While rushing through the Prudential Center early one morning on the way back from a meeting, something surprised me: it was 7 am, and although the stores weren’t open and the doors had just been unlocked, there were many people at the mall.
I returned a few days later to investigate what about the Prudential Center draws so many of Boston’s early risers.
There’s one population that’s here by necessity: many of the malls’ employees arrive hours before stores open to set up window displays, trim the decorative plants lining the mall’s walkways, or work at the renovation in the Boylston/Newbury wing.
Others appeared to likewise be scheduled for an early arrival at the mall. The hotels and office buildings at the mall’s perimeter direct currents of foot traffic through the mall’s wings. FlyWheel, a cycling studio increasingly hyped in cities across the US, also draws a high attendance, with noticeable impact on the mall’s early morning energy: at regular 30 minute intervals, an influx of women in spandex rush to the Belvedere wing. With its sister studio FlyBarre opening at the end of the month, Boston’s fit and trendy will likely be drawn to the Prudential Center in even greater numbers.
Much of the mall’s early occupants are commuters: the Prudential Center Green Line stop opens up to the mall, and its central location serves as a route sheltered from the cold to many Back Bay, Boylston, and Copley destinations. Some commuters seems to prolong their connection through the Prudential Center by stopping from coffee or breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Teavana Paradise Bakery, the cafes open at the mall before the rest of its stores open. Others seem so comfortably set up on a bench or at a table that it’s hard to tell whether they’re pausing a commute to somewhere else or if this is their destination: in particular, many of the elderly can be seen reading or people-watching inside the mall for hours.
The Prudential Center seems to serve another purpose as a destination rather than a transition space: many visitors, particularly the elderly and parents with children, come simply to walk. With light-filled spaces, a network of routes, and, most importantly, shelter from the elements, the Prudential Center seems to start the day off more like a park than a shopping center.
Savannah, this is a great piece about the overlooked rhythms of daily life. It would be interesting to add a few quotes to round out the story.
HI – I enjoyed reading this – as someone who has covered cities where malls have died and become very sad throughways, this was good to read — suggests a city with some vibrance. i would enjoy pics as well b/c I don’t know the physical layout of this place (having walked through and been a bit lost) … and if you’d had time – either some indiv. quotes (where do all these exercisers live? where do they park? is it weird to walk around an empty mall in the AM?) and perhaps a little history of that space as I think it’s only recently been re-charged. But this is me speaking as an editor – not as a reader. I enjoyed the read b/c it disrupted my expectations.