11, Imperial Arcade, Brighton

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 20 Sep 2015

Number 11 is located near the Western Road entrance, see Image, and is probably the best placed of all the shops in the arcade being visible from one of the main shopping streets. It has been home since late 2010 to electrical goods retailers Panasonic. The shop has three floors with the top currently occupied by Euronics whose shop front is in Image, however, it can be accessed through Panasonic. The first occupant was Alfred Wardell who traded in Fancy Goods and Stationery until the mid 1930s. He was replaced by local firm Gamleys, a toy shop, which would trade here for 65 years and provide wistful memories of childhood for a number of generations of locals, me being one - I spent a small fortune on Subbuteo here in the late 1970s/early 1980s which was always located on the middle floor. In 2001 the shop moved across the road into Churchill Square initially with hopes of expansion but eventually going out of business in 2008 after 90 years of trading. What followed was a succession of businesses starting with outdoor specialists, Blacks, who traded here for about four years before moving to another premises in North Street; there followed a brief interlude by Modelzone possibly whilst their store in West Street was being refitted, then another by Wargames Heaven who specialised in the Dungeons & Dragons type gaming before the current occupants arrived five years ago. OCCUPANTS 1925-1935: STATIONER/FANCY GOODS (Alfred Wardell) 1936-2001: TOY SHOP (Gamleys) 2002-2006: OUTDOOR SPECIALISTS (Blacks) 2008: MODELS (Modelzone) 2009-2010: ROLE PLAYING GAMES (Wargames Heaven) 2010-2015: ELECTRONICS (Panasonic)

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