{{Short description|United States historic place}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP | name = Paddock Arcade | nrhp_type = | image = Paddock Arcade.jpg | caption = Paddock Arcade | coordinates = {{coord|43|58|25|N|75|54|40.5|W|display=inline,title}} | locmapin = New York#USA | location = Washington St. between Arsenal and Stone Sts., Watertown, New York | built = 1850 | architect = Otis Wheelock | architecture = Gothic Revival | added = June 15, 1976 | area = less than one acre | refnum = 76001224<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> }}
The '''Paddock Arcade''' is a 19th-century shopping mall located in Watertown, New York. Built in 1850, it is the second oldest covered shopping mall in the United States.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Semento|first=Kristen|title=The Paddock Arcade - The Oldest Continually-operated Mall in America|url=http://upstatehistorical.org/items/show/69|access-date=2022-02-18|website=UpstateHistorical|language=en|archive-date=February 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218213911/http://upstatehistorical.org/items/show/69|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since it has seen uninterrupted use after opening in 1850, it carries the distinction of being the country's oldest, continuously operating enclosed shopping mall.<ref name=NysNrhpNom>{{cite report|type=none|url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318262 |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York SP Paddock Arcade|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |author= Junia Fitch and Cornelia E. Brooke|date= October 1975| access-date=November 1, 2025 }} ({{NationalArchivesNote}})</ref>{{rp|3–5}} The Paddock Arcade was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.<ref name="nris"/>
== Location and architecture ==
thumb|left|The Paddock Arcade 1909, its original Gothic Revival interior featured a large, pointed arched window seen in this photo. At No. 1 Public Square, the arcade remains the benchmark structure in Watertown's historic downtown district. The structure runs perpendicular to the adjoining Paddock Building. The arcade was built in the Gothic style, topped with a glass roof that allowed daylight to filter through. The Paddock Building contains a 19th-century Italianate facade.<ref name="NysNrhpNom"/>
== History ==
The arcade was built by Watertown native Loveland Paddock and designed by architect Otis Wheelock. It was based on similar arcades built during that era in the United States and Europe. Shops occupied the bottom floor, while the upper floors were used for office space.<ref name="NysNrhpNom"/>
In about 1916, a large section of the Paddock Building was demolished to make way for the six-story Woolworth Building. In the 1920s, arcade owners put forth a major redesign of the arcade, eschewing its original Gothic interior with a more modern design, which included the installation of the current translucent, steel-and-wire-glass dropped ceiling between its second and third stories.<ref name=":0" /> This ceiling still allowed light to filter in from the arcade's glass roof.<ref name="NysNrhpNom"/>
== Today ==
thumb|The Paddock Building (second from right) The arcade still functions as a shopping and business center in Watertown's downtown district. In recent years, structural and aesthetic improvements, coupled with new businesses are helping to guarantee the arcade's future. The arcade is the current (2024) home to Planned Parenthood, Johnny D's Casual Dining, Paddock Club Tavern, O-HO Boba Tea, CaffeineHolic, Paddock Arts & Antiques, Laborer's Local 1822, Kellogg & Kellogg LLP, Yoga House, American Kang Duk Wan Karate Assoc., Inked Arches, The Speakeasy Hair Salon, Anbu Tattoo, Vito's Gourmet.<ref>[http://www.mallsandstores.info/new-york---ny/1274-paddock-arcade.html Malls and Stores.info]</ref> In 2007, it was announced that the arcade would be host to Watertown's popular farmers' market for its extended fall season.
== See also == * Public Square (Watertown, New York) * Italianate architecture * Gothic Revival architecture * Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II * Cleveland arcade * Westminster Arcade, the oldest enclosed shopping mall in the United States
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category-inline}} * [http://www.citywatertown.org City of Watertown] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040815075444/http://www.citywatertown.org/ |date=2004-08-15 }} * [http://www.wheelockgenealogy.com/wheelockweb/pages/OtisLeonardWheelock.htm Otis Wheelock] * [http://www.publicsquare.com Watertown Downtown Business Association] * [https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/index.htm Official Website National Register of Historic Places] * [http://www.wwnytv.net/72k/new-full-story.asp?uid=15352&area=home+page Farmers Market Moves To Arcade] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019090727/http://www.wwnytv.net/72k/new-full-story.asp?uid=15352&area=home+page |date=October 19, 2007 }} {{Shopping malls in Upstate New York}} {{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
Category:Shopping malls established in 1850 Category:Shopping malls in New York (state) Category:Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Category:Tourist attractions in Jefferson County, New York Category:Shopping arcades in the United States Category:National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, New York Category:National Register of Historic Places in Watertown, New York