Retro JCPenney Store
Salem, Oregon - January 2, 1965
Mid sixties JCPenney store sitting in the rain looking very melancholy, in downtown Salem, Oregon. This photo was taken on January 2, 1965, and shows the then newly constructed JCPenney retail store on Liberty Street.
(Study image courtesy of the Salem Public Library)
posted by Keith @ 11/30/2006
6 Comments:
According to Google, this store is still open.
Jcpenney Co Inc - Department Store
305 Liberty Street Northeast, Salem, OR 97301
In fact, its part of the Salem Center in Downtown.
Current Mall Directory:
http://tinyurl.com/ye8hma
Current Aerial View:
http://tinyurl.com/ycupbp
Love the feel of this pic, in the rain and all.
Yes, this is now part of Salem Center. In 1980, when Nordstrom was constructed, a mall was constructed adjacent to the Nordstrom, and skybridges were built to span accross some of the streets to connect with the JC Penney and the Macy's (former Meier & Frank, circa October 1955). Slightly before the mall, a couple of parking garages ("parkades") were put up in the late 1970s, and augmented the parking garage immediately behind Meier & Frank that had been present since Meier & Frank's opening. Meanwhile, there are still various typical downtown shops on the surrounding streets in addition to the mall. In my opinion, this is one of the most phenominal examples of a downtown surviving even long after a suburban mall was built (Lancaster mall), and even doing better than the other mall. If I had to pick the most important factor to downtown Salem's success, I'd say it was Meier & Frank's parking garage that was 20 years ahead of its time and set a trend, and proved that the best way for a downtown to survive is to provide free parking for shoppers.
Here are links to other pics;
http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/sj&CISOPTR=533&REC=1
http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/sj&CISOPTR=535&REC=5
http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/max&CISOPTR=913&REC=11
http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/sj&CISOPTR=981&REC=14
http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/specialcol&CISOPTR=1051&REC=8
http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/specialcol&CISOPTR=1327&REC=2
http://photos.salemhistory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/sj&CISOPTR=723&REC=1
Nice to know of this building's future!
This location is among those closing in 2020 as a result of JCPenney's Chapter 11 filing and the Covid-19 outbreak.
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2020/06/05/oregon-jcpenney-salem-center-mall-store-closing-coronavirus-impact/3155102001/
JCPenney had a long run in Salem, having opened their first store in the city in 1917.
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