"Magical Memories on Main Street"

This is great news. It's small things like this that add up to a greater whole creating destinations downtown. Great news I can't wait to check it out.

This is great news, will check this one out for sure. I'd like to see a follow up story with some pictures at some point too!

AM&A's wasn't the only one - Hengerers and LLBergers and Sattlers and Kobachs all had windows - it was really great to walk down Main and see all the stores windows - not to mention visiting all the TOY DEPARTMENTS!!!

And then Mom or my Aunt would take us all to one of the Department Stores' fancy restaurants to top off the day!

It sure was terrific! Those window displays were worth a venture downtown in themselves. But,what I remember most about those large department stores were the aromas, their charge-a-plates, and how they hated children. I was about 11 when I was allowed to get on the bus to go downtown with a dime (at least) in my pocket to call home if I ever got stranded on the West Side by making the wrong transfer. Very funny now as there was no talk about the other side of town.

The times were very different and they seemed to change overnight. All in about a decade. Just some candid recollections that some today might find very objectionable.

This is great but is it anything new. These displays have been showing up on different blocks and even other villages in WNY for several years. It's good that they keep the tradtion going and with the downtown tree and skating it makes for a good atmosphere. To bad the displays can't be extended to 700 block to reward some hard working retailers there.
Theater District is in real need of some vitality...bring the cars on already.

I also remember going downtown to see the displays then going to lunch in one of the downtown diners, such a treat as a kid.

Would be even more aweseome if real RETAILERS were moving back to Main Street and put on their OWN displays for the holidays.

It is a wonderful childhood memory of mine and now i can create some with my own children.

What I remember most was the surprise of it all. The day before Thanksgiving everything was normal with the regular mannequins and other displays. The day after Thanksgiving, the street was magically transformed into a Christmas wonderland. The windows competed to see which was the most elaborate. AM&A's usually won that battle. It was always something to look forward to. Now, there are Christmas "displays" as early as August in some of the box stores. There's no special season. It's all just a hideous commercial monster devoid of any thought or character. It's lovely seeing most of the former displays in Lancaster, but the return to Main street will be most welcome!

I make a point of taking a trip to Toronto and NYC every winter to see the store displays. It reminds me of my mother and Aunt and their yearly excusion to Main Street to see the displays as they shopped. This was a destination for them, a whole day of shopping in their best clothes, having tea and lunch at AM&As or one of the stores nearby. This was the once a year splurge that my mother and her sister looked forward to all year.

I wonder if we could decorate the vacant store fronts along Main Street all the way from the HSBC Tower to the Shea's? We pulled off the Powderkeg Festival last year, maybe this could be a precursor to that. Hire musicians and performers to entertain along Main Street, while people see the store front displays. It couldn't be that different from the Festival of Lights in Niagara Falls. Maybe we could have the walk culminate at Canal Side, where we could hold some sort of buy local event. Just throwing this out there as an idea.

It will be great to see the old displays in action again. It will definitely bring back memories.

This is great. I wish our media would promote the tree-lighting and other holiday events to bring people downtown. As an original NYC resident, I missed the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center. Upon moving to Buffalo many years ago, but doing the burb thing, I longed for a city holiday event and was surprised to not find one. When finally I moved into the city was amazed at fountain plaza and the jewel it could be. Buffalo can capitalize on this and make it a major event. The media needs to showcase these positive things so our suburban neighbors see what a great urban core we do have. Not one of my suburban friends knew or know about the tree lightings of the past. (sad)