The Arcade reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
(provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Arcade

For thoughtful child sponsors
An arcade is a passage or walkway covered over by a succession of arches or vaults supported by columns, or else a covered passage fronted by a series of arches.

In cities, buildings with arcades along their street-level fronts, the interior faces of city walls, and bridges covered by arcades all became popular locations for small shops and stalls; they were protected from sun and weather, and considerable guaranteed foot traffic. Over time, the term "arcade" came to be used specifically of streets lined with small vendors.

The term was also adopted by carnivals and amusement parks, where the row of of shops selling food and other goods were joined by those offering games of various sorts, and called "amusement arcades" or "midways". Amusement arcades were later opened as permanent establishments.

The games came to be known as arcade games, and since the explosion of electronic games in the 1970s, the establishments became known as video arcades, and the term "arcade" frequently used as a synonym for "arcade game".