Sunday, May 21, 2006

Lloyd Center


Portland, Oregon - circa early 1960's

Here we are in the exquisite East Mall wing of Lloyd Center, with that great winding stairway (to heaven?) visible in the background. You can also see it from the opposite angle in previous entry #2 below.

And I noticed that in this photo we once again have our intrepid little shopper from the last Lloyd Center entry. Obviously this shot was taken during the same session--same kid wearing the same clothes. Or wait... unless he's a gggghost! Maybe he wasn't even there when the photos were snapped! Hmm, the more I study it, the creepier it looks. You never know. ;)

Mall history: 1960 - present
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3



12 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Keith, this is a great website! How do you come across all of these gems from 'the good old days' of shopping (before one could choose between Macy's, Macy's , or Macy's for their shopping needs!)? Keep up the good work! Did I mention Macy's?

Sun May 21, 07:00:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Perhaps this kid in the picture is out there somewhere. Perhaps one day he'll stumble upon this site. I bet he can tell many tales about this place.

Sun May 21, 10:04:00 PM  
Blogger Scott Parsons said...

I bet he was in a time-out.
Scott

Sun May 21, 10:47:00 PM  
Blogger kyramac said...

Love the post! I remember going to Lloyd Center for the grand opening. I spent many an afternoon on the Ice Rink during my career as a "Bluebird" and "Camp Fire Girl". I probably knew that kid in the orange shirt!

Mon May 22, 03:38:00 PM  
Blogger Livemalls said...

This is a graeat shot. the detailing actually wouldn't look out of place on a new mall, but the Lerner Shops sign brings it back to the '60s.

Mon May 22, 11:05:00 PM  
Blogger Keith said...

Agreed, Steven. Good point.

Anonymous: Thanks! So glad you're enjoying the blog! :) Oh, and.... Macy's.

Didi: Wouldn't that be great?! Ya never know...

Scott: LOL! Actually, that's what it looks like.

kyramac: Thanks, and please feel free to share some Lloyd Center stories with us! :)

Cora: The last two Lloyd shots are postcards. And I agree, it's all about that cool open-air roof and those surrounding light fixtures!

Mon May 22, 11:14:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Indeed, it does not appear the kid in the photo is casting a shadow. Which only means one thing! ;-)

Tue May 23, 12:24:00 PM  
Blogger Scott Parsons said...

The law states you can take a picture of whomever or whatever you want, as long as you aren't selling the photo for commerical use. Of course, that doesn't stop rent-a-cops and mall security from claiming otherwise (as happened to me at Stonestown Galleria, even though I was there at the invite of the mall Marketing team).
In the case of this postcard, I think Cora is right. The boy must have a connection to the photographer. I wonder if he or she ever thought someone would questions that!
Scott

Wed May 24, 06:59:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, the old open-air Lloyd Center! Not the claustrophobic horror it is now, with noise bouncing all around, and down off the closed roof, vastly magnified. In earlier times, I remember rain falling through the open areas, splashing gleefully through the puddles, chocolate cigarrettes from Van Duyns candy store (with white paper wrapping the chocolate, so it looked like a real cigarette, and a gold paper ring on each one, in a real looking cardboard cigarette package --very fancy), burning my tongue on hot cocoa while sitting at the little round tables rinkside to the iceskating, and early memories of my mother (hugely pregnant with my twin brothers in '61 or so) working the telephone switchboard as an operator for Nordstrom's Best Apparel (literally plugging calls in where they were going). Mannings Cafeteria (oh, that cherry jello!), the Aladdin Restaurant lofty above the mezzanine --and dining with grandma in the garish red 1880's style decor of Mr. C's Hippopotamus. Lots of wonderful memories.

On the more macabre side, one of the Oregon deaths during the 1962 October Day Storm occurred in the LLoyd Center Parking structure (wind speeds thought to have attained 170 mph --I remember a roaring all around and above our house in Vancouver, WA --like a screaming, thundering locomotive--and the darkness with all the power out); serial killer Jerry Brudos abducted one of his victims from Lloyd Center in 1969.

By the way, the City of Portland site says Lloyd Center opened Sept 1, 1960 as America's First Shopping Mall (so, I don't think there can be a Lloyd Center picture from the '50s). Great site, though!

Mon May 29, 05:40:00 AM  
Blogger Keith said...

Wow, thanks for sharing those fun memories, Rainblessed! I'm so glad you took the time. :)

Thu Jun 01, 11:00:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was just there last week, and this kid kept asking me to buy him candy cigarettes.... oooooooo!

Sun Jun 04, 01:40:00 AM  
Anonymous generic viagra said...

Excellent thanks for sharing.

Thu Jan 27, 11:51:00 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

To see more posts, click on the monthly links
in the "Archives" section of the sidebar.