Daniel Prosky

Daniel Prosky

The two shopping areas are vastly different—the first, obvious difference is that Copley Place and the Prudential Center are indoor shopping malls, and Newbury Street is an outdoor street lined with individual shops. That being said, the traffic throughout much of these locations was nearly identical. On a weekday, mostly tourists wandered the shops. Newbury Street was far more crowded, and seemed to be a far more exciting location to visit. The interior of the Copley Place and Prudential Center malls appeared a far more controlled shopping environment—few food options and the indoor, mostly artificially-lit arena contributed to a far less compelling experience. In addition to that, the mall’s waterfall and planters make an ineffective attempt at suggesting outdoor space, where Newbury Street’s charming tree-lined avenue and cute brownstone buildings, along with literally being outdoors, strongly outshine the indoor malls. Furthermore, Copley Place and the Prudential Center are a mix of shopping areas and office buildings. During rush hour, their proximity to Back Bay Station filled them and their surrounding areas with commuters racing to their trains and buses. Newbury Street, in contrast, remained mostly unaffected by the onset of rush hour. Newbury street serves well as a location to visit and stroll through while the malls in Copley Place and the Prudential Center proves useful only as a place to go to make purchases or go to work.