From the roof of AM&A’s in 1960, very few of the buildings seen here would still be standing a decade later. While the venerable Buffalo retailing names like Tanke and Ulbrich, which dated back to the 1850s and 1870s, would hold on until the 1980s, the buildings they’d called home for generations would not. Most of the block was torn…
Source: Torn down Tuesday: Make way for the Main Place Mall – BN Chronicles
I really hate falling into rabbit holes and today I blame the guys over at Forgotten Buffalo.com (and facebook) for today’s rabbit hole. The Rainbow Centre mall was part of the dystopian future envisioned by the proponents of Urban Renewal (aka tear down any interesting 19th century buildings and replace them with stuff designed by Brutalist style flunkies). I can’t fault the designers of the Rainbow Center too much- the inside was modern and very cool- the outside had all the stylings of a soviet era parking ramp (well considering that it was built inside of a parking ramp…)
Why yes, Google Street view comes in handy again…
This lovely view is what people coming from the falls itself would see- again so inviting:
The first view of the parking ramp err mall from Canada:
And people wondered why people think of the American side of the falls as being ugly…
A few newspaper clippings from 1982
List of stores opening day, July 2, 1982
BON APPETIT* Food Court
FOR FASHION
FOR GIFTS TO GIVE AND SOME TO KEEP
FOR FAMILIES AND FUN
FOR HEALTH AND BEAUTY
A few other random ads I found in the rabbit hole
The thrift store. the funky smells, the Bible verse screaming woman, the men in dog collars… err wait not that sort of post today. One of the fun things to do when at the thrift is to look for old store tags. If you are lucky the store separates the “New with Tag” clothing from the regular donations. Those racks can be a treasure trove of old price tags from old school and dead retail (and a few laughs when the thrift tries to price stuff for more than the final markdown price…).
This week was sort of boring in the old school price tags, but a few were found.
Ahh Kmart the land of the blue light specials. I’m not sure when Kmart switched over from using these tags to using the UPC scan system but I know these pants were in someones closet for quite a long time.
I can say these pants were in a closet somewhere for at least 20 years. Bon-Ton Stores bought out AM&As in 1994 and it took a few months for the rebranding to happen. I still miss AM&As. Bon-Ton is OK but it is not the same.
Hills is where the toys are! Growing up my family was not Hills shoppers- Kmart yes, Twin-Fair (later Gold Circle) yes, Two Guys yes. I don’t know if they didn’t like Hills or if it was their long time cash only policy. I really started to “shop” at Hills when I was in college. I would go to the Ames across the street since Ames had a much better Arts & crafts supply department but for some reason Ames could be empty but there would still be lines at the registers. I last shopped at Hills in Richmond, VA before moving to Texas. So I missed the whole Ames buying out Hills and running them into the ground.
The Sheridan Drive, Amherst, NY location circa 2007:
The Delaware Avenue, Buffalo NY location circa 2007 (It is now a Kohls). The Big Lots is a former Tops Supermarket:
Not new but a few other fun finds:
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A lovely 100% acrylic sweater from Grants department store. It was actually a fairly nice looking cable knit sweater but again- cheap acrylic. I’m sure Salvation Army was selling it for close to what it cost new.
Finally- the coveted clear memorex tape. Everything about this tape screams 1980s mix tape with a side of sitting by the radio waiting for the songs you love to come on so you could record it.
So that’s all for now.
Cut butter into sugar and flour as for pie dough. Add whole eggs and egg yolks. Mix well. Wrap dough in waxed paper and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Roll out on floured surface 1/8” thick. Cut into rounds with small glass or cookie cutter. With a thimble, cut out centers of half the rounds, making rings. Brush rings with slightly beaten egg whites and sprinkle with nuts mixed with sugar. Bake rings on ungreased cookie sheet at 350° about 8 minutes or until done. Remove. Bake plain cookie rounds. Remove and cool. Spread a small amount of desired preserves onto plain cookie rounds and top with cookie rings.
Carolyn Balogh- a Taste of Hungary
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There are so many beautiful images of what shopping used to be like. Not anymore- today the mall has become a beacon of blandness- so bland that one can visit a mall in Bangkok and visit the exact same stores with the same layouts…
Nowadays, shopping malls are seldom considered masterpieces. But that was completely different at the turn of the 19th century—a time when the department store was a pinnacle of high style and technology.
Source: 13 Stunning Shopping Malls From the Dawn of Consumerism
