Bloomingdale’s          Frederick & Nelson          Lipman Wolfe           Macy’s Marshall Field’s    Meier & Frank   Olds Wortman & King   The Bon Marche’

Who among us remembers when a trip to the Department Store was a day’s adventure? It was an experience young children would remember for many years to come. There was the thrill of riding the bus or the streetcar Downtown. Then to see the huge window displays and being treated to a memorable lunch in the Store’s Dining Room. Each floor seemed so big and full of surprises, and the ride up the escalator was like a magic carpet ride. And there was the much-anticipated visit with Santa and the trip to Santa Land.

Some of the earliest clothing retailers and department stores included Brooks Brothers, founded in 1818, followed by Lord & Taylor in 1926; Marshall Field’s in 1852; Macy’s in 1858; Bloomingdale’s in 1872 and Saks Fifth Avenue, which opened in 1924. Many other stores have come and gone. You can’t talk about great department stores without mentioning Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, I. Magnin, Gimbel’s, Frederick & Nelson, The Bon Marche’, Emporium, Jordan Marsh, Barney’s, B. Altman, Bonwit Teller, Carson Pirie Scott, Dillard’s, Robinson’s, Rich’s, Stern’s, Broadway and Bullocks, to name a few.

If you said “meet me under the clock” all Portlanders knew that meant the clock in the middle of the main floor at Meier & Frank. For over 149 years, Style and Tradition were synonymous with the name Meier & Frank in Portland, which was founded in 1857 by Aaron Meier.

Portland was home for a number of department stores over the years. But sadly, they only exist in memory. There was Lipman & Wolfe Company and Olds, Wortman & King, as well as Roberts Brothers, Holtz, and Eastern Outfitting Company to name a few. When Macy’s absorbed Meier & Frank in 2006, Portland lost its largest and most powerful department store ever to claim Portland as its home.

After 149 years, Meier & Frank closed and a grand legacy of Northwest Style and Tradition faded into history. The same can be said for Chicago’s Marshall Field’s and nearly 30 other regional department stores that ceased to exist on that fateful day in September 2006. Macy’s became a nationwide powerhouse with 850 stores from coast-to-coast.

Seattle was home to two very powerful department stores that couldn’t operate profitably in recent years and have faded into memory: Frederick & Nelson, which became a Premier Division of Marshall Field’s in 1928 and closed in 1992 after operating for 100 years with two decades of local ownership which failed to keep the Northwest’s Premier Store alive; and The Bon Marche’ became Macy’s Northwest in 2005. Today, there are only a couple handfuls of Department Stores still in business. The Store of Stores, Bloomingdale’s, which is owned by Macy’s, is gradually expanding Westward from New York with 40 stores.

Macy’s reopened their Flagship Store at Meier & Frank Square in October 2007 in the first five floors above ground and one below. The magical Santa Land is back after moving to the lower level with Furniture, Mattresses and the sparkling new rest rooms. Beyond the rambunctious Reindeer in their stalls, Santa greets the kids. Two of the Cars from the Monorail are the centerpiece of the photo room that is a tribute to Meier & Frank. Parents take pictures of their kids in the cars. There are a number of pictures on the walls with views of Meier & Frank through the years. One of the original Meier & Frank train displays was added. The ten remaining upper floors were renovated for the new The Nines Luxury Suites Hotel which opened in October 2008.

Portland’s is on the leading edge with its newest store “JC” or Juicy Couture, which recently opened at Pioneer Place in the northwest corner. Brooks Brothers has opened a store in The Galleria’s southeast corner in the Fall of 2007. Abercrombie & Fitch has expanded their store on Morrison & Broadway. Ikea opened at Cascade Station in 2007 off Airport Way where other stores continue to open. Bridgeport Village and The Shops at Tanasbourne continue to expand.

Watch for big changes at Jantzen Beach. Reports tell us that the Mall building will be demolished so that individual lifestyle stores similar to Bridgeport Village can be built. Oregon’s lack of a sales tax makes Portland a popular shopping destination.

Saks at Rockefeller Center in the 1940s.

Earlier view of Saks in the 1920s.

Eventually the brothers dissolved their partnership and formed a corporation. Thomas and Henry Roberts retained a majority of the stock. No stock in this corporation was ever offered to or sold to the general public. They expanded into furniture and household furnishings, adding a Second Avenue Annex and occupying a total of approximately 85,000 square feet of retail space and over 35,000 of warehouse space. In the mid-1940s, a branch store opened in Salem.

The Eastern Outfitting Co. was located at 10th & Washington Streets.

The Women’s Department at The Eastern Outfitting Co.

The Eastern Outfitting Co. had several other locations in the West.

Louis Vuitton has a wonderful store in Pioneer Place. And you thought Louis Vuitton just made handbags and suitcases. The shoes are really spectacular. Louis Vuitton has always been a good seller in Portland.

Louis Vuitton is located in the prime retail corner at Third and Yamhill, across from two Saks Fifth Avenue Stores and Tiffany & Co. between them.

Until I. Magnin closed in the mid-1980’s, I. Magnin’s best line in Portland was their Vuitton Travel Store. Louis Vuitton has been a top performer since Saks opened in Portland. Vuitton continues to outpace other departments at Saks.

Portland sits on the cutting edge with such hometown powerhouses as Nike and Columbia Sportswear. Lucy is coming on strong. North Face set up shop in the Pearl District. Broadway has always been Portland’s most prestigious address, but change may be in the wind. Columbia Sportswear’s flagship store has a prominent location on Broadway and Taylor.

Next you’ll see Mario’s new Flagship store in the Fox Tower, along with Banana Republic. Nordstrom, the store known for its holiday tradition of not putting up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, sits between Yamhill and Morrison Streets across Morrison from Abercrombie & Fitch. Mercantile holds down Park Avenue, which runs north and south on what would be 8th and 9th Avenues. The Galleria, which is located west on Morrison, between Park (9th) and 10th Avenues anchors the western border of Portland’s shopping district.

There’s the Dr Marten shoe store in Portland, the first of its kind, anywhere in the world. Nike’s flagship store occupies the old I. Magnin space at Sixth & Salmon. Macy’s is renovating the old Meier & Frank store at 5th and Morrison, facing Pioneer Place, which is anchored by two Saks stores.

Pioneer Place is Portland’s upscale Retail Palace where much of the excitement can be found underground where it never rains. You’ll find Eddie Bauer, The Gap, Talbott’s, American Eagle Outfitters, J. Crew and another Banana Republic. I’ve always thought the Meier & Frank building’s basement should be connected to Pioneer Place’s underground shops.

Tiffany & Co. and Copeland’s Sports form the eastern edge of the Downtown shopping village. Oregon’s tax-free shopping makes Portland a popular shopping destination. In the words of a local retail executive, “The shopping experience is composed of sight, sound, scent and touch.”

Tiffany and Co. opened November 17, 2000 at Third and Taylor Streets.

The Pearl District has emerged as Portland's “hip” address for some of the nation’s and region’s best retailers and restaurants. The Pearl District is also experiencing the city’s most active residential development, with hundreds of pricey lofts and condos ranging from $200,000 to well over $1 million.

The Brewery Blocks, located at the former Blitz-Weinhard Brewery site, covers five city blocks in the Pearl District. It’s one of the biggest mixed-use projects downtown has seen in decades. Providing a transition between the Central Business and River Districts, The Brewery Blocks contains approximately 1.7 million square feet of urban retail, creative Class A office space, and residential housing in addition to 1,400 spaces of underground parking.

Portland’s first Whole Foods grocery and P.F. Changs China Bistro are located in the Brewery Blocks. Seattle-based outdoor equipment retailer, Recreational Equipment Inc., better known as REI, recently opened their two-story Portland flagship store nearby in the Pearl District. It fills 35,500 square feet of The Edge Lofts building.

Bridgeport Village, the Portland area’s new upscale shopping destination, is located on the old Durham quarry site at Bridgeport Road and 72nd Avenue in Tualatin. This development of about 425,000 square feet of retail/entertainment space, is bringing additional development in the surrounding areas. The first retailer, Crate & Barrel, opened to record crowds and traffic jams. This store has become the number two store for Crate & Barrel on the West Coast for sales volume.

Also new to Oregon is Tommy Bahama which is a delightful treat for all of the senses. They aren’t just a store for Hawaiian Shirts and khaki shorts, but the island lifestyle. This store will be a favorite for years to come.

Other businesses that have opened include Wild Oats markets, an 18-screen, 4,000-seat Regal Cinema, as well as Border’s, J.Jill, Talbot’s, Smith & Hawken and the children’s clothing company Hanna Andersson.

Restaurants include McCormick & Schmick, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, the Noodle Bar and Johnny Rockets burger restaurant. About three-fourths of Bridgeport’s nearly 30-acre site lie in the Tualatin city limits and the other fourth in Tigard.

The 368,000-square-foot upscale Streets of Tanasbourne opened in Hillsboro and it is anchored by a beautiful Macy’s department store. The two-floor store fills 160,000 square feet of the project. Other retailers include: REI, Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria's Secret, Express and Express Men, Mimi Maternity, Limited Too, Coldwater Creek, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, the Macaroni Grill and Portland’s own Moonstruck Chocolate.

At 30-year-old Washington Square, a 100,000-square-foot expansion is complete. Oregon’s first Cheesecake Factory is now open at Washington Square. The expansion started with the construction of a four-level parking garage for 1,000 cars on the southwest corner of the mall. Some 20 to 25 stores now occupy new retail space built between Nordstrom and Macy’s.

Clackamas Town Center is completing an expansion and a makeover focused on the next generation of shoppers. The mall will has added two open-air extensions totaling roughly 240,000 square feet of retail space and a new movie theater. Plans also call for a new Tri-Met MAX line that will terminate on mall property and it is scheduled for completion in 2009.

Wisconsin based Kohl’s has entered the Northwest with nine stores in Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. They are the first new mass-merchandise retailer to open stores in the Portland area in nearly a decade. Will Dillard’s be next ?

A special word of thanks to Retail Correspondent Jon Lex for helping keep us abreast of the lastest developments in Portland’s Retail future.

Last updated 02-04-09

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