The Glory Days of Downtown Shopping: Part 2, Wednesday Shopping Day

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

Wednesdays were a special day downtown through the 1950s and 1960s…

Because of a long running commercial which started running in 1969, you might have one idea from the world of marketing about Wednesdays.

But through the 1950s, Buffalo’s downtown merchants were encouraging the ladies of the house to get on the bus and head downtown to shop on Wednesdays– because Wednesday was marketed as Downtown extra value day.

Women who donned a hat and grabbed the charge-a-plate and a few bus tokens were treated to sales and special bargains were to be had at stores such as Tanke’s, Kleinhans, JN Adam’s, Hens & Kelly, Oppenheim Collins, Victor’s, Hengerer’s, Neisner’s, Flint & Kent, Kobacker’s, LL Berger’s, AM&A’s, Grant’s and plenty of others, all advertised in special sections that were included in the Buffalo Evening News and the Courier-Express.

Long after the marketing had stopped, there were still plenty of Buffalo ladies who made Wednesday their day to go downtown.

Christmas Shopping in Buffalo 1910

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

These photos appeared in the Buffalo Courier Sunday Magazine, New Year’s Day 1911.  The quality of the images isn’t good enough to see what is in those window displays, but they still represent a great look at the retail scene on Main Street downtown more than 100 years ago.

Where possible, the 1910 images are presented with Google images of the current look of the same space.

AM&A’s original location was directly across Main Street from it’s best-remembered 1960-94 location. The building in the photo was demolished to make way for the Main Place Mall. (Buffalo Stories archives)


JN Adam & Co. 391 Main Street. JN’s was at this location until 1960, when the store closed and AM&A’s took over the space. (Buffalo Stories archives)


“Hanan Shoe Company, 464-466 Main Street, opposite Tifft House.” Just north of Court Street on the west side Main. (Buffalo Stories archives)


Walbridge & Co, 392-394 Main Street, now in the footprint of the Main Place Mall. (Buffalo Stories archives)


Flint & Kent, 560 Main Street. The storefront became downtown’s location of The Sample before making way for The Key Towers. (Buffalo Stories archives)


The Wm Hengerer Co- 465 Main Street. (Buffalo Stories archives)


The Wilson Company, 563-565 Main Street. Now in the footprint of the M&T Center, just south of Chippewa. (Buffalo Stories archives)


Weed & Co, 292-298 Main Street, across from the Ellicott Square Building. (Buffalo Stories archives)


The Sweeney Co, 268 Main Street. The building still stands, and is now known as The Sweeney Building. (Buffalo Stories archives)


H.A. Meldrum Company, 460-470 Main Street. Herbert Meldrum was the son of AM&A’s co-founder Alexander Meldrum. (Buffalo Stories archives)


JM Brecker & Company, Genesee & High Sts, burned down on Christmas Day 1910. (Buffalo Stories archives)

Ulbrich’s– Buffalo’s futuristic bookseller

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

So it looks like Ulbrich’s invented amazon.com?

Buffalo Stories archives

The Otto Ulbrich Co. was Buffalo’s bookstore, on Main Street downtown for 117 years before bankruptcy struck in 1989. At the peak of business, there were 13 Ulbrich’s locations.

There were ten stores in 1978 when this ad appeared in Buffalo Spree magazine.

I have a obsession/addiction/fetish with pens of every kind– and it all started with wide-eyed wonder wandering that amazing aisle at Ulbrich’s before I even knew how to write. As a five or six year old, I specifically remember wanting to spend some of my birthday money on fancy pens at Ulbrich’s.

Buffalo in the ’80s: Peller & Mure, one of downtown’s great men’s stores

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

Roy Peller and Paul Mure worked at Kleinhans Men’s Store when they decided to open their own haberdashery a few blocks away on Court Street in 1948.

Peller & Mure became one of downtown’s great men’s stores, outfitting mayors from Frank Sedita to Jimmy Griffin. Their offerings expanded to include a women’s business line in 1981.

Over five decades, P & M’s retail space was in several locations through the years, including two on Court Street, as well as Delaware Avenue and Pearl Street.

Investors took over the upscale clothier in 1995 and gave a fight, but after 51 years, Peller & Mure closed its doors in early 2000.

AM&A’s was right around the corner on Main Street, until it moved across Main in 1960.

 

Back to School 1960: Where girls were shopping

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

Fifty-five years ago this week– the last week of August, 1960– The News’ special back-to-school section featured articles on the latest in education inside and outside of the classroom, and, of course, plenty of back-to-school ads.

Goldin’s at Broadway-Fillmore and Thruway Plaza, featured “The Goldin Twins” and S&H Green Stamps in this 1960 ad. (Buffalo Stories archives)

Clothes shopping was a much more gender-specific endeavor in 1960 — while many larger department stores and discount stores obviously offered accouterments for both sexes, there were also plenty of specialty shops that catered to only boys or girls.

Hengerer’s, 1960. (Buffalo Stories archives)

Girls were looking for dresses and skirts as they found new school clothes 55 years ago; most schools banned girls from wearing slacks.

Kobacker’s, 1960. (Buffalo Stories archives)

Goldin’s, Morrisons and Oppenheim Collins all catered to women and girls.

Morrison’s, Main Street downtown, Broadway/Fillmore, and North Tonawanda. 1960. (Buffalo Stories archives)

Hengerer’s, Kobacher’s, Neisner’s, Sattler’s and the Sample sold men’s and women’s fashions.

Neisner’s. Main Street Downtown, Broadway near Fillmore, and Bailey Avenue. 1960. (Buffalo Stories archives)
Oppenheim Collins: Main at Huron, Thruway Plaza. 1960. (Buffalo Stories archives)
Sattler’s, 998 Broadway, 1960. (Buffalo Stories archives)
The Sample. Hertel Avenue, Walden Avenue, Seneca Street, Lockport. 1960. (Buffalo Stories archives)
Ulbrich’s. 386 Main, 17 W. Chippewa, University Plaza, Sheridan Plaza, Southgate Plaza, Thruway Plaza, Hamburg. 1960. (Buffalo Stories archives)

Buffalo in the ’60s: boys’ back-to-school shopping

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

The week before the return to school in 1960, The  Buffalo Evening News’ special back-to-school section featured articles on the latest in education inside and outside of the classroom, and, of course, plenty of back-to-school ads.

AM&A’s Back-to-School 1960. (Buffalo Stories archives)

Clothes shopping was a much more gender-specific endeavor in 1960 — while many larger department stores and discount stores obviously offered accouterments for both sexes, there were also plenty of specialty shops that catered to only boys or girls.

Burns Bros., 529 Main St at Genesee. Charge your tweed using Marine Shopper Credit Service (Buffalo Stories archives)

Boys buying school clothes 55 years ago were far more likely to be looking for sports coats and ties than jeans and T-shirts, as reflected in these ads.

Campus Corner, 3262 Main Street. (Buffalo Stories archives)

Burns Bros, Campus Corner, Cresbury’s, H. Seeberg’s and Kleinhans all offered clothes for men and boys.

Cresbury’s had six WNY locations. (Buffalo Stories archives)

AM&A’s, Kresge, CG Murphy’s and Penney’s all offered clothes for both sexes.

H. Seeburg’s five Buffalo area locations offered S&H Green Stamps. (Buffalo Stories archives)
Kleinhans, Downtown Buffalo and Thruway Plaza in 1960. (Buffalo Stories archives)
In 1960, Kresge’s had locations in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Lockport. (Buffalo Stories archives)
C.G. Murphy’s Buffalo locations were in Central Park Plaza and Broadway near Fillmore. There were also locations in Lancaster and North Tonawanda. (Buffalo Stories archives)
Penney’s Thruway Plaza location had it’s own specials. (Buffalo Stories archives)

Buffalo in the 70s: Hengerer’s looking for ‘Family Affair’ star lookalikes

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

“Family Affair,” starring Brian Keith as bachelor-uncle who becomes the reluctant parent to his young niece and nephew, was one of 1970’s most popular TV shows. Among the show’s most popular stars was Anissa Jones, who played Buffy.

Sadly, Jones died of a drug overdose at the age of 18 in 1976.

Buffalo in the 50s: Western Auto had everything your dad could have wanted

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

With a stunning array of gizmos, tonics, tools and devices, Western Auto had everything a dad, not to mention a boy, could want.

The shelves were lined with items to make your car, camping trip or sporting event far more interesting.

Buffalo in the 50s: W.T. Grant’s 10th location opens in Riverside

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

Grants — which was, as the company’s slogan said, “known for values” — opened its 10th “bigger, better” Buffalo-area location 65 years ago today on Tonawanda Street in Riverside.

The national chain of variety stores expanded in Buffalo as the city’s population did and was a fixture in many early strip malls, such as University Plaza and in the retail build-out at Main and Transit. The national chain filed for bankruptcy in 1976.

This Grant’s location is now occupied by the Riverside library branch.

Buffalo in the 50s: On sale at Edwards downtown– your grandparents’ porch furniture

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

If you spent time on a Buffalo porch or patio anytime from the 1950s through the 1980s, chances are pretty good at least one or two of these summer furniture pieces from Edwards’ downtown store look familiar.

The metal chairs, especially, seemed to last forever. Many still survive in the backs of garages even after being replaced by plastic resin Adirondack chairs.