Its design was unusual in that it was contained within its own parking ramp, and opened directly into the now-demolished Wintergarden indoor botanical garden on its southern end.
It was built, owned, and managed by the Cordish Company until October 2010, when CEO David Cordish personally donated the abandoned mall to Niagara County Community College for use as a culinary institute, student-run restaurant, and a Barnes & Noble bookstore.
The Rainbow Centre had received no updating since its opening, and simply could not compete with the Fashion Outlets.
Shortly after closing, the Cordish Co. claimed the mall would be redeveloped into an entertainment complex, but these plans never came to fruition.
The interior of the mall was gutted in 2011 and the NCCC Culinary Institute and Barnes & Noble opened in the Southern third of the building on August 31, 2012.