Elena Breer

Elena Breer

My map of Newbury Street is actually a combination of multiple segments of Newbury: the image of the street and walkways depict the segment between Gloucester and Dartmouth, where the storefronts, which are former residential spaces turned commercial, are abutted by small, gated gardens. This street segment however is disjointed from its actual location and is instead depicted as adjoining to Boylston, which runs along the Boston Public Garden. I did this in light of our recent discussions concerning how the pastoral appeal of natural gardens attracts society’s upper classes—exactly the type of people who would do their shopping in a high-end commercial space like Newbury Street. My map also depicts a bold black line of storefronts, with the shop entryways marked by blue lines. This demonstrates the vague sense of separation and inaccessibility that I—a person who does not typically shop such high-end brands—felt while passing through the space. In comparison, the shops in Copley Center, which were for the most part just as high-end as those on Newbury, felt somewhat more accessible because of the casual, communal nature of shopping malls. Because I felt more integrated into the atmosphere, I was more comfortable entering into a high-end store in Copley than I would have been entering into an equally pricy store on Newbury. The mall also featured multiple layers of elevated walkways and various overlapping shopping levels, which were easily accessible by a series of escalators, elevators, and staircases that connected all the traffic areas in a somewhat complex network. The walkways were wide, and the high ceilings and glass architecture contributed to a sense of spaciousness that is often associated with affluence. The Copley equivalent to Newbury’s small front yard gardens was its central atrium, an area with a water feature and live plants, surrounded by seating. Prudential had a similar parallel: its large outdoor courtyard, which features a grassy area, trees, and a fountain. Interestingly, the transition from Copley to Prudential brought about some noticeable atmospheric changes. The walkways of Prudential were narrower and divided down the center by kiosks selling cheap wares. The shops were also more diverse and slightly less high-end than Copley’s, although this may have been a false perception influenced by the less grand atmosphere of the Prudential shopping center, and also the fact that some commercial spaces were empty due to construction.