Shopping Arcade in Lugano, Switzerland c1961

This Kodachrome slide shows a shopping arcade in Lugano, Switzerland in about 1961.

The slide has written on it ‘Arcade, Lugano’, so that is the general description of what is in this picture but you can see that as well as the little shop at the right-hand end, which seems to be selling tourist trinkets, there is also a couple of arches which are set up as a cafe and bar. At the far end of the arcade is what looks like a board set up with postcards or photos on, and beyond that another set of tables and chairs. I wonder if all these were separate little shops, or if they were all part of a bigger ‘arcade’ business?

Although I couldn’t find the precise location on the modern day google maps, it seems as if this road runs along the side of the lake so it should be possible to find it if this building is still standing. In the extreme distance, to the left of the picture, it’s possible to see the lake behind a VW beetle car which is coming towards the photographer.

I’ve dated the picture based on other slides in the series which have dates written on them.