- Arndale Centre
Arndale Centres were the first "American-style" malls to be built in the
United Kingdom . In total twenty-two Arndales have been built in the UK, and two inAustralia . The first opened inJarrow in1961 , as a pedestrianised shopping area.History
Shortly after the end of
World War II Arnold Hagenbach , a baker with a talent for property investment, andSam Chippindale , an estate agent fromOtley , set up a company called the Arndale Property Trust, the name being a combination of "Arnold" and "Chippindale".The Trust purchased
Bradford 'sVictoria Swan Arcade in 1954 with the intention of demolishing it and developing a new shopping centre, but it took eight years before leases expired and building work could commence, so in the meantime it developed a site inJarrow ,South Tyneside , which became the first Arndale Centre when it opened in 1961. Its trademark Viking statue was built by the Trust in 1963.When the Wandsworth Arndale opened in 1971 it was the largest indoor shopping space in Europe.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Arnold Hagenbach
work =
publisher = The Times
date = 2005-04-08
url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article378474.ece
format =HTTP
doi =
accessdate = 2007-04-26]The largest Arndale Centre built was Manchester Arndale. It was redeveloped in 1996 after being badly damaged in an IRA bombing, and the centre has been owned by Prudential since 1998. [cite web|url=http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/shops/arndale-centre.html|title=Manchester UK - Manchester Shops|accessdate=2007-06-21]
Criticism
The Arndale Centres were largely successful, but they also attracted a great deal of criticism as they often involved demolishing old buildings – particularly Victorian buildings – and replacing them with modern
concrete constructions in a brutalist style.:"There are people today amassing stupendous fortunes by systematically destroying our historic centres," wrote architectural writer
James Lees-Milne , in 1964. "Eventually, all the buildings of the area - good, bad and indifferent - are replaced with chain stores, supermarkets and blocks of flats devoid of all distinction, and all looking alike." [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Centre shifts
work =
publisher = Guardian News and Media Limited
date = 2001-04-04
url = http://society.guardian.co.uk/regeneration/story/0,7940,467897,00.html
format =HTML
doi =
accessdate = 2007-04-26]The value of the Wandsworth Arndale was maximised by the high-rise tower blocks built on top of the mall, which helped it to become, according to some commentators, "one of London’s great architectural disasters".
List of Arndale Centres
United Kingdom
*
Aberdeen
*Accrington
*Bolton "now known asCrompton Place Shopping Centre Unicode|"
*Bradford "now known as Kirkgate Centre"
*Doncaster "now known asFrenchgate Centre "
*Eastbourne
*Jarrow "now known asViking Centre "
*Lancaster
*Leeds ,Armley
*Leeds ,Cross Gates "now known asCrossgates Shopping Centre "
*Leeds ,Headingley
*Luton , "purchased in 2006 byThe Mall Company and now known as The Mall Luton"
*Manchester, "the largest of the Arndale Centres, and the largest city-centre shopping mall in Europe"
*Middleton "now known as Middleton Shopping Centre"
*Morecambe
*Nelson "now knownPendle Rise Shopping Centre "
*Poole "now known as theDolphin Centre "
*Shipley
*Sunderland
*Stretford "now known asStretford Mall "
*Wandsworth " now known as Southside"
*Wellingborough "now known asSwans Gate Shopping Centre "Australia
*
Adelaide
*Frenchs Forest "now known asForestway Shopping Centre "References
External links
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-1559091,00.html The "Times" - Arnold Hagenbach Obituary]
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