Quinn Mulholland

Quinn Mulholland

As I walked through Copley Place and the Prudential Center, I was struck by how the visual experience of the mall changed, both in terms of types of stores and in terms of aesthetics. Copley Place seemed to be mostly high-end fashion retailers, and there was little natural light. The floor added to the sense of luxury, being made of marble and brick, although the ceiling offered a somewhat disorienting contrast, with bare lightbulbs and metal pipes that would normally be hidden exposed. There were a few benches, but very few people were using them; most people seemed to be on their way to somewhere else. Prudential Center, meanwhile, had an abundance of natural light because the ceilings were made of glass. There were also many more plants benches in the main arteries, and more people sitting down.

Going from this mall to Newbury Street was interesting, because there were a lot of
similarities, but some important differences. Newbury had similar types of stores,
although perhaps more restaurants and coffee shops, and it was also similar to a
private mall in that similar types of stores were grouped together (restaurants on its
western side and clothing stores to the east). However, the public nature of the
street made the experience walking through it much different from that of walking
through a mall. I passed several beggars on the street, while there weren’t any in the
mall. This is probably a function of the visible police presence in the mall (I didn’t
see any police officers on Newbury) as well as the accessible nature of Newbury’s
entrances and exits, since they were public streets, rather than doors. This also
resulted in a lot of people on the street that weren’t necessarily shopping but simply
passing through.