When former - and now, the late Mayor Jimmy Griffin touted the 1987 opening of a Main Street pedestrian bridge between Main Place Mall and the former AM&A's flagship store he called it a key symbol of downtown's rebirth.
Turns out Griffin was wrong and the bridge was derided and called by many an eyesore.
The bridge was only open for seven years, closing after AM&A's shuttered its doors in March 1994.
"It was an eyesore and symbol of downtown's failures, not successes," said architect and Buffalo Place Inc. chairman Steven Carminia.
Now, the bridge's days are numbered and downtown leaders are celebrating, not mourning its pending departure.
Crews from Mark Cerrone Inc., the Niagara Falls-based general contractor, overseeing the "Cars Sharing Main Street" initiative, will begin razing the bridge on Feb. 15.
The demolition is part of the final, $55 million "Cars Sharing Main Street" phase running from Mohawk Street south to Exchange Street. The demolition should take five days and the schedule was chosen to coincide with the mid-February winter break for schools.
Some adjustments will be made to the NFTA's Metro Rail schedule and, at times, portions of the sidewalk may be closed, said Angela Keppel, Buffalo Place manager of planning.
"It will change the vista looking down Main Street," Carmina said.
The bridge opened as part of the initial Metro Rail construction project and it was hailed for its geometric design and colorful tiles. But, even in its earliest days, few people used the bridge.
"It was like this giant gap tooth," Carmina said. "All it did was block the view and entrances into the (Main Place) mall and AM&A's."
Although, last fall, James Sandoro, developer and owner of the Buffalo Transportation/Pierce Arrow Museum, expressed an interest in acquiring the bridge, the practical reality is that it has be demolished and can't be saved, Keppel said.
"Seeing it gone will be a big moment for downtown," Carmina said.