ae VARIATIONS ON A THEME PARK The New American City Michael Sorkin and the End of _ Public Space o HILL anv WANG © A division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux + New YorkCh © 1982 by Maal akin Capit © 192 by Lng ier ‘Gril © 192 by Tre Boy Capea © 192 Megat Chord To Joan “Crh © 190 by Nl ih apie © 12 by Erde ‘Sh © 1980 by le Dai ihe 8192 Mie Baer “Mngt reed Preah Une ef Ar ibid sity» Gade by Haptic ‘Dene Fre Hoe Tie 1092 Leary of Cong Caan in Pbaion Dota Sarton hme pork: The Ne meicon iy and hE of Pui Spc / “head thn tet by Mt Stn ft a 1. hind Unie Se 2 Cy pain Ute Stee 9 Gia tn Unt Stn 4 Poser (ied Stan Sorkin Meher “etch, Manel for pant egrdeLep wr’s (ARVARD UNIVERSITY mun 91 1552 ye Fences Loe Lary vat . ‘encune Sool of Dei x AMHO%OS Tha L. Leeb FindContents Inoduetion: Variations on a'Theme Perk xi | ‘The World in a Shopping Mall 3 | Silicon Valley Mystery House 31 New City, New Frontier: The Lower East Side ‘as Wild, Wild West 61 at Inside Exopolis: Scenes from Orange County 94 Underground anal Overheads Bling th AnalogousFortress Los Angeles: The Mili fof Urban Space 154 Cites for Sale: Merchandising History ‘at South Street Seaport 181 See You in Disneyland 205 Notes 283 ‘The Conteibutors 251 MICHAEL SORKIN Introduction: Variations on a Theme Park With the presi presence fa tre Master ofthe iver, Wale Wrinon eens declared that “the 400 tlephowe number andthe rer of plat have made ine and pace bslae:" Weston ought Io know As fone CEO ofthe sggetivey named Cieop, he's true Barn Haamean for he cern ge plowing te bow lear af opin theagh te pliant mars of teal cmon, “This compaion it rcan oe ip: Wrinos remutk begs fumdacenal quaions about urban. Comper, cre car pines finn aod aber inarumens finsant eral decency Seay evicting eps propane es tert of the ey Indedy cent years have seen the emergence th awholly new Kind of ety, city without a place atached th “This ageorapicl cy pacalary advanced in he Us Smee vob in clamps of sera ig from ell Sis next othe Inert ge shopping sal, sacred by ther ational chain department ween stead by ewer tf eam in hermesealy sealed ema hous cloned fre at tout in uniform “histone” ernicaon and five mares in Se gee spat fnew aan vo er ted ie Se tntcana bole of hundred lion vot from Beaucut to Simi Valley, n the cons of ctlite dies po athe same gropnettoous Bip ll scking Arve sl the ‘team out of th aber Is fac te suture of thi iy sae ite tein, TV's sin event tect teen beeen roads sheaMARGARET CRAWFORD The World in a Shopping Mall Larger than s hundred fodbal elds, dhe West Edmonton Mall is seccording to the Guinness Book of Record, the largest shopping fnall in the work, At 52 million square fet, the world’s first ‘megamall is nearly twice as large as Une runner-up, the Del Amo Mall in Los Angeles, which covers only 3 milion square feet. Other {Guinness tiles the tall holds are World's Largest Indoor Amuse- rent Par, Word's Largest ladoor Water Park, and World’ Larg~ fst Parking Lot. Besides its more than 800 shops, 11 department Stores, and 110 restaurants, the mall also contains a full-size rink, # 60-room hotel, a Take, « nondenominational mavietheaters, and 13 nightclubs, These activities are ted along corridors of rep Parisian boulevards and New Orleans’s ‘upper stories ofthe mal’ hotel, the glass towers of downtown Ealmonton are just visible in the distance from above, the mall resembles an ungainly pile of over- jones plunked down inthe middle of an enormous asphalt surrounded by an endless landscape of single-family houses. side, the-muall presents a dizying spectacle of attractions and versions: a replica of Columbus's Santa Maria flats in an ar- ficial lagoon, where real submarines move through an impossible seascape of imported coral and plastic seaweed inhabited by live Penguins and electronically controlled rubber sharks: fiberglass Srlumns crumble in simulated deeay beneath a spanking new Vie torian iron bridge; performing dolphins leap in front of LeatherThe World in a Shopping Mall World and Kinney’s Shoes; fake waves, real Siberian tigers, Ching dynasty vases, and mechanical jazz bands are juxtaposed in an endless sequence of skylit courts, Mirrored columns and walls fur ther fragment the sene, shattering the mall into ak ulimately unreadable images. Confusion proliferates at every level past and future collapse meaninglssly into the present; barriers between real and fake, near ancl far, dissolve as history. technology, are indiferently. processed by the idaseope of malls fantasy et this implausible, seemingly random, collection of images hs been assembled with an explicit purpose: to support the mall's aie t he entre world within ie walls. At the opening getemony aboard the Santa Maria, one of the mall's developers. Nader Ghermerian, shouted in triumph, “What we have done Jeans you don’t have to go to New York or Pars or Disneyland fre Hawai. We have i all here for you in ome place, in Edmonton [Alberta, Canada!" Publicity for the Fantasyland Hotel ask ‘What country do you want to sleepin tonight?” offering theme rooms based not only on faraway places such as Polynesia and Hollywood, and distan times sach as ancient Rome and Viewrian England, but alo on modes of eransp feom horse-drawn carriages 10 pickup tricks, The developer's claims imply thatthe goods forsale inside the sl represent the work's abundance and variety and offer «choice bal proportions. I fact, though, the mall's mixture of Amer: 1 and Canadian chains, with a few local specialty store, 1 repeats the products offered at every ol mall. Internal duplication reduces choice even turd since many stores operate identical outlets at different points in the Thal. Despite the lest than worldwide s from al over the world (70 percent ofthe mails visitors are frm ‘outside Alberta) and spend enough to generate profits of $300 per square foot—moge than twice the return of most mulls, The West Edmonton Mall (WEM) d ecial economy superimposed onto downtown Eamonton, the mall aid its park ‘would span most ofthe central business dstrit. Commer: cially overshadowed by the mal, long-established downtown stores now open branches in the mall. As a gesture of urban goodwill the WEMs developers have aggoed wo build another mal dowatown ection, shoppers stil come West Edmonton Mallé ‘The World in a Shopping Mall to replace some of the revenue and activity drained off by the rmogasnall 2 “The inclusion of mote and more activities into the mall has ‘extended its operating day to twenty-four hours: a chapel offers ‘services before shops open, nightelubs deaw customers after they close, and visitors spend the night atthe mall's hotel. The malls also a workplace, with more than fifteen thousand people employed inits shops, services, and ofiees, many of whom also eat and spend their free time there. In the suburbs of Minneapolis, the WEM's developers are now erecting an even laggre complex, the Mall of America, complete with ofice towers, three hotels, and a convention crnter. Orange County's Knots Bey Farm theme park will supply the mall's entertainment centerpoee, “Cary Saoopy.”° The mayor ‘of Bloomington, Minnesota, exalts, “Now people can come here land watch a Vikings game and stay forthe weekend. K's a different ‘world when you have a meyarall."* ‘The mall's encyclopedic agglomeration of activities requires ‘only the addition of housing, already present in other urban mall Iegastructures, to become fllyinhabitable, « world complete in itself Inn sense, the fragmented forms and funetions of modern living ae being brought together ner the mall's kslighted dome. ‘This suggests the posit thatthe unified world of premodern times might be reconstituted chrowgh the medium of consumption, fan ironie reversal ofthe redempiive design projets imag ineteenth-century utopian sch as Forer and Owen, wha sought through callecive productive activity and social reorgani- zation. Although Fourier’ Phalanstery merged the arcade and the palace into prefigorative mall form, its glas-roofed corridors were [intended to encourage socal intercourse and foster communal emo ‘tions, rather than stimulate consumption ‘The Science of Malling The WEM's nonstop proliferation of aration, activges, and im ‘ages poclains its uniqueness; but, beneath its myriad distractions, the malls easily recognizable as anelephanine version of generic type—the regional shopping mall. Indeed, the WEM is only the latest incarnation of a self-adjusting system of merchandising and evelopment that has conquered the world by deploying standard ized unite in an extensive network. And, as the state-of-the-art mall pian in cominally redefined, the WEM's jumbled collection of images 4 trendy onthe verge of becoming obsolete More seamless alter che works are coming ofthe drag board, Disey “imag Ten have recenly designed an enteritment center and ‘Ropping mal for Burbank fnpited by the “lure and mage ofthe se The cinematic median, iherenlyfrgmene and an Ta prucures a vophisticated fantasy wold that wll be bth ore ex and more coherent than the WEN Ridoagh ici for the moment, urevaled in ie and spectacle the WEBI oot exempt rom the rules of nance and marketing that govern the 28,500 other shopping mals in Nor America ‘These rules date fom the golden ears between 1960 and 1980 then the bse regional mal paradigm was perfected and oem: Dially replicated. Developers methaialy surveyed, dived, and tppropciated suburban cornfields and orange groves to ceste& few landicape of eorsuspticn Ifa map of thi flor were tobe dheen, i vould reveals cosine eoered by a wibly uncre pattem of overlapping circles representing mall-eatchment aca, {ach cre’ ize and locaton diated by demographic surveys ing income level and purchasing power. ln sangaly tor ‘ered version of era-placethory developer denied areas here consumer demand was not being met and where malls cold UB te commercial voids” Dense agglomeration of malls vould indicate the retest markets and empty spots the poets of por ery: West Virgins, for example, has te lowest shopping all Sure fontage per iebitarn tn de ounty* “The size‘and scale of «all then, rellets“theesbold de the minimum number of potential customs ving within the geographical range of w real em to enable i tobe soldat prod. Tine, neihbrhood centers serve a local market within {orm rains comma ceners draw from thre to Bive miles ‘The nex er of 2500 regional malls atleast two department stores and hundred shops) atrects customers Troma fat a8 {went miles away, wie an elite group of 300 caper epinal malls {atleast Gve deperment sors and upto three hundred shop serve larger shen mttaer with a hundred ile rade ‘A the pea ofthe prramid sis the West Edenontan megamnallan jnternational shopping attraction. The system as a whole dominates retail sale inthe United States and Cana, accounting for more {han 38 percent of all purchases in both countien*he World in a Shopping Mall The mulling of Amvri in ew than twenty years was accom: plished by honing standard realestate nancings and marketing techniques predict formulas. Ceperted ntaly by rk eee investmen demanded by pension Tune and insurance companies, (coures ofthe enormous amounts of capital necessary to ace inal) the maling process quickly became sell perpetua eless manners and housed in atic dormitories, fom the proletariat ie The World in a Shopping Mall MARGARET CRAWFORD Hl ‘crowd, silently contemplating merchandise. Richard Sennett ob served that haggling had heen “the most ordinary instanceof every slay theater inthe city,” weasing the buyer and the seller together _soially: but the fixed-price system “made passivity into a nor." Department stores gradually discovered the marketing strate- ses required by this new passivity and began to theatricalize the presentation of goods. Emile Zola modeled his Au Bonheur des Dames on the Bon Marché: it portrays the mova retail enterprise ashartheaded commercial planning simed at inducing fascination tnd fantasy. Zola vividly describes the display practices that dae zed and intoxicated the mostly female customers: "Amidst a deep bed of velvet all the velvet, black, whit, colored, interwoven with silk or satin, formed with thei sifting marks a motonles lake on hich relloctions of sky and landscape seemed to dance. Women, pale with desir, leaned iver if to see themselves.” Another shopper is “seized by the passionate vitality animating the gx nave that day. Mirrors everywhere extended the shop spaces = Aeeting displays with corners of the public, faces the wrong way round, halves of shoulders and arms." Zola’s real pleassre dome alterates such disor forable resting places, reading and writing rooms, and a free bufe, countering the escapist fantasy work with comfortable homelike spaces where shoppers could reaequire a sense of contro." . In fat, the shoppers dream world was slways firmly anchored to highly structed economic relations. The constant and rapid turnover of goods demanded standardized methods of organization, subjecting employees toa factorylike order that extended beyond ‘working hours into che carefully supervised dormitories and eating jet hierarchy separated the sales clerks, drilled in middle- pinstendh-cenary writer and hiner: Wie the maa on ted his pel su poof maze Me" more ope et cers magioed eal uses n which the probe las on vbr avay comple, leting ems ihe dom mode of exer In Aiea oti Roc ott atarein hich oraz Majoction sprtcme eficintly supplied necessities to the entire Pepelon, reducing the workday or eliminating the need for] TU align thi abarece word of mei ple We | Sins cid now deere thewsetes tothe punuic aol sb ashoic pare ws wel ay theses. Other Raa eel de miniature dream werldof te department sore JBESRISSLE cpap y temple of abonance teh ae staat and Sle the ovel The Mord a Deparment ‘Bare eten by Ohio deperenen-sore owner Bradond Peck, se unde! ate ntl at deparent sore hat Ete sopted housing, fod. tal eae good to ts contented Stren “merce fter World War Il seemed to promite the realization ef many soch dren, The booming consumer economy ofeed Srey animoginble ropes wi ful employment sup Ee cnsmer forte largesne don arable end, while advertising and planned obsolescence insured their contin~ cation, Sandardaed park eck allowed re ine for sox ignore ection abs and housing quickly migrated the Sure propel by Feel subse nl pureed morgage Saran and higheay proreme ited & cyl of prowl oy Simuleg te oma oan contacto indus In th ‘ies, ever the poor ha housing and money to spend. On the cer age uburban growth pce an econoiclandscape of ge {ahs wacsconeced by superhighway and punctuate hep Pefith suburbs and automobile, downtown department stores wee no longer teva lnterstte ighvays and Suburbs created Se'domand for commercial serves inneny developed areas Cay Sores bul surbun branches rfsd stipe and sp eeers (Cltcon of woes wi shred parking grew up along mor touts endo innportaninersctons; and Slopes conned o onstrate dopping eres in ups suburbs following ‘Kor ted tie weds nd sas an ep wherever ey ‘oad Claon boundaries pu it om the agi a handing” For ian, sores ie the Mags Dafoe end iar det de Vie, lente der tn plein rte td caen sab feed motesightowat eto a intensive ond othr wong ds henle™ “The pubis fatal abundance nl ass oui ft sped in Z's depute sre ao spre neThe World in a Shopping Mall iy shops and fastfood arcades. Ife expandablevuburban Strips beam the new lc for commercial functions expelled fo the inerensnglyexchsive word af the shopping mall. Sealed off from the tank of everyday il, shopping became a reereational seaivity an the all an tap coeson ‘A the mall incorporated more and more ofthe city inside ts wally the nascent confit between private and public pace became ete. Swpreme Court dessins conned an Org mal al ‘eh tbe defined usa private pac, lowing bans on any activity ite owners deemed detrimental to cnsumpton, sie Targa Marshals dinsenting opinion argued that sinc the nll had es sumed the roe fiona town square, ast ponsors co Sinualy ona it must asd ase plc respons Mancaner cnawronn = i ants dha sey wil avn eason to 0 ehewhee or i eer sch strech sn pepe ma ach eoyd Cour’ Many mallsno eae ft ere by posting sista ed. reas ths mall sel by eb ax pub way bt reo the we of he ear Se pubic sscing basins wih tem, Pein a see Me mey he evoked a ay me ths pray” es we ses Get pty daa pice ices hoo. seri manner freeze als Pony We Sol Besta anyhing inet ih he shoppe edn ta Wosteed and have fn ‘Repackaging the city ina safe, clean. and controled fon eget imear nt gave ‘community and social center. The ub of suburban public ie. and provided a common femaumer foes for the amorphous subusbe. Ia New Jersey-—which “had aleady spawned settlements such as Params “the town Ma- «ys bull” the importaner ofthe Cherry Hill Malla. Focal point tnd an object of considerable local pride led the inhabitants of Adjacent Delaware Township to change the name ofthe town to Cherry Hil. Reversing the connifygal pattern of suburban growth malls became magnets for concentented development, attracting ‘ofces, high-rise apartments, and hospital to their vicinity, thereby reproducing a central business distre. ‘The financial success of the simulated downtown-in-the suburbs also eestimulated the actual downtowns, which had pre viously been weakened by regional malls. Newly paced urbaa mall brought their suburban “values” ack into the ety In urban eon texts the suburban malls formestike structures lierlized their meaning, privatizing and controling Functions and activities for smerly enacted in public sre. Heavily ptelled malls now provide {safe urban space with a clientele as himogencots a that oftheir suburban counterparts. Ia many cities, the constuction of urbaa malls served wo eesegregate urban shopping areas. In Chicago, for example, white suburbunites coming into the city Hacked to the ew Marshal Field's branch inside the Water Tower Place mall a ‘upper Michigan Avenue, effetively abandoning the orginal Mar shall Field's department store in the dowurown Lavp to mostly black an! Hispanic patrous.™"a The World in aS hopping Mall In more than one way: downtown malls cash in om the para. ddxical prospect ofa new order of urban experience, well protected {rom the dangerous and missy streets outside, Attempting a double simulation of New York, Herald Cente. when it opened on 34d Street offered thematied floors aamed forthe city's familia sits, such as Greeawich Village, Central Park. and. Madison Avenue which imitated their namesakes with businesses approximating their commercial character: sandal shops, sporting goods, and Eu rnpean boutiques. Not only were the actual places represented in ‘ame only. he “typical” gods for purchase reduced to caricature the rich mistures of a rel urban neighborhood. By reproducing the city inside its walls, the mall suggested that it was safer and ‘leaner w experience New York inside ts climate-contrlled spaces than on the real streets outside. This particular experiment failed, but did not discourage new efors. On Times Square, a new mal project designed by Jon Jerde, Metropolis Times Square, tres to ipstage the ash and dazale of its sing with its own indoor light show, featuring hundreds of televisions. neon ight a laser po jevtions, This byper-real Times Square mall, sanitizing the sleaze land vulgarity outside, offers instead the tamer delights of shops restaurants, and eineplex open twenty-four hours a day. While the city hegan t0 incorporate suburban-style develop ‘ment the suburbs berame ineeasingy urban. Large numbers of jabs have moved to dhe suburbs, taming these areas into new tnet- "poltantegions, “urban villages” or “suburban downtowns.” Su perregional malls at freeway interchanges—such a the Galleria ‘ots Hoston, South Const Plaza in Orange County, and Tyson's Corners near Washington, D.C.—beeame catalysts for new sub: han miniiies, attracting a constellation of typically urban fune- tions. ‘Their current importance represents the culation of several decades of suburban growth, The evolution ofthe Galleria Post Oaks suburb in Houston, for example, began in the late ities with shopping centers built to serve alluent residential areas. The onstricton of the 610 Loop freeway encouraged retail expan sion, nobly the Galleria, one of the fist speetwedlar mltivse ls follawed by ofce buildings, high-rise apartments and hotel, and finally coeporate headquarter. White-collar and executive en ployees moved to nearby high-income residential neighborhowls, ‘which generated the eritcal mass necestary to support restaurants, wie complexes, and cultural centers, The result now surpasses elm a oii he yi oe SE apace, high-rse apartment unit, and hotels as well as the third-highest concentration of oice space. Is also Hous {on's mos visited atracton ® ‘Although these businesses and residences are concentrated spa aly they mainain the ow density suburban building pattern of $olated snge-uncton building. Parallel to the 610 Loop and ‘Bong Post Oak: Boulevard ie clusters of freestanding tower, ie ‘dading the sixty-four story Transeo Tower. Each balding sands ‘lone, though, insulated by landscaping, parking, and rods, Se- ‘ral ace rar, making cach sructure enclave, accesible only by automobile Ln th atomized landseape the Calla, pulsing seh oman activity, his expanded it role as town center ee farther, providing no only food, shopping ad reason but also tubon experienr: For many suburbet inbabitant the Galleria ig the desirable alternative tothe socially ad economically touble tuba downtunns they. President Bush, casting his woe inthe A ia symbolically veried the mall’ tus a8 tc hart of the ew suburban downtown." Hyperconsumption: Specialization and Proliferation ‘Throughout he prio of shopping mal expansion, economic and tocal changes ere sige tering the character ofthe co tomer marke, After 1970, i became evident tha the postwar camo and social yt of ase proton and constmption ring dwncgingince py sen Sag patterns auch more compen musa: ore ele pes ‘tprolction appeared emphasizing rp eye of produts that Quickly reponded tothe canuer market's constantly changing ‘eds and ast Resrctred indies and markets tan Ahaced diferetited and fragmented labor force. The pyran tml of income dstrbution hat supported the renal mall was Being replaced bya configuration more ike «baton heavy oa shan with a smal group of wry hh incomes at the tp, and the Idle dsapparing ito «much ager group of ow ince. This Fictre was farther complied by an inctesingly uneven geo Eaphic dbo of omni development, ie produced Equally exaggerated diferenes between ones of pnprty an byae ‘The World in a Shopping Mall MARGARET oxawronD, 2 tn this unstable situation, the continued development of existing tall tspes was no longer assured, Heightened competition—be- tween corporations, entrepreneurs, and even urban regions—forced ‘a serts of shakedowns in the industry. Although the system of| regional malls continued to flourish, ie was clear thatthe generie= formula mix ne longer guaranteed profits (Industry experts agree that there are few regional holes left co fil, although the syst ‘ean sll absorb three or even for more megamals) alls expunied by multiply nto ae many. different Fragments a5 the market. An enormous range of more specialized and llrxible mall pes appeared, focused on specific niches in the newly dispersed marke Such specialization penmited mone co herent matching of consumer desires and commodity attributes ‘single location, making consumption mote ecient, while gr diversity allowed @ much greater collection of commodities te werchandied than ever before. ‘Specialization cccurs acros a wide economic spectrum. In the richest markets, luuty malls like Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue ‘or the Roden Collection in Beverly Hill offer expensive specialty goods in sumptuous settings, more lke luxurious hotels than shop: Ping malls, Atte other end of the market, outlet mall ll lightly Samaged oF out-of-date goods at discount prices; sine low ent is or attraction, undecorated, low-rent buildings only enhance thei utilitarian atmosphere, New smaller malls eliminate social tnd public functions to allow more efficent shopping. Strip mall, ‘are the most flesble type: thee false fronts ime any identity their format ean be adjusted to any site, ix of products. Some strip mall focus | fn specific products or serviees—furniture, automotive supplies, printing and graphic design. oF even contemporary art. In Los url evn: Koran mls have blue temple roo, J senmalcotbine on garda wih slick mera weet Ua dent nd rng fpanee Mal deepen [ib Angles aio spe thermal actordng olson postr te lent Westie igen dene urban area and Spa Gi deren of he Sach ingen teat thin fin escen inva an ex sin Du ial decir and design are mw enc emu el foung blacks or the hcl hat they are hot melee, more Kertwamings can be smd Since eines chopping: tal cies, om shoplifting and puresotching wo caret and Erdnepping have measur incesed the astarace of safety ind bythe al sae space no longer adequate At the WEN th vals sci healgnrers Cental Diath pom ibe showcised Behind els al a heck command post Fo with ul of eed levis te omer andy snonitored by uniformed members of te mal erty iste This eacrnic Panopicn surveys every comer te mil inking patrons svar a tomnipenne and hal re ae srity sce int 4 spt of reassurance and dee. rece Ba ambiguwn aration ey ste iach ‘Sad ran he WEA by a sry fred oe of bhi ‘ett lly abnnt Rar they are vicars ck ‘nora distance tse by Bonbon sre clan of ‘ennui “psig the ue pel of New Olean Frozen in pernanen pores aandon, dank, prostitutes, an pan dry act at rage frien he mals simulated = ‘Malls have no only responded changing market condition but have alto become irump-carde ithe inereasng competi between developing stn and region. The enormous stesso the WEM have brought in revere tothe cite Inala ‘markets, dry cleaners, video stores, and fast-food outlets n of adjacent attraction, malls lend glamour and success this oe marketplace, imagery as beegme increas- | totheiruebaa setting, suggesting that the city important exciting, nay eiical asa way of atrecting particular shops ari facilitating | and prosperous: Even if the WI i the commersial ‘i of comupins Through asec maniplatoe of ge tals expres bad ales of mses at the wold be _suisideembinide heal Large dives hse Low Angles | Oe emails pecially tn eu to toca nungrant Gop, Hr he mages rai ee of it corer of Edauontons downtown it added aster and ‘money to the urban region overall. Recognizing these potential benefits, cites now court developers with a range of financial in- tentives, from tax breaks to significant investments in order to attract major mall projets. Faneuil Hall's success in generating‘The World in a Shopping Mall ajcent development, such as condominiums, shops, and oes Teds rom Foleo o Nove into private: publie ventures with the Rouse Company wo build waterfront centers ae catlst for than revitalization. This statey ca also backlie: orton Plaza, San Diego's spectacular, enormously profable, and heavily ub: ied “aban hee psa eden runing Ts Earp. politica participation has gon even farter. Muni pal governments with extensive panning power have taken over {he developers role themselves, thowph state sponsorship has po ‘load no changes inthe mal form, Thus, the Grater London {Cui developed fexval marketplaces in Covent Gardens ad the SC Katharine Docks asthe conmerilbeachbends fo larger un redevelopment schemes Built over the oppnitun of residents who ‘Eman local services, the Covent Caren project produces mu spl revenue by duplicating commercial formas that atrce tours and impulse buyer. In Pari the lengthy politcal bare ner what woul replace the are Lex Halles market was resaved inthe dechion build a mul-level shopping center clad in the {i crchiecaral mute thatthe rene tte hs adopted as iiinnccive design image, This all waste frst step nthe or faniation ofthe ene distri and now stands atthe center of ‘ean transport erwor, connected ta sequence of puble spat _sure-ardealtura aie dhrogh underground candor." ‘The World as a Shopping Mall “The spread of malls around the world has accustomed lange aum: bets of people to behavior patterns that inextricably link shopping hdiversion and pleasute. The transformation of shopping into In experience that can occur in any setting has led to the next sta in mall development: “spontaneous malling.” a process by which turban spaces are transformed into malls without neg builings or developers, As early as 1946, architects Ketchum, Cina, and Sharp proposed restructuring Main Street in Rye, New York asa pedes- {tian shopping mall, later Victor Gruen planned vo turn downtown Fort Worth into aa enclosed mall sueeounded by sixty thousand parking spaces More recently, numberof cies have reconstituted Certain areas as malls simply by designating tem as pedestrian i itself—with File effet on its seedy Sue Nancaner cmawronD, 2 which allows the development of concentrated shopping ear i etc vale allow ts now martetplest ae tir own tenant mix, cmgonied around» unifying theme Sra um. attracts supporting activities suchas restaurants and eae ta Los Angeles, even without removing avtomobies urban sacke Melrose Avenue and Rodeo Drive have spontancouly ted themselves os specialty malls, thematically based on owewove and European chi zen stil can inivate this proce. The construction of arlgona! mall na ural ares of DuPage county, ovtsde Chicago, ‘Grebletely ansformed commercial activites in the aren. Afraid dy, GFiking shoppers to the mall. local merchans in Naperville am 3% ‘Maio ten, vedio te ain ste «gt hal ZEEE shopping aru of anique shops and upscale boutiques, Be “Faphasiing Nepervll’ historical small-cown cheacte_ provid ffsret parking. and alerig specialized shops nox available jx Naperile developed «commercial deny that allowed Tio cocuit harmoniously with the mall” When tshistoreal enter ‘re inundated by tourists, Florence turned the Vin Calzaoi be {Treen the Duomo and the Piazos Signoria into » pedestrian zone, hich soon resembled en outdoor Renassanestand mull with the fre monuments serving as aithenieeltaral anchors. Shoe snd iether shops, fastfood restarants, andthe inevitable Benton foulet—ollering merchandise avalable st mals -all over the torld—took over from oder tors, as tourists outnumbered local Fesdent. In France state policies to ensure the preservation of Historicl centers awarded large sie o smal eis ike Rouen Grenoble, and Strasbourg. This intentionally redefined com mere: as pedestrian zones brought more shoppers nto the center tnd greeter profit attracted nacional chains of fuxary shop, stores for everyday needs disappeared, replaced by boutiques selling de- signer clohing jewelry and gifts” ely el has rated hopping ene ri day, hotels, office buildings cultural centers and museaama vee | 0 “ualyaplicate the leyouts and formats of shopping malls. A wal | +=“ “Staotigh the new additions to the Metropolitan Maseum in New op ih tr enrmon mera pet, engrphic re| Satin of ar object, st opporniis for purchasing | —Gihe bjetrommected to thom, prodace an experienc very sim ike to dat of stoling throagh a shopping mall. The Eest Wing ofao The World in a Shopping Mall the National Gallery of Ar in Washington, D.C, designed by LM Pei, isan even clover match, The huge skylighted strum is sur rounded by promensdes connected by bridges and escalators, in- valli pe olf i pace placed exact where he shop ish use of marble and brass, Thu inthe teomtbannet concours net sop a food counters make the resemblance even more siking Indeed, as one observer has suggested, the entire Capitol Mal has been malled. A hodgepodge of outdoor displays, a giant di- nosaur, a working 1890 carousel, the gothie fantasy of Smithton’s sandstone caste, and NASA rockets hint atthe range of time and space explored in the surrounding museums, Here old-fashioned methods of systematically ordering and identifying artifacts have siven way to displays intended for immediate sensory impect. Giant ‘collages inchudesathensially historical objets ike The Spirit of Se Louis, supported by simulated backgrounds and sounds that recall Lindbergh's famous fight, [nthe rand Spare Museum, airplanes, rockets, and space capsules are suspended inside a huge central ‘court slic graphics dtect visitors tothe omuni-max theater, and gift shops offer smaller replica of the artifacts on dieply.*" The barrage ofimages, the dazed crowds, are all oo familia; the museum could taken forthe WEM. The Museum of Science and lndus- similar spectacle. Mannequins in glass 1 moments in the history of senor; visitors line upto tour the full-size coal mine; families sample ie eream in the nostalgic ambience of Yesterday's Main Stret, complete with cobblestones and gaslights. Inthe museum shops, posters and ‘T-shirts serve as consumable surrogate for artifacts that stirmlate ‘he appetite bureaanot shemselvesbe purchased If commodities no longer dominate, this je because the sable prt longer care the sane porn, nc stork tology, asd et preset in she eat, bave oo Bocas omnes prciple a ajcoteracion now operating ‘Sta socal vel, impo an echange of eerburc sree he “item andthe shpping tal, betwtza commrere cud ul, Even the Asocton of Moseum Trasees by meetng at Dany World to cnate new reeech-and-deveopsent stg, at nme wa Th i of te ping al especting no beanie, ologer ini even by the imperative of consumpion™—has Bogome the world LANGDON WINNER Silicon Valley Mystery House ‘You oan see ic to the north of Highway 280 as you drive west through San Jose before swinging northwest toward Palo Alio—a fabulous display of industrial wealth, technical ingenuity, arcane (knowledge, creative imagination, devoted teamwork, and vitality of obsession. Its the Winchester Mystery House, biza remiant of the Gilded Age, open daily to tourists who marvel at the oddities ofthe mansion’s architectural style: 160 finely crafted rooms arranged in « four-story labyrinth with 10,000 windows fairways lading nowhere doors opening onto blank wall, secret ‘oridors, push-button gasights, and everywhere the number 13 repeated in bathrooms, windowpanes, and delicately inlaid woodei floors and pancl, All ofthis sprang from the tormented vision of Sarah Pardee Winchester, heiress to the fortune left by the man lafacturer ofthe Winchester Repeating Rifle. After her husband died in 1881, Sarah Winchester began to fear thatthe vengeful ghonts of those killed by Winchester rifles during the settlement of the ‘West were about to descend upon her. At a séance in Boson, medium advised her to find 4 house whose design would attract benign spirits and confuse cil ones. In 1884 she moved to San Jace and purchased a nine-room ranch house, which she imme diately stared to renovate and expand, For the next thirty-eight years Mrs. Winchester employed donens of earprntery and crafts men twenty-four hours a day’ to implement ersatz-Vietorian plans the claimed to have received from the spirits, Her death would be forestalled, she believed, as long asthe expansion continued: the