Escalator fever
Culture Box
Stabroek News
January 6, 2007
Judging from its exterior the new City Mall is an added attraction to the active Regent/Camp streets and after a mere five minutes inside and you get the impression it is a shopper's dream, well in Guyana that is.
The mall is not nearly finished and there is still a lot of space that needs to be occupied but things are already looking up.
Based on what is already there no one needs convincing that the mall is pretty impressive.
If we are to begin with the structure one could say a lot. What a neat looking building! It is quite an improvement from the vacant lot that once greeted those of us who traverse Regent/Camp streets.
The architectural design is very modern which kind of lifts the overall appearance of the surrounding area. It is as one shopper put it, "Regent Street got a face-lift". Another plus would be that that the building looks good at night too.
By far the escalators are the biggest story coming out of the new mall. It is understandable that people are excited so we are not going to join the rank of persons who are asking what the buzz is. The buzz is that Guyana has never had escalators and now we do so by all means let the people go crazy.
Think about it. A Guyanese who had heard of escalators, seen them on television or read about them in books all of his/her life suddenly gets the opportunity to experience them… come on. Since we are on the subject the escalators have been a hot source of humour.
We did a quick check with the people at the mall just to get a sense of exactly how many persons had escalator-related accidents.
Get this, at least 30 but thankfully nothing serious. Many of those who fell just got up back and took to the escalators again while others held their heads and walked right out of the mall probably hoping no one recognised them. At least one person who took a fall confirmed they have not been back since.
Malls are not new to Guyana but the new one has some interesting boutiques. Some of them in there we know by heart and could just breeze by as we checked without dropping in but others are new to the scene like Signature which is fast becoming 'the boutique' to check out while there.
One lad had an interesting comment to make about Signature which has some great looking posters of a glam looking Olive Gopaul posted: "Wow Olive got she own store now!"
The great thing about shopping is that it never gets old. The new mall is likely to be an attraction for a long time. It announced its arrival with a bang and things are going to get louder when the movie theatre is installed as pledged.
Even without a movie theatre people are going to go just to ride the escalators. That is, until another mall opens with added attractions and interest shifts. But it is currently the only shopping venue ahead of the game.
thestabroekscene@yahoo.com