Place record · #540
The tiled stair climbs between iron railings worn smooth at hand height and emerges onto a narrow gallery running beneath the arcade's glass roof. Up here the rain is closer. Droplets bead on the panes overhead and slide slowly down the sloped glass, catching the amber lamps below. The gallery passes doors to upper rooms, most closed, some standing slightly ajar. Through one is a reading room with green-shaded lamps and newspapers folded on wooden racks. Through another, only darkness and the faint smell of varnish. Small bridges cross the open space to the opposite side of the arcade at irregular intervals. Near the middle, the ironwork broadens into a little conservatory suspended above the shops. Tall potted citrus trees stand beneath the glass, leaves glossy from humidity. A round table holds three empty cups and a shallow dish containing six rain-darkened chestnuts. Beyond the conservatory, a narrow service stair climbs higher toward the roofs. Its door has been propped open with a brick. Cool air moves down from above, carrying the smell of wet tile and chimney smoke.
Local door switches
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Nested places
Reader catalogue
No reader-catalogued Thing is kept here. Continuity and administrative records are omitted.
Canonical record
Read place #540 in the live city →
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