The Cleveland Arcade runs between Superior and Euclid, taking advantage of a change in level, effectively giving it two “ground floors.” Above those are three more levels of small shops and professional offices. Wauseon, at the other side of the state, built a smaller but equally effective arcade that survived for ninety years, only to be destroyed by fire. I had hoped Agincourt might develop its own through-the-block climate-controlled pedestrian-friendly shopping experience, but the occasion never occurred.

De Bijenkorf, Agincourt’s department store, might have some of Wauseon’s qualities. It runs only from street to alley, just 140 feet, but the alley is covered with its own 140 feet of glazed roof [an excuse to imagine the community’s own iron foundry]. It’s the closest I’ve been able to get to these two beautiful examples.