WDT: Arcade Gains Distinction

      Watertown's Paddock Arcade may now be the nation's oldest continuously operating covered shopping mall as the one older one ceased retail activity in 2008 and now is used for micro lofts.  The Westminster Arcade in Rhode Island was built in 1828 in what were known at the time as covered streets. It is to reopen with some retail and bills itself as one of the nation's oldest covered malls.

Westminster Arcade in Providence

 

      Watertown's Arcade has seen a quiet revival since its nadir in the 1980s as many small business persons have renovated space and thriving businesses are now in there. The building still needs some work but it is better off for the owners who kept it going over the past thirty years. Current owner Donald Coon has made steady progress of late as steward of this piece of local and national history. Business owners like Robert Dalton and Dave Bartlett are among those making a difference as well.
      With the renovation of the adjacent Woolworth Building underway, the sky is the limit for the Paddock Arcade.

Watertown Daily Times | Looking ahead