by David Bodamer March 23rd, 2007
Caldor Rainbow has constructed a fairly thorough and entertaining account of Toys ‘R’ Us various design iterations between 1978 and 1989.
My passion for finding these stores; ones which are brown roofed and rainbow-striped existing today has been a goal for over a year now as there are a good handful still out there. Each year, as the company catches up to these stores, facing a heavy pressure to conform to the decidedly boring looks of today, those special stores, still largely untouched by time (or any hapless repaint or remodel jobs), must be documented and preserved.
Since there’s much information to cover, this entry will be dealing with Part I which encapsules the store history from 1978 to 1989; the last year of the brown/rainbow era. Many pictures shown here are mostly recent, from 2006 and 2007, from a few remaining, older looking locations visited including Woburn; Massachusetts, Clay; New York and Horseheads; New York. We hope to visit more in the future, and expand our travel scope.
Related Topics: Architecture & Design, News, Quirky, Retail |
by David Bodamer February 15th, 2007
We’ve received a lot of inquiries about Retail Traffic’s 2007 SADI Awards. The competition has been pushed back slightly, but we’re set to go. All the information is available here.
For last year’s winners, go here.
Related Topics: Architecture & Design, News |
by David Bodamer February 14th, 2007
As part of celebrating its 150th Anniversary the American Institute of Architects conducted a survey to determine America’s Favorite Architecture.
The list is dominated by skyscrapers, museums, airports, train stations, government facilities and a few ballparks. But among the list are a handful of retail destinations including No. 32, Wanamaker’s Department Store in Philadelphia, No. 53, the Apple Store on New York’s Fifth Avenue, No. 64, Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, No. 105, Time Warner Center in New York, No. 126, the V. C. Morris Gift Shop in San Francisco, No. 141, Apple SoHo and No. 145, Carson Pirie Scott in Chicago.
Related Topics: Architecture & Design, News, Quirky |
![Toys](javascript:pop_me_up("http://blog.retailtrafficmag.com/retail_traffic_court/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/toysimage.JPG" , "Toys", "width=640,height=480,scrollbar=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes"))
![Wanamakers](javascript:pop_me_up("http://blog.retailtrafficmag.com/retail_traffic_court/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/wanamakers.jpg" , "Wanamakers", "width=640,height=480,scrollbar=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes"))
Two Thoughts on Lifestyle Centers
by David Bodamer December 11th, 2006
Articles in two major papers over the weekend–the Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe–gave a glimpse at what the mainstream reception is to lifestyle centers.
Within the retail real estate industry it’s easy to toss terms around–mixed-use, lifestyle, power center–and just assume that everyone knows what you’re talking about. It has become commonly accepted that customers love lifestyle centers and mixed-use properties and are eschewing older, more traditional retail settings like regional malls. As a result, developers are racing to build more of these kinds of projects.
But it’s interesting to take a step back and read what people outside of the industry have to say about these developments.
Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments Related Topics: Architecture & Design, Commentary, Development, News, Retail Real Estate, Trends |