In the 1950s and 60s, it was a tradition for Western New Yorkers to head into downtown Buffalo to check out the display windows at AM&A's Department Store during the holiday season.
AM&A's is gone but the figures that used to fill their windows have been given a new life by Buffalo Place. They spent $25,000 refurbishing the figures and have loaned them to the Downtown Hyatt Regency.
The figures are on display at the Hyatt and hotel manager Majed Farah says that they are a hit with the locals as well as out-of-towners. "They stand there and stare and say wow."
In the Village of Lancaster, they have been displaying the AM&A's figures they acquired in 2006 as part of their Christmasville celebration. Dawn Gaczewski puts up the displays in all the store windows along Central Ave. She also repairs the figures from time to time to keep their animations running.
The magic of the holidays is very much alive at the Hyatt and in Lancaster as they preserve these pieces of the past. As Dawn Gaczeski said, "It's a wonderful tradition that we all enjoyed when we were children and hopefully our children are enjoying the start of a new tradition with their families."
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