Rainbow Centre Mall & more dead retail

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

• Fine Dining and Dancing at Scruples Restaurant
• Great Hot Dog Experience
• Haagen-Daz Ice Cream
• Otto’s Carmel Corn
• Hitching Post Too
• It’s Greek To Me
• Palis Hamburg
• Rainbow Salad
• Hagel Brothers
• BoBo Chinese
• Chez Chocolat
• Funnel Cakery
• Nellie’s 1900
• Mi PI Pizza

FOR FASHION

• Stella’s Tots to Teens
• Casual Corner
• DlSalvo Shoe
• Bit and Spur Western Shop
• Kinney Shoes
• Pappagallo’s
• Tres Bien
• Matteo’s
• The Gap
• Beir’s Department Store

FOR GIFTS TO GIVE AND SOME TO KEEP

• Green Onion Kitchen Shoppe
• The Remembrance Shoppe
• Cretonne Fabric Gallery
• The Diamond Mine
• Ports of the Orient
• Embraceable Zoo
• Morey’s Jewelers
• Have a Heart
• Self Reliance
• Tourist Trap
• Wild Tops

FOR FAMILIES AND FUN

• Varsity Sporting Goods
• Time Out Amusements
• Lindsay Photo
• Cavages Records
• Waldenbooks
• Radio Shack

FOR HEALTH AND BEAUTY

• Rite Aid
• General Nutrition
• Lotions & Potions
• Andrew’s Cosmetique
• Your Father’s Mustache

A few other random ads I found in the rabbit hole