Karen Tocatly

Karen Tocatly

Visiting Copley Place/Prudential Center and Newbury street consecutively, one is struck by differential effects resulting from the use of outdoor/indoor elements in each: Copley Place/Prudential Center makes use of immense natural light, shining in from skylights as well as glass structures throughout the buildings. This outdoor “ruggedness” contrasts with the regal accents salient throughout the mall (crimson, gold colors) – which would theoretically create a luxurious experience that is separate from the stark concrete of Boston, and encompass “the best of both (outdoor and indoor) worlds”. However, the bustling, commercial atmosphere, with flashy stores lining every corridor, offsets any soothing effect of the natural light. And one has the sense that people have a fixed, practical intent in visiting the mall, walking purposefully to their intended destination. The entrances and exits from the mall are typically revolving doors – as if intended to transport visitors from an unadorned, pale domain to a lively realm of indulgence. Newbury Street, on the other hand, adopts elements of the pleasing uniformity of an indoor mall – or perhaps of Disneyland - in its homogenously brick red buildings, wide sidewalks, and signature cleanliness. Although when first entering the street one can immediately sense the lively distinction from the rest of the city (simulating, in a way, the divisive effect of a shopping mall), storefronts blend in more seamlessly here, preventing the chaotic effect at Copley Place/Prudential Center and promoting a leisurely, slow- paced, almost park-like atmosphere. The variety in the building adornments and shapes serves to offset the artificiality of such a setting, but the occasional “sandwich board” dotting the sidewalk provides a break in such ideality – reminding us of the inherently commercial nature of this street.