The end of the USA Empire seems to reveal the Greed that removed the purchasing power of the Middle Class Citizens who had enough disposable Income to buy crap that falls apart in a week. Malls were the indication that Shopping was something that was going away, as condensed shopping centers made it appear like Americans still had some money. The appearance of the Merchants all in one area as the rest of the Commercial Real Estate turned into vacancy signs, seems to leave those who have no money outside as Bankers seek ways to cover their investment in Downtown Areas. End of Empire.............Going out of Business. That is the sign that appears as you look at the Economic situation of the US Empire.
I used to haul a lot of Lumber from the Portland Area. I was noticing in the last 20 years a lot of Russian Veneer on the Docks in Portland. In the US we used up all the big trees that produced the Plywood that created cheap houses. Inflation is created as the cost of exploiting other Nations increases. The US spends a lot to threaten other Nations so we can take resources from them. Like the Malls closing, the fact that the US consumed the resources available to stimulate profits for a small group of Investors. Now that the US Empire has used up the domestic supplies of products we appear to exploit other Nations supplies. You might say that is an indication that them Commies may not have had Malls before 1989, but they still have resources. The US has to take things from others. That is why the Russians appear to still have things to trade. Sad for the USA, but true.....
Me too, this made me cry. I grew up in Gresham and used to go there to hang out, shop, watch the ice skaters...this is so sad to me. The carmel corn shop, the pipe tobacco shop that smelled so good, honey baked ham, candle shop, stevens and son jewlers..you're right. It is like seeing the statue of liberty in planet of the apes, perfect analogy. 😢😢
@@danielhutchinson6604Sorry but it’s not that deep. Like everything else, people get tired of something and are onto the next thing which is ordering online and having it delivered right to your door. As soon as books became cheaper on Amazon, the bookstores folded……just one example. This mall is really spectacular, clean, plants in the planters, escalators running, big beautiful skylights, well lit……I’ve been in Mall of America a couple times and this place beats them hands down. I’m surprised that I don’t see mall walkers getting their exercise. As our local mall became practically extinct (extremely small, dark and no skylights) the place was still filled with walkers, myself included, and it was like a family of people from all over town. It’s gone now because once Penney’s closed, that was the last holdout.
I grew up in Eugene Oregon in the 60s and early seventies and Lloyd center was legendary back then. At that time I was considered the largest shopping mall in the country. He was also the first of what became to be known as a shopping mall. It was the biggest tourist attraction in Portland at that time.
Southdale Center in Edina, MN, was the first completely indoor regional shopping mall and it was built in 1956. Brookdale Center, Brooklyn Center, MN, (same concept) was built in 1962.
I remember...When I was little I loved the one night my family went there in December and finished the shopping list. As A teenager I was thrilled to stand in that cold windy outside above the skating rink with my school from Oregon City and sing carols in the choir.
I moved back to the valley and this is shocking. One time in 1977, my friend and I ate magic mushrooms and drove (not the smartest) to Lloyd Center and watched magical colors while people skated.
I am from the same era and lived in Southern Oregon growing up. Lloyd's Center was talked about at the time,....a place "in the big city" only the fortunate could visit. To see this video is just sobering.......
I worked in Lloyd from 2014-2016, which doesn’t feel all that long ago. It was VERY busy still, the Nordstrom and many of the other big department stores were still there, and the ice rink was still full size. It was absolutely insane to visit Lloyd every year after and watch it fall apart like this.
@@cougsjohnson1 Yup! She was banned from the center at some point. I’d say 5-10 years ago they did a massive renovation and shrunk the rink. Added the spiral staircase back too. It was a big deal.. then this. 🤷🏼♂️
I lived in Lloyd Center. My parents owned Morrow's Nut House. I worked at age 11 sampling Spanish peanuts to everyone who walked through the door on opening day. I grew up on the ice rink and worked in the store. Went to college and came back to run the business with my family. I have so-o-o-o-o many stories to tell about LLoyd Center that I thought I should write a book of my memories for those whose lives were touched and shared with this remarkable place, and the candy store memories. I cried when I saw the ghost mall. Thank you to all who remember our candy store.
Omg Morrow's nut house!!!! I used to go in the 60's with my Mom!!!! The highlight for me was always the frozen chocolate covered bananas. Introduced my husband to Morrows when we got married in 1971 and he discovered they had pine nuts!!! Wonderful memories....
@@MichaelCook-wx1po Thank you for the memory of the bananas. Dad called them island delights. I had to stick and dip those things. They were really good! Pine nuts were really expensive back then as they were shelled. They wouldn't let me roast them... I was designated to selling! Ha!
Write that book! I’ll buy the first copy. This mall was iconic and deserves to be remembered as the great gathering place it was and possibly still could be.
1972 we moved to Portland from a small town in Southern Oregon. The first time I ever ice skated was at Lloyd center. HUGE memory for me. Memories of when they put the "roof" on the Lloyd Center and created the 3rd floor. Fast forward to 1990's when I actually worked on the 3rd floor offices so my lunch breaks were always watching the movement and community in the Mall. Now it is sad to see this hub of commerce and people being abandoned and now reimagined. Hopefully I will be around to see the new life of this iconic landmark in Portland.
You probably saw me & my daughter back then. It was like an amusement park & the one place I could keep her entertained for hours. Miss the Disney Store, Gifts From Afar, Ross, but most of all the food court. I'm gonna cry.
I did HVAC for many years in Southern California and have worked to build and maintain quite a few large malls. They are very difficult to work at and maintenance is expensive and is only one factor that drives up the cost of leasing a mall space. Each time a new store would move in, they would gut the space of the previous business, throw it all away and rebuild with new materials. Even for a moderately sized store this could cost over a million before you've even opened the doors. For some stores it is policy to re-model every five years. I've seen the tremendous amount of waste these malls produce and it is almost criminal, not to mention the energy consumed to keep the air conditioning running and lights on. There's no way they can keep this up without shoppers. From my observation over the years I always knew in an economic downturn that the big malls wouldn't sustain themselves.
In the case of Lloyd Center, it picks up at night and during the weekends because it has the only ice skating rink in the metropolitan area, so it historically got super busy around "practice" or "open skating" times, and could be completely dead at other times. It's been a long time since the Malls in the area (outside of the two downtown, but Pioneer Square on the West side of the river, downtown PDX gets lunch rush from all of the office workers. I think as businesses continue to move up from California (putting the rest of us all that in the street mind you due to mass gentrification), I anticipate that these malls will start to fill back up. They are getting on gentrification (and probably are one of the forces pressuring the city to "ban" vagrancy and build more office buildings. That's the current trend. Mix use office buildings and apartments. As for cost, remember that Oregon (like the rest of the PNW) tends to be colder, so the only thing the Malls have to do outside of summer is use their heat pumps to keep the building warm. And unlike in California, Oregon like Washington and Idaho gets most of its electricity from hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, solar, nuclear in some parts, and natural gas for occasional peak times. So, electricity has always been cheap here (relatively speaking). And I guarantee these malls are getting copious tax breaks to stay open (and prevent them from becoming homeless encampments [guaranteed would 100% happen, and I'd love to see it, but still], you gotta remember that this is like the shit in the Bay Area's most gentrified regions. The malls and shops still exist, they just have bonkers use hours.). But, if you ever go to these malls in the PNE, what you'll notice is that outside of summer, they tend to be cold as fuck. Mainly, because outside of the shop spaces, they don't turn the heat up much to save electricity, and this motivates customers to shop. In the summer, because historically the Mall was one of the only well air-conditioned spaces, most people (unlike other parts of the US) would go hang out to escape the heat. While the uptick in climate change induced weather has made AC more commonplace, folks still use the Malls to escape. It's just that the whole landscape has changed. Young people are too busy & poor to shop, so they are either working three jobs to survive (or 70+ hours a week, or living in tiny ass spaces like this was NYC of old or Tokyo). But, unlike the rest of the US, the Malls around here still gets sufficient business to stay open. If they didn't, then they would probably be turned over to the city via eminent domain, because our soon to be ex Mayor is such a snob tool that Rather than having the police going after sex traffickers (a historical problem for the region due to us being a corridor region), he sends them to harass the unhoused. Thankfully, he isn't running again so we might actually get someone decent.
There isn't alot stores can do about the fact that what was previously in the space jsut doesn't fit their retail model. I've worked mall stores, that remodel many do every so often is somewhat unavoidable. Two reasons: 1. Mall management often forces it in the rental contract 2. Stores take an absolute beating. Trying to make up for that beating by only repairing things can only take you so far, and it eventually gets to looking pretty slap dash.
@@haplopeart Design concepts are often overrated. There is still lots of unnecessary waste. The t-bar ceilings and lights for instance or the flooring. Very easily integrated into alternate concepts without replacing. Most of the time retail prices are what bring customers in. Not so much a fancy looking store.
@@Kentavious444 True..BUT...what of the case that the store that is being replaced due their retail method needed little to storage in the back...lot of sales floor space. The new store needs massive storage but little sales floor space. To be clear you are NOT wrong in your statements, just saying needs do vary.
@@haplopeart I've heard of laws aimed at forcing these companies to recycle 25% (or more) of the original build-out. I think that is a good law. It forces them to get a little creative. Regarding floor space, that is always a consideration but doesn't require much waste when eliminating a partition wall. But re-ducting the entire store when it's unnecessary or replacing the entire ceiling and all the lights was something I've seen done hundreds of times and always scratched my head seeing perfectly good (almost new) materials filling a dumpster. Just doesn't make sense.
Wow, like 90% of what I used to go there and visit doesn't exist anymore. It's weird seeing this place still technically open, and watching through the video thinking "Hey, there's where See's Candies used to be! And back there was the old Suncoast! How the hell is Forever 21 still thriving in this mall?!"
Many of the Brands still alive at Malls like these are the ones that have had a bit of Internet Presence during Covid due to SOME LOYAL CUSTOMERS. Which is why I was shocked Hot Topic was still going strong in other Oregon Malls. That and Lloyd center is the only mall in Oregon with a skating rink.
Yeah. it's called the effect of rampant theft and crimes against individuals. Macy's stuck it out until the organized retail theft became too much of a financial burden. Once they left it became a wasteland pretty quickly
I remember when it first opened in 1960. It was the first mall in the area and my mom used to take me to Meier and Frank for school shopping. I have such fond memories of our shopping trips together.
I remember Meier & Frank. I loved the one downtown at Xmas with the animatronic window displays. Fun fact: Clark Gable used to work at the M & F downtown just before he made it big.
I grew up at this mall, I rode my bike 7 mi every weekend to go there in the late '80s '90s and 2000s, in the '90s that had Toys r Us that did pokémon tournaments every Sunday. This is where I used to buy CDs that are now obsolete. This video is so nostalgic to me whoever made this thank you for reminding me how special the Lloyd center was to the people of Portland Oregon.
Same, I don't think we went more than a few days without going down to Loyd Center. I have hundreds of memories there. It was a huge deal when Meyer & frank stopped doing the Christmas train.
It's a shell of its former self, but in remarkably good shape compared to Dead Malls elsewhere. Absolutely no trace of the former Mall Cinemas, looks like they completely walled off that section north of the food court. Had a lot of good memories from this mall!
I lived in Portland a half century ago, and this was the old grand dad of Portland malls. Lloyd Center was there before all the others were built. Now it looks to be a bit of history.
My mom worked at the JC Penney at Lloyd Center in the early 70's. As a little girl I could go to work with her and spend the day shopping around by myself. It was an open air mall originally and was so beautiful at Christmas. Portland has changed so much and none of it for the better. Morrows Nut House for Carmel apples. Goldberg's restaurant for tongue sandwiches and endless ice skating with my cousin. It was the best!😢
The building still looks to be in good condition unlike most other dead malls that fall into disrepair. That must have been a nice place to shop in its heyday. That is one huge mall!
I grew up going to this mall since I was little. They used to have the radio Disney crew down to this mall to do fun activities with the kids with prizes. A fun fact this mall has the only indoor ice rink in the state of Oregon.
Maybe in a mall, but there is the indoor ice rink in Beaverton on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway. It's where the Winterhawks practice, and it is open to the public.
I think this mall would be great for mixed use spaces and in all the empty spaces apartments could be built and use what is empty for housing. It would be a community within a community. All stores and bistros mixed with apartments and local businesses, and other mixed use. That way this building can be used so it doesn’t turn to rot.
Thank you for taking the time to fully capture the extent of this tragic and heartbreaking demise. Like many who posted here, I have fond nostalgic memories of when I was a pianist in the Lloyd Center Nordstrom in the late 90s. I remember going to see “Blade” at the Cinema on the third floor, and countless days where all three levels packed with vendors, shoppers the ice-rink bustling with young and old skaters, and people just enjoying the space as a place for community. 😢❤
I grew up in a small town that had no mall, and when my family would go to a city with a mall it was such an experience seeing all these people and stores gathered in one place. This footage is surreal compared to my childhood memories.
I used to deliver freight to Downtown Merchants in 1969, then they built a Mall. It was not a big City, only 12,000 humans. The Downtown areas slowly began to deteriorate, then the Mall began to close. The death of an economic system based on exploitation and expansion seems to consume itself.
I grew up in the 80’s in Hollywood just up the road. Graduated Grant high school 1987. Spent many many hours hanging out here. Who remembers the smells from morrows nut house? King Norman’s toy store? Frederick &Nelsons? Joe brown Carmel corn(they used to have a shelf on the right side where they would sell trading cards, remember buying empire strikes back trading cards there back in 1980). There was a buffet restaurant owned buy mier & franks that overlooked the gigantic ice rink. Newberry’s and it’s weird little bar style cafe on the right side. You could park up top and walk through the glass China shop to get to the mall.
I'm certain that crime in Portland caused all of the customers, then the merchants, to abandon this mall. If a profit could be had, the merchants would be there. If muggings and carjackings didn't happen in the parking lot, customers would get safe to shop there.
We live in Portland and they have had stories and updates on the news about the mall. I believe there is a large company that purchased the property and were going to turn the mall into housing . But I think the plans have changed some and they now are going to keep a lot of the mall ( ice arena, theatre , some other things )and are still building some housing . Can’t recall the details but the mall has definitely not been abandoned I don’t think.
That eoyld be kinda cool if they did apartments and kept the inside space like the ice rink and food court, etc. Then you can walk out to it from your apartment all indoors.
The economy is much better than 10 years ago. People changed their shopping habits. Big box stores like Walmart and Target and online shopping is easier and more affordable.
And, the most-recent lack of funds on the part of many… I recall a lot of prices were up there in this place. You needed a decent income to shop there.
Well, the comments are interesting. Some intriguing takes on cause and effect. Although as is typical, this is far from a simple single-cause problem. As a life-long Portland resident, I have spent a lot of time at Lloyd Center over the years. The last decade or so has been particularly rough, more so than the normal economic troubles. And those talking about malls in general miss that there are thriving malls around the metro area that are crowded even in the middle of a weekday - Washington Mall in Beaverton, Vancouver Mall and it's failed attempt to rebrand as Westfield Shopping Center(no local ever called it that), and the more recently added(2005) Bridgeport Village(an open air design from a California-based property investor - they clearly didn't understand that Oregon is soggy and wet for half the year and the main parking garage is off the side leading to a long walk to many shops) Lloyd Centers problems are many - it's an old location. The location itself has led to issues - a long running issue has been both property and violent crimes both in the surrounding neighborhood and within the mall itself, most of the violence stemming from rival gangs leading to shootings and stabbings and sometimes large brawls. The mall has had a massive amount of construction going on in recent years, including a rebuild of the skating rink, and another project working on a portion of the multi-level parking garage on the south side of the building. Loss of long-time anchor stores did a lot of damage, but that's more linked to the failure of the older department stores and affected all malls. Mall management itself is to blame for some things - a local business was kicked out of another local mall locations and went out of business. Perhaps some of the other locals remember Excalibur Cutlery and how it was forced out of Washington Square Mall for selling "weapons" after having been there for 30 years. Their last gasp as an online seller ended in 2022. Another recent shake-up was a plan to develop a lot across the street where a movie theater with IMAX screens has been for a long time. One of the plans was to move it inside the mall, while they already had another small theater, but would now use what used to be the empty Sears area. I haven't seen any updates on that beyond community backlash since that was announced.
Beautiful mall and they're playing 80's music. Never thought I would ever hear "The Tubes - She's A Beauty" in a mall. I also love the windows on the roof which allow a lot of natural light in the mall. At the end of the video, I can almost see myself sitting at one of those tables playing chess or having a bite to eat. Very peaceful and very nice. :)
That food court was a fantastic place to hang out. I went to high school nearby and spent many afternoons there waiting for some evening game or activity. It is so strange seeing the mall so empty.
I enjoyed watching your uncut, continuous and uninterrupted walk-thru style of coverage. With a simple yet expertly captured view along each level, I must say, that has to be one of the largest malls I've seen that was almost completely without shoppers. I'm guessing it has to do with COVID and the convenience of online shopping? IDK, but thanks. Gr8 video!
I suspect one reason traffic fell at Lloyd Center was that they reduced the size of the skating rink. Not the decisive one, but that didn't help business.
I remember the Lloyd Center. Didn’t go there very much because I lived near Gresham from 1978 to 1998. Over the years the crime there became too much for my liking.
It's really weird watching this after going to the Clackamas mall and having the place absolutely bumpin. It really shows how much of Portland's continued deterioration is really effecting businesses. There's a nice looking park right next to the Lloyd Center and I believe it's actually one of the most dangerous parks in town now.
As a child my family would go there just to eat Carmel corn and watch the ice skaters. It’s was an open air mall at the time. The live Nativity Scenes were complete with camels and mules. Lots of lovely memories. And just down the street, was Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor.
Looks like the third floor never even got a single store... yet there's a full service Dairy Queen?! I never would've known there was a food court up there.
I'm 71, born and raised in the Portland area. I took ice skating lessons there when I was little. It was so cool having the open air mall concept. Ahead of its time, for sure.
If it was safer to go to Portland, I would visit the Lloyd Center Mall more often. It's my favorite mall, compared to The Clackamas Mall and Washington Square Mall. Mostly because I like the design of it. It's easy for me to find my way around. I love that skylight. I really do miss that mall. I had been thinking about it. I wonder how it was surviving, compared to other malls. I had a feeling it would struggle, but not be completely dead. The fact that the mall is still defiantly going on, shows how much people are not ready to accept its defeat. Which should tell you how much people really cared about this mall. It could very well go out completely, like all the other malls across America. But it could hang on long enough to see new life. I hope it does survive. That would make a great story if it did.
It's safe to go to Portland. The news just focuses on certain parts of the city, while the rest is much as it used to be. Pushing disasters & tragedies are better for ratings than reporting how normal things are. Portland has always had a scuzzy side. Back in the 1940s, my mother's family lived near 36th & Stanton, the same neighborhood Beezus & Ramona grew up in. One night as he walked home from work, my grandfather was rolled blocks from his house: at the time there was a whorehouse nearby & when one of the "customers" ran out of money to purchase "services" with, he went looking for someone to cover the deficit. The remarkable thing about Lloyd Center is that it's NOT overrun with homeless people camping there, which would be the case if was abandoned: it is still being looked after.
This scary to see but also does not surprise me. Over the last 5 years, I have stopped going to Lloyd center, Because I did not feel safe. At the end of 2018, I was harassed by a group of teenagers that kept trying to punch me for no apparent reason, I began avoiding the place since then. The whole Lloyd district has become a scary area that I just don't go to at all anymore.
I grew up in Portland and this was the mall we always went shopping at. I worked in a restaurant right across from the ice skating rink, in my teens. Christmas shopping here was always so busy and decorated beautifully. This is where I first sat on Santa's knee, as did my own children. So absolutely sad to see this mall like this. The kandy Korn shop could be smelled from one end of the mall to the other. I always made sure to buy my Carmel corn from here before shopping and you couldn't find better anywhere. Just another piece of Portland gone way too soon.
Yeah remember Morrow's nut house, always hot and the milkshakes were the real deal, also meeting ont the bridge between Meier & Frank and morrows, was how we kept track of everyone. Back then all the anchor stores were always there, Nordstrom, Meier & Frank, Penny's, Newberrys, etc. , and no stupid kiosks in the aisles blocking and crowding everything, they turned it in to a carnival scene, ah the good days gone forever
It's so eerie and spooky seeing these empty malls when 5 -10+ years ago, they were hustling and bustling places. I hope they find a good use for them, because there are a lot of them (empty ones) all over the country. Where I live in the Midwest, there are still some relatively busy ones here and there.
They should make them into an indoor go-cart/race track. Wow, that would make a nice mini Formula One circuit. Seems to me indoor race tracks were somewhat popular in the late 90s early 2000s. Indoor race tracks should never go out of style. I can see it now.. multi-level tracks, sports bars, race gear...the Phoenix
I lived about 1.5 hours away from that mall. One day about 20 years ago I went shopping in Portland and decided to go there. It was so packed I had to park down in some lower lot that was not part of the general parking. After looking around at the clientele I became a little worried about it. It was full of shoppers. But not the typical type that you would feel safe around. More like the usual suspects. I never went back. Now look at it. Look at Portland. What a shock.
I remember going to this mall in 2003 and it was super full and busy. Now my son loves to go there just to see if it's still there. It's like urban exploring to him. It's a calming place to walk around. Most of it has been converted to office space, especially on the top floor, which seems like a decent solution. There's a nursing school or something up there, too. Pioneer Place isn't doing much better these days. Thank goodness Washington Square Mall is still thriving. I had to buy my son new clothes last weekend and the place was packed!
It is planned to be demolished sometime in the next decade or so. That whole part of town is pretty dead which is sad because it's almost like another downtown just with nothing to do other than the convention center and Moda Center events. Would be cool if some life comes back to that area its right in the middle of the city.
I remember that mall from almost 60 years ago. We stopped there when on vacation to go ice skating. That is a very good looking mall. It is a shame so many things have closed. They need to repurpose it.
Omg the nostalgia....I worked there as a teen and I also remember when it was an open air mall. Before they closed it all off with the building around all the little shops inside. That's how the birds got inside and they just lived in there after the construction . I need to go for the Cinnabon before it's closed forever. You passed different stores and a ton of memories flooded back. I went to Benson high-school so I was at Lloyd everyday for lunch! Just crazy how things change!
This mall is officially still open to the public, but it is a miracle its still open. There are very few stores still left open there and the food court only has 2 restaurants open. I have not been here in a few months though.
I grew up south of there. I remember hearing about Lloyd center this or Lloyd center that, almost every day on the news. I visited once and tried ice skating. I feel old watching this.
I tried counting the open stores. My count was 18. Sad for a mall of this size. I did see a custodian with her cart. The mall appears to be in a very good state of repair.
Wonder what they will do with it now. So strange seeing a mall like this. I would have never thought Lloyd Center would go down. Sad. There are still stores in there. Amazing
Certainly been a while since I've been down to Portland, but we used to always make it a point to stop here at Lloyd Center as they had a place that made some of the best cheesy popcorn on the west coast.
They should drop the rent and let independent places be able to afford it. But no. U.S. tax code allows this kind of waste to go on and they can just write it off and blow up the national debt more.
My grandparents took my brother and I to see the Lloyd Center in the early 1960s when it was new and filled with shoppers (and sightseers, like us). Coming from a very rural area, we had never seen anything like it. Especially memorable was seeing the iceskating rink! Amazing to see it 60 years later still in good physical condition, but at the same time disturbing to see so many vacant stores. The very long shadows indicate this video was filmed in the early morning -sad to see it so gloomy and desolate.
Lloyd Center used to be an open-air mall in the 60s and 70s. Used to go there a lot in grade school-high school. Haven't been there since they covered it up. Yep, Morrows Nut House and the Karmelcorn shop. Yum! Only locals would remember that curtain of air at the entrance of Meier and Frank. And no, Portland is not a 'hell hole'. I will say that the cost of housing - rent and home prices - is a big problem and is causing a lot of homeless issues.
I remember that. Going there as a kid during Christmas. They used to place this massive Christmas tree outside M&F if I remember correctly. Miss those times.
@ArcherDriver Yes, you are correct! I had forgotten all about the Christmas tree! It was always so cold being outside at that time of year. Mom used to take my sister and I there on Friday's for Meier and Frank Friday Surprise. That was before Washington Square.
As a child in the '60s my family would drive down from Olympia to go to Lloyds Center. There was a great hobby shop that I could get slot cars and parts at!
this was probably taken in the morning when, of course, there would be much fewer people. it's not nearly like it was 10 years ago when i first visited and that's true of many mallls but it's not abandoned.
This mall looks beautiful and still well maintained, it will be really sad if it gets abandoned. I used to go to mall often, but now go straight to brand stores in outlets when I know what I am looking for. I don't know anything about mall's business strategy, maybe malls can bring in brand stores too.
I remember this one well. Lloyd Center was near where I was staying when I worked in Oregon. The reason its still open is because its not totally abandoned. There are still stores in there. Malls have long leases so it can take years for them to totally close. I remember Duchess Mall in NY, it only had 10-15 stores but those stores included all three of the stores I went to malls for at the time -- Suncoast, Waldenbooks, and an FYE. All the anchors were gone. I shopped there regularly. A few years later I was back and it was totally closed.
More than 55 years ago, when our family would visit my grandparents, us 4 kids would go here with our grandmother to ice skate! Such fond memories!❤️😊 I didn’t know it was still a working mall… somewhat.
It was open air back then, that was neat. I thought I’d never love the covered version, but my daughter learned to ice skate there so now I have fond memories of both.
This was my favorite mall not that long ago. We went last year, it was heartbreaking and surreal. I don’t understand how the few stores there are still open. Thanks for the video!
Sad I remember it from the 70’s and 80’ when I was a teenager in Portland. The place was a fun attraction and always packed. Christmas time was so busy there.
In addition to shops, I'd like to see this turn more into a community center with a library branch and parks & recreation use with classes for all ages, a technology lab, a wood workshop and other public educational and/or fun programs.
I grew up here, this is where I learned how to Ice skate, we would cruise here for Christmas. I think we were here when the new Star Trek movie for the Return of Capt Kirk was being released and had all kinds of advertising and creatures.
As a young child, my parents would take me to watch the Lloyd Center being built. As I grew up, I shopped at all the great stores there. Bring back the Lloyd Center! ❤❤❤
This is my favorite abandoned mall yet, it's so nice, amazing that people stoped going and the stores closed up. One thing ive recognized about abandoned malls and I wonder why it is a reocurring thing, in these abandoned malls it seems that MOST of the remaining stores are always on the 2nd floor level or 3rd. Wierd. I love this mall, From Miami
Some friends and I visited Portland in 1973 and we went to Lloyd Center to go ice skating one afternoon. It was the largest mall that I had ever visited up to that time. It doesn’t look like it is entirely abandoned yet, but it is definitely on its last legs.
It's not abandoned, it's just a dead mall on life support. It also started dying around 2017ish. Now both ends are dead and stores are only in the center now around the ice rink and the food court has like 3 eating places I last saw.
Yeah, this is not an abandoned mall... it's simply a dead mall. Abandoned would mean no lights on, no security, no businesses open, no taxes being paid, and no maintenance being performed... anyone who says something is abandoned when it's obviously not is just making crap up for views.
As a very houng kid I remdember when it opened to great fanfare. Through most of my life it ewas crowded with shoppers, people just hanging out, ice skaters, and retirees who walked in it on bad weather days. It will be remembered in Portland history.
It could be turned into a senior community! Have small apartments, a Towne center for shopping, and plenty of parking. Have a walking trail. They could use golf carts to get around in there!
I worked at a small specialty store there from 1979 to 1981 when it was an outdoor mall and I was still in high school-it was so cool then and quite an education working there. I learned more about people in my time there than anywhere else I've worked. I used to walk outside on my breaks and watch the ice skaters below.
Hearing "Election Day" from Arcadia (Duran Duran)... This is an incredible mall, and disappointing that the rich people/investors who own these properties, can never figure how to tweak the formula to bring them bring back to popularity. -- if you examine modern economics, it's not really that hard.
That's the brightest mall I've ever seen, lots of white (I'm talking about the structure, not race). Also one of the largest malls I've seen and a nice looking mall for a modern mall.
Thank you for this. I loved that mall in it’s heyday. I had lots of dates and lots of fun. It was a great place to while away some time. This makes me sad.
We moved to Oregon in the 70’s and we did all our school shopping at Lloyd Center! (This was before Washington Square/Target/WalMart existed). We used to go ice skating there too. Lots of memories. So sad to see it like this. Thanks for the video. I enjoyed the old music too! 😂
I would be curious to know what day of the week and what time of day this walkaround was created. I was at Lloyd Center this weekend and, while many of the shoppes have closed, it was certainly more active than during this video.
When I lived in Portland about 15 years ago the Lloyd Center was bustling with activity. My significant other and I used to go there to walk around, go to the theater, or have a bite to eat. It was a fun way to get out of the house. Now the mall is dead. Like my relationship. 😅😢
This doesn't look abandoned to me. With most of the storefronts still in business and some of the shops open and some not, it looks like you were there in the morning. Even in their heyday, malls tended to be quiet early in the day, especially during the workweek. What day and time were you there?
I loved this mall. I used to go there way back in the day. Loved it.😇😎🤑💯🦾🕸. I hope that people will start hanging out there.🎉🎉.Really cool spot. God bless.🌹🌹🌹🎰🎲.
What time of day was this video taken? Perhaps before the shops all opened? Lots of merchandise still around. I used to drive one hour to go to the Nordstrom. I believe mall opens for walking before shops open
I'm not disputing the sad decline of this place, but to be fair, it looks like this walk through is happening very first thing in the morning where a good chunk of stores that are still in operation just aren't open for the day yet. Any stores that are closed up but look fully stocked probably aren't abandoned (...yet). I haven't been since the late 1980s, maybe early 1990s when my grandma took me to see an orchestra perform in the space where the ice rink is. I think they just covered it up for the performance.
Good point! Many stores are obviously DOA but others appear to have merch in them. Many malls open the mall an hour or more before store openings so the “mall walkers” can get their morning walks done.
i grew up in portland as a child in the 80's and early 90's. Lots and lots of memories of this place. I ice skated a lot there. This is pure nostalgia for me.
I grew up in Portland. To me this video is basically the Statue of Liberty at the end of Planet of the Apes…
The end of the USA Empire seems to reveal the Greed that removed the purchasing power of the Middle Class Citizens who had enough disposable Income to buy crap that falls apart in a week.
Malls were the indication that Shopping was something that was going away, as condensed shopping centers made it appear like Americans still had some money.
The appearance of the Merchants all in one area as the rest of the Commercial Real Estate turned into vacancy signs, seems to leave those who have no money outside as Bankers seek ways to cover their investment in Downtown Areas.
End of Empire.............Going out of Business.
That is the sign that appears as you look at the Economic situation of the US Empire.
You're so f*cking correct!
I used to haul a lot of Lumber from the Portland Area.
I was noticing in the last 20 years a lot of Russian Veneer on the Docks in Portland.
In the US we used up all the big trees that produced the Plywood that created cheap houses.
Inflation is created as the cost of exploiting other Nations increases.
The US spends a lot to threaten other Nations so we can take resources from them.
Like the Malls closing, the fact that the US consumed the resources available to stimulate profits for a small group of Investors.
Now that the US Empire has used up the domestic supplies of products we appear to exploit other Nations supplies.
You might say that is an indication that them Commies may not have had Malls before 1989, but they still have resources.
The US has to take things from others.
That is why the Russians appear to still have things to trade.
Sad for the USA, but true.....
Me too, this made me cry. I grew up in Gresham and used to go there to hang out, shop, watch the ice skaters...this is so sad to me. The carmel corn shop, the pipe tobacco shop that smelled so good, honey baked ham, candle shop, stevens and son jewlers..you're right. It is like seeing the statue of liberty in planet of the apes, perfect analogy. 😢😢
@@danielhutchinson6604Sorry but it’s not that deep. Like everything else, people get tired of something and are onto the next thing which is ordering online and having it delivered right to your door. As soon as books became cheaper on Amazon, the bookstores folded……just one example. This mall is really spectacular, clean, plants in the planters, escalators running, big beautiful skylights, well lit……I’ve been in Mall of America a couple times and this place beats them hands down. I’m surprised that I don’t see mall walkers getting their exercise. As our local mall became practically extinct (extremely small, dark and no skylights) the place was still filled with walkers, myself included, and it was like a family of people from all over town. It’s gone now because once Penney’s closed, that was the last holdout.
I grew up in Eugene Oregon in the 60s and early seventies and Lloyd center was legendary back then. At that time I was considered the largest shopping mall in the country. He was also the first of what became to be known as a shopping mall. It was the biggest tourist attraction in Portland at that time.
Southdale Center in Edina, MN, was the first completely indoor regional shopping mall and it was built in 1956. Brookdale Center, Brooklyn Center, MN, (same concept) was built in 1962.
I remember...When I was little I loved the one night my family went there in December and finished the shopping list. As A teenager I was thrilled to stand in that cold windy outside above the skating rink with my school from Oregon City and sing carols in the choir.
I moved back to the valley and this is shocking. One time in 1977, my friend and I ate magic mushrooms and drove (not the smartest) to Lloyd Center and watched magical colors while people skated.
I am from the same era and lived in Southern Oregon growing up. Lloyd's Center was talked about at the time,....a place "in the big city" only the fortunate could visit. To see this video is just sobering.......
@@chelseadiazdid she bust any kneecaps? 😂😂😂
I worked in Lloyd from 2014-2016, which doesn’t feel all that long ago. It was VERY busy still, the Nordstrom and many of the other big department stores were still there, and the ice rink was still full size. It was absolutely insane to visit Lloyd every year after and watch it fall apart like this.
Isn't that where Tonya Harding learned to skate ? How is it not full size anymore? That should be a Historic Landmark!!
@@cougsjohnson1 Yup! She was banned from the center at some point. I’d say 5-10 years ago they did a massive renovation and shrunk the rink. Added the spiral staircase back too. It was a big deal.. then this. 🤷🏼♂️
@@cougsjohnson1Oh yeah, she's a national treasure, lol.
If you can still shop there is not abandoned is becoming abandoned but it's not abandoned just yet I don't think I didn't check the date on this video
@@metelgodful as far as I know, Lloyd is still open. Just very empty and uneventful
I lived in Lloyd Center. My parents owned Morrow's Nut House. I worked at age 11 sampling Spanish peanuts to everyone who walked through the door on opening day. I grew up on the ice rink and worked in the store. Went to college and came back to run the business with my family. I have so-o-o-o-o many stories to tell about LLoyd Center that I thought I should write a book of my memories for those whose lives were touched and shared with this remarkable place, and the candy store memories. I cried when I saw the ghost mall. Thank you to all who remember our candy store.
Omg Morrow's nut house!!!! I used to go in the 60's with my Mom!!!! The highlight for me was always the frozen chocolate covered bananas.
Introduced my husband to Morrows when we got married in 1971 and he discovered they had pine nuts!!! Wonderful memories....
@@MichaelCook-wx1po
Thank you for the memory of the bananas. Dad called them island delights. I had to stick and dip those things. They were really good! Pine nuts were really expensive back then as they were shelled. They wouldn't let me roast them... I was designated to selling! Ha!
Write that book! I’ll buy the first copy. This mall was iconic and deserves to be remembered as the great gathering place it was and possibly still could be.
@@thebeardapostle4446
I think I need a ghost writer! HA! Maybe I will start some notes,.
I would always buy a small box of caramel corn from your store. Thanks.
Wow. That was surreal. I would have never imagined seeing Lloyd Center with this few people.
Yea its sad and crazy to see. I went to the Lloyd center alot as a kid and up until 4 years ago
1972 we moved to Portland from a small town in Southern Oregon. The first time I ever ice skated was at Lloyd center. HUGE memory for me. Memories of when they put the "roof" on the Lloyd Center and created the 3rd floor. Fast forward to 1990's when I actually worked on the 3rd floor offices so my lunch breaks were always watching the movement and community in the Mall. Now it is sad to see this hub of commerce and people being abandoned and now reimagined. Hopefully I will be around to see the new life of this iconic landmark in Portland.
You probably saw me & my daughter back then. It was like an amusement park & the one place I could keep her entertained for hours. Miss the Disney Store, Gifts From Afar, Ross, but most of all the food court. I'm gonna cry.
I forgot about the roof!!
What year was the roof?@@kraz4paper220
Don't count on it.
I did HVAC for many years in Southern California and have worked to build and maintain quite a few large malls. They are very difficult to work at and maintenance is expensive and is only one factor that drives up the cost of leasing a mall space. Each time a new store would move in, they would gut the space of the previous business, throw it all away and rebuild with new materials. Even for a moderately sized store this could cost over a million before you've even opened the doors. For some stores it is policy to re-model every five years. I've seen the tremendous amount of waste these malls produce and it is almost criminal, not to mention the energy consumed to keep the air conditioning running and lights on. There's no way they can keep this up without shoppers. From my observation over the years I always knew in an economic downturn that the big malls wouldn't sustain themselves.
In the case of Lloyd Center, it picks up at night and during the weekends because it has the only ice skating rink in the metropolitan area, so it historically got super busy around "practice" or "open skating" times, and could be completely dead at other times. It's been a long time since the Malls in the area (outside of the two downtown, but Pioneer Square on the West side of the river, downtown PDX gets lunch rush from all of the office workers. I think as businesses continue to move up from California (putting the rest of us all that in the street mind you due to mass gentrification), I anticipate that these malls will start to fill back up. They are getting on gentrification (and probably are one of the forces pressuring the city to "ban" vagrancy and build more office buildings. That's the current trend. Mix use office buildings and apartments.
As for cost, remember that Oregon (like the rest of the PNW) tends to be colder, so the only thing the Malls have to do outside of summer is use their heat pumps to keep the building warm. And unlike in California, Oregon like Washington and Idaho gets most of its electricity from hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, solar, nuclear in some parts, and natural gas for occasional peak times. So, electricity has always been cheap here (relatively speaking). And I guarantee these malls are getting copious tax breaks to stay open (and prevent them from becoming homeless encampments [guaranteed would 100% happen, and I'd love to see it, but still], you gotta remember that this is like the shit in the Bay Area's most gentrified regions. The malls and shops still exist, they just have bonkers use hours.).
But, if you ever go to these malls in the PNE, what you'll notice is that outside of summer, they tend to be cold as fuck. Mainly, because outside of the shop spaces, they don't turn the heat up much to save electricity, and this motivates customers to shop. In the summer, because historically the Mall was one of the only well air-conditioned spaces, most people (unlike other parts of the US) would go hang out to escape the heat. While the uptick in climate change induced weather has made AC more commonplace, folks still use the Malls to escape. It's just that the whole landscape has changed. Young people are too busy & poor to shop, so they are either working three jobs to survive (or 70+ hours a week, or living in tiny ass spaces like this was NYC of old or Tokyo). But, unlike the rest of the US, the Malls around here still gets sufficient business to stay open. If they didn't, then they would probably be turned over to the city via eminent domain, because our soon to be ex Mayor is such a snob tool that Rather than having the police going after sex traffickers (a historical problem for the region due to us being a corridor region), he sends them to harass the unhoused. Thankfully, he isn't running again so we might actually get someone decent.
There isn't alot stores can do about the fact that what was previously in the space jsut doesn't fit their retail model. I've worked mall stores, that remodel many do every so often is somewhat unavoidable.
Two reasons:
1. Mall management often forces it in the rental contract
2. Stores take an absolute beating. Trying to make up for that beating by only repairing things can only take you so far, and it eventually gets to looking pretty slap dash.
@@haplopeart Design concepts are often overrated. There is still lots of unnecessary waste. The t-bar ceilings and lights for instance or the flooring. Very easily integrated into alternate concepts without replacing. Most of the time retail prices are what bring customers in. Not so much a fancy looking store.
@@Kentavious444 True..BUT...what of the case that the store that is being replaced due their retail method needed little to storage in the back...lot of sales floor space. The new store needs massive storage but little sales floor space.
To be clear you are NOT wrong in your statements, just saying needs do vary.
@@haplopeart I've heard of laws aimed at forcing these companies to recycle 25% (or more) of the original build-out. I think that is a good law. It forces them to get a little creative. Regarding floor space, that is always a consideration but doesn't require much waste when eliminating a partition wall. But re-ducting the entire store when it's unnecessary or replacing the entire ceiling and all the lights was something I've seen done hundreds of times and always scratched my head seeing perfectly good (almost new) materials filling a dumpster. Just doesn't make sense.
Hard to watch knowing how vibrant this mall used to be. it was the place to go in Portland area. Thank you for the tour.
Idk I’ve always preferred arbo or any of the lookout sites gotta smoke and clear my head especially last time I was home in 2020
Wow, like 90% of what I used to go there and visit doesn't exist anymore. It's weird seeing this place still technically open, and watching through the video thinking "Hey, there's where See's Candies used to be! And back there was the old Suncoast! How the hell is Forever 21 still thriving in this mall?!"
Cheap clothes made to be worn once and tears, then go back and buy more by school girls.
They're living up to their name.😅
I thought they went bankrupt.
Many of the Brands still alive at Malls like these are the ones that have had a bit of Internet Presence during Covid due to SOME LOYAL CUSTOMERS.
Which is why I was shocked Hot Topic was still going strong in other Oregon Malls. That and Lloyd center is the only mall in Oregon with a skating rink.
Yeah. it's called the effect of rampant theft and crimes against individuals. Macy's stuck it out until the organized retail theft became too much of a financial burden. Once they left it became a wasteland pretty quickly
It looks so well that It even gives the impression they just finish construction and are slowly populating the spaces.
When was the last renovation? Dead malls are rarely this modern looking.
@@johnwireman2660This was a thriving mall just a few years ago, corporations are fleeing Portland.
I remember when it first opened in 1960. It was the first mall in the area and my mom used to take me to Meier and Frank for school shopping. I have such fond memories of our shopping trips together.
The pet section on the lower floor of Newberry's ...birds, fish, turtles, lizards, 👍
I remember Meier & Frank. I loved the one downtown at Xmas with the animatronic window displays. Fun fact: Clark Gable used to work at the M & F downtown just before he made it big.
I loved Meier & Frank. Working at the Washington Square store was my first grown-up job.
@@nanasewdear Washington Square is still holding out. I miss Lloyd.Ctt though. That was our mall as we lived close to it plus I loved the ice rink.
I remember that Meier &Frank used to have Boy Scout supplies on the second floor. I got my first uniform there.
I grew up at this mall, I rode my bike 7 mi every weekend to go there in the late '80s '90s and 2000s, in the '90s that had Toys r Us that did pokémon tournaments every Sunday. This is where I used to buy CDs that are now obsolete. This video is so nostalgic to me whoever made this thank you for reminding me how special the Lloyd center was to the people of Portland Oregon.
Same, I don't think we went more than a few days without going down to Loyd Center. I have hundreds of memories there. It was a huge deal when Meyer & frank stopped doing the Christmas train.
Basically empty but that's a really, really nice looking mall. This place must've been incredible in its heyday.
Yeah, it was my favorite place to hang out as a teen.
Things will pick-up around Christmas.😆
It used to *SWARM* with people. Sensory overload big time. Food courts were *BUSY.*
mind blowing. This mall used to be packed in the 2000s
Soooo packed! 😢 this was my childhood mall since the 90's
It was packed in 2015!
It's a shell of its former self, but in remarkably good shape compared to Dead Malls elsewhere. Absolutely no trace of the former Mall Cinemas, looks like they completely walled off that section north of the food court. Had a lot of good memories from this mall!
The ice rink used to be gigantic. Olympic size I believe. Making it smaller was the dumbest idea!
I think Tonya Harding used to practice there all the time back in the early ‘90s.
I used to go ice skating there as a young kid back in the in the 70s. Looks like they ruined a good thing. That’s what greed can do.
@@marjoriemorris5849she did
The only way they'd ever be able to open up that mall again in that neighborhood is if they had Robocop security guards.
I lived in Portland a half century ago, and this was the old grand dad of Portland malls. Lloyd Center was there before all the others were built. Now it looks to be a bit of history.
My mom worked at the JC Penney at Lloyd Center in the early 70's. As a little girl I could go to work with her and spend the day shopping around by myself. It was an open air mall originally and was so beautiful at Christmas. Portland has changed so much and none of it for the better. Morrows Nut House for Carmel apples. Goldberg's restaurant for tongue sandwiches and endless ice skating with my cousin. It was the best!😢
And Van Duyn’s chocolates!
The building still looks to be in good condition unlike most other dead malls that fall into disrepair. That must have been a nice place to shop in its heyday. That is one huge mall!
Second largest mall in the US. Mall Of America in Minnesota being the largest. I've been to both.
I grew up going to this mall since I was little. They used to have the radio Disney crew down to this mall to do fun activities with the kids with prizes. A fun fact this mall has the only indoor ice rink in the state of Oregon.
I was there in the 60's. It was the first ice rink in a mall that I know of. We stopped in on vacation to skate there.
Did they close the ice skating rink in the Clackamas Town Center Mall?
@@DanaDeeBee
Yes
@@DanaDeeBee yeah a long time ago
Maybe in a mall, but there is the indoor ice rink in Beaverton on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway. It's where the Winterhawks practice, and it is open to the public.
I think this mall would be great for mixed use spaces and in all the empty spaces apartments could be built and use what is empty for housing. It would be a community within a community. All stores and bistros mixed with apartments and local businesses, and other mixed use. That way this building can be used so it doesn’t turn to rot.
That’s the plan.
Apartments? With no windows? I don't really think you could convert a shopping mall into apartments. Nobody would rent them.
This will probably be like the line- everything you need within 5 minutes..
a gilded cage…
@@DirtFlyer
Look up “the line” and five minute cities…
Yeah like a prison with stuff you can dream about .
Love how modern this mall looks
The owners have tried to keep up with the times.
Crime and online shopping have a lot to do with the malls problems
Thank you for taking the time to fully capture the extent of this tragic and heartbreaking demise. Like many who posted here, I have fond nostalgic memories of when I was a pianist in the Lloyd Center Nordstrom in the late 90s. I remember going to see “Blade” at the Cinema on the third floor, and countless days where all three levels packed with vendors, shoppers the ice-rink bustling with young and old skaters, and people just enjoying the space as a place for community. 😢❤
I grew up in a small town that had no mall, and when my family would go to a city with a mall it was such an experience seeing all these people and stores gathered in one place. This footage is surreal compared to my childhood memories.
I used to deliver freight to Downtown Merchants in 1969, then they built a Mall.
It was not a big City, only 12,000 humans.
The Downtown areas slowly began to deteriorate, then the Mall began to close.
The death of an economic system based on exploitation and expansion seems to consume itself.
How very sad it is to see Lloyd Center mall like this . Nobody wants to go into Portland anymore
Portland used to be the go to place. Now it is other cities but Portland.
I grew up in the 80’s in Hollywood just up the road. Graduated Grant high school 1987. Spent many many hours hanging out here. Who remembers the smells from morrows nut house? King Norman’s toy store? Frederick &Nelsons? Joe brown Carmel corn(they used to have a shelf on the right side where they would sell trading cards, remember buying empire strikes back trading cards there back in 1980). There was a buffet restaurant owned buy mier & franks that overlooked the gigantic ice rink. Newberry’s and it’s weird little bar style cafe on the right side. You could park up top and walk through the glass China shop to get to the mall.
I would visit the animals at Newberry's with my grandma all the time 😢
Went to Fernwood Elementary and Grant High. The .ll as the place to go socialize. I could find everything in there. Love it.
We went
I'm certain that crime in Portland caused all of the customers, then the merchants, to abandon this mall. If a profit could be had, the merchants would be there. If muggings and carjackings didn't happen in the parking lot, customers would get safe to shop there.
Not gonna lie, this would be pretty sweet for walking in the winter and bad weather to avoid the mundane treadmill
We live in Portland and they have had stories and updates on the news about the mall. I believe there is a large company that purchased the property and were going to turn the mall into housing . But I think the plans have changed some and they now are going to keep a lot of the mall ( ice arena, theatre , some other things )and are still building some housing . Can’t recall the details but the mall has definitely not been abandoned I don’t think.
That eoyld be kinda cool if they did apartments and kept the inside space like the ice rink and food court, etc. Then you can walk out to it from your apartment all indoors.
Who ever would have thought we’d see this much of a social economic decline in our lifetime
The economy is much better than 10 years ago. People changed their shopping habits. Big box stores like Walmart and Target and online shopping is easier and more affordable.
In the 70’s, they said that shopping malls were killing our humanity value because they killed all the small mom and dad’s shops in our neighborhood.
And, the most-recent lack of funds on the part of many…
I recall a lot of prices were up there in this place. You needed a decent income to shop there.
@@GremmPaltakin The unemployment rate is down to about 3% and consumer spending is high. The GPD has been growing at about 2.5% since 2022.
@@NotSettlingForSecondBest I'm 60 years old and we're experiencing the strongest economy I've seen during my lifetime. You're spot-on!
Well, the comments are interesting. Some intriguing takes on cause and effect. Although as is typical, this is far from a simple single-cause problem. As a life-long Portland resident, I have spent a lot of time at Lloyd Center over the years. The last decade or so has been particularly rough, more so than the normal economic troubles. And those talking about malls in general miss that there are thriving malls around the metro area that are crowded even in the middle of a weekday - Washington Mall in Beaverton, Vancouver Mall and it's failed attempt to rebrand as Westfield Shopping Center(no local ever called it that), and the more recently added(2005) Bridgeport Village(an open air design from a California-based property investor - they clearly didn't understand that Oregon is soggy and wet for half the year and the main parking garage is off the side leading to a long walk to many shops)
Lloyd Centers problems are many - it's an old location. The location itself has led to issues - a long running issue has been both property and violent crimes both in the surrounding neighborhood and within the mall itself, most of the violence stemming from rival gangs leading to shootings and stabbings and sometimes large brawls. The mall has had a massive amount of construction going on in recent years, including a rebuild of the skating rink, and another project working on a portion of the multi-level parking garage on the south side of the building. Loss of long-time anchor stores did a lot of damage, but that's more linked to the failure of the older department stores and affected all malls. Mall management itself is to blame for some things - a local business was kicked out of another local mall locations and went out of business. Perhaps some of the other locals remember Excalibur Cutlery and how it was forced out of Washington Square Mall for selling "weapons" after having been there for 30 years. Their last gasp as an online seller ended in 2022. Another recent shake-up was a plan to develop a lot across the street where a movie theater with IMAX screens has been for a long time. One of the plans was to move it inside the mall, while they already had another small theater, but would now use what used to be the empty Sears area. I haven't seen any updates on that beyond community backlash since that was announced.
Beautiful mall and they're playing 80's music. Never thought I would ever hear "The Tubes - She's A Beauty" in a mall. I also love the windows on the roof which allow a lot of natural light in the mall. At the end of the video, I can almost see myself sitting at one of those tables playing chess or having a bite to eat. Very peaceful and very nice. :)
I also noticed Election Day by Simon Lebon's Arcadia playing.
That food court was a fantastic place to hang out. I went to high school nearby and spent many afternoons there waiting for some evening game or activity. It is so strange seeing the mall so empty.
I enjoyed watching your uncut, continuous and uninterrupted walk-thru style of coverage. With a simple yet expertly captured view along each level, I must say, that has to be one of the largest malls I've seen that was almost completely without shoppers. I'm guessing it has to do with COVID and the convenience of online shopping? IDK, but thanks. Gr8 video!
Thanks for watching!
No one buys at malls they get better prices on line or at dollar tree
@maryanncrody4867 Not sure why anyone would choose to buy any clothes online, when you can't try them on.
It’s in PORTLAND
I suspect one reason traffic fell at Lloyd Center was that they reduced the size of the skating rink. Not the decisive one, but that didn't help business.
I remember the Lloyd Center. Didn’t go there very much because I lived near Gresham from 1978 to 1998. Over the years the crime there became too much for my liking.
It's really weird watching this after going to the Clackamas mall and having the place absolutely bumpin. It really shows how much of Portland's continued deterioration is really effecting businesses.
There's a nice looking park right next to the Lloyd Center and I believe it's actually one of the most dangerous parks in town now.
As a child my family would go there just to eat Carmel corn and watch the ice skaters. It’s was an open air mall at the time. The live Nativity Scenes were complete with camels and mules. Lots of lovely memories. And just down the street, was Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor.
Looks like the third floor never even got a single store... yet there's a full service Dairy Queen?! I never would've known there was a food court up there.
Third floor, many years ago, had a lot of offices. There was one I went to a few times to pay medical bills. I think it was about 30 years ago.
Offices and a medical assistant school.
I'm 71, born and raised in the Portland area. I took ice skating lessons there when I was little. It was so cool having the open air mall concept. Ahead of its time, for sure.
Fond memories of the ice rink and also seeing the Christmas tree rise up above the roof...and the aroma of caramel corn
If it was safer to go to Portland, I would visit the Lloyd Center Mall more often. It's my favorite mall, compared to The Clackamas Mall and Washington Square Mall. Mostly because I like the design of it. It's easy for me to find my way around. I love that skylight. I really do miss that mall. I had been thinking about it. I wonder how it was surviving, compared to other malls. I had a feeling it would struggle, but not be completely dead. The fact that the mall is still defiantly going on, shows how much people are not ready to accept its defeat. Which should tell you how much people really cared about this mall. It could very well go out completely, like all the other malls across America. But it could hang on long enough to see new life. I hope it does survive. That would make a great story if it did.
If you actually think that Portland is that dangerous because you watch Fox fucking news then yeah stay away..... We don't want you.
It's safe to go to Portland. The news just focuses on certain parts of the city, while the rest is much as it used to be. Pushing disasters & tragedies are better for ratings than reporting how normal things are.
Portland has always had a scuzzy side. Back in the 1940s, my mother's family lived near 36th & Stanton, the same neighborhood Beezus & Ramona grew up in. One night as he walked home from work, my grandfather was rolled blocks from his house: at the time there was a whorehouse nearby & when one of the "customers" ran out of money to purchase "services" with, he went looking for someone to cover the deficit.
The remarkable thing about Lloyd Center is that it's NOT overrun with homeless people camping there, which would be the case if was abandoned: it is still being looked after.
This scary to see but also does not surprise me. Over the last 5 years, I have stopped going to Lloyd center, Because I did not feel safe. At the end of 2018, I was harassed by a group of teenagers that kept trying to punch me for no apparent reason, I began avoiding the place since then. The whole Lloyd district has become a scary area that I just don't go to at all anymore.
I grew up in Portland and this was the mall we always went shopping at. I worked in a restaurant right across from the ice skating rink, in my teens.
Christmas shopping here was always so busy and decorated beautifully. This is where I first sat on Santa's knee, as did my own children.
So absolutely sad to see this mall like this.
The kandy Korn shop could be smelled from one end of the mall to the other. I always made sure to buy my Carmel corn from here before shopping and you couldn't find better anywhere.
Just another piece of Portland gone way too soon.
I remember the restaurant, Mannings, my mom would take me there after skating and shopping, su h precious memories ❤.
Yeah remember Morrow's nut house, always hot and the milkshakes were the real deal, also meeting ont the bridge between Meier & Frank and morrows, was how we kept track of everyone. Back then all the anchor stores were always there, Nordstrom, Meier & Frank, Penny's, Newberrys, etc. , and no stupid kiosks in the aisles blocking and crowding everything, they turned it in to a carnival scene, ah the good days gone forever
It's so eerie and spooky seeing these empty malls when 5 -10+ years ago, they were hustling and bustling places. I hope they find a good use for them, because there are a lot of them (empty ones) all over the country. Where I live in the Midwest, there are still some relatively busy ones here and there.
They should make them into an indoor go-cart/race track. Wow, that would make a nice mini Formula One circuit. Seems to me indoor race tracks were somewhat popular in the late 90s early 2000s. Indoor race tracks should never go out of style. I can see it now.. multi-level tracks, sports bars, race gear...the Phoenix
I lived about 1.5 hours away from that mall. One day about 20 years ago I went shopping in Portland and decided to go there. It was so packed I had to park down in some lower lot that was not part of the general parking. After looking around at the clientele I became a little worried about it.
It was full of shoppers. But not the typical type that you would feel safe around. More like the usual suspects. I never went back. Now look at it.
Look at Portland. What a shock.
I remember going to this mall in 2003 and it was super full and busy. Now my son loves to go there just to see if it's still there. It's like urban exploring to him. It's a calming place to walk around. Most of it has been converted to office space, especially on the top floor, which seems like a decent solution. There's a nursing school or something up there, too. Pioneer Place isn't doing much better these days. Thank goodness Washington Square Mall is still thriving. I had to buy my son new clothes last weekend and the place was packed!
Clackamas is doing very well too. I think Lloyd center is not in a great location for shopping.
It is planned to be demolished sometime in the next decade or so. That whole part of town is pretty dead which is sad because it's almost like another downtown just with nothing to do other than the convention center and Moda Center events. Would be cool if some life comes back to that area its right in the middle of the city.
They plan to make it residential apartments.
I remember that mall from almost 60 years ago. We stopped there when on vacation to go ice skating. That is a very good looking mall. It is a shame so many things have closed. They need to repurpose it.
We have a mall in seattle turned into a hospital
House asylum seekers. Millions more are coming.
Omg the nostalgia....I worked there as a teen and I also remember when it was an open air mall. Before they closed it all off with the building around all the little shops inside. That's how the birds got inside and they just lived in there after the construction . I need to go for the Cinnabon before it's closed forever. You passed different stores and a ton of memories flooded back. I went to Benson high-school so I was at Lloyd everyday for lunch! Just crazy how things change!
This mall is officially still open to the public, but it is a miracle its still open. There are very few stores still left open there and the food court only has 2 restaurants open. I have not been here in a few months though.
I grew up south of there. I remember hearing about Lloyd center this or Lloyd center that, almost every day on the news. I visited once and tried ice skating.
I feel old watching this.
So sad, cause this was a huge landmark like Portland Meadows race track.
I tried counting the open stores. My count was 18. Sad for a mall of this size. I did see a custodian with her cart. The mall appears to be in a very good state of repair.
Did you just assume the gender of the custodian?? Shame!!
Wonder what they will do with it now. So strange seeing a mall like this. I would have never thought Lloyd Center would go down. Sad. There are still stores in there. Amazing
Certainly been a while since I've been down to Portland, but we used to always make it a point to stop here at Lloyd Center as they had a place that made some of the best cheesy popcorn on the west coast.
They should drop the rent and let independent places be able to afford it. But no. U.S. tax code allows this kind of waste to go on and they can just write it off and blow up the national debt more.
My grandparents took my brother and I to see the Lloyd Center in the early 1960s when it was new and filled with shoppers (and sightseers, like us). Coming from a very rural area, we had never seen anything like it. Especially memorable was seeing the iceskating rink!
Amazing to see it 60 years later still in good physical condition, but at the same time disturbing to see so many vacant stores. The very long shadows indicate this video was filmed in the early morning -sad to see it so gloomy and desolate.
Lloyd Center used to be an open-air mall in the 60s and 70s. Used to go there a lot in grade school-high school. Haven't been there since they covered it up. Yep, Morrows Nut House and the Karmelcorn shop. Yum! Only locals would remember that curtain of air at the entrance of Meier and Frank. And no, Portland is not a 'hell hole'. I will say that the cost of housing - rent and home prices - is a big problem and is causing a lot of homeless issues.
I remember that. Going there as a kid during Christmas. They used to place this massive Christmas tree outside M&F if I remember correctly. Miss those times.
@ArcherDriver Yes, you are correct! I had forgotten all about the Christmas tree! It was always so cold being outside at that time of year. Mom used to take my sister and I there on Friday's for Meier and Frank Friday Surprise. That was before Washington Square.
I can't get over how clean and well kept it is. Great job, nice video. Thank you for sharing.
As a child in the '60s my family would drive down from Olympia to go to Lloyds Center. There was a great hobby shop that I could get slot cars and parts at!
this was probably taken in the morning when, of course, there would be much fewer people. it's not nearly like it was 10 years ago when i first visited and that's true of many mallls but it's not abandoned.
Lots of closed shops, not much left to keep it open
This mall looks beautiful and still well maintained, it will be really sad if it gets abandoned. I used to go to mall often, but now go straight to brand stores in outlets when I know what I am looking for. I don't know anything about mall's business strategy, maybe malls can bring in brand stores too.
I remember this one well. Lloyd Center was near where I was staying when I worked in Oregon.
The reason its still open is because its not totally abandoned. There are still stores in there. Malls have long leases so it can take years for them to totally close. I remember Duchess Mall in NY, it only had 10-15 stores but those stores included all three of the stores I went to malls for at the time -- Suncoast, Waldenbooks, and an FYE. All the anchors were gone. I shopped there regularly.
A few years later I was back and it was totally closed.
Nice to see the ice rink still in use - I spent countless hours learning to skate there on a long rainy winter I spent in the Portland area
More than 55 years ago, when our family would visit my grandparents, us 4 kids would go here with our grandmother to ice skate! Such fond memories!❤️😊 I didn’t know it was still a working mall… somewhat.
It was open air back then, that was neat. I thought I’d never love the covered version, but my daughter learned to ice skate there so now I have fond memories of both.
Lloyd center max train stop is a very high crime area, as is their parking lots. Not surprising.
This was my favorite mall not that long ago. We went last year, it was heartbreaking and surreal. I don’t understand how the few stores there are still open. Thanks for the video!
Sad I remember it from the 70’s and 80’ when I was a teenager in Portland. The place was a fun attraction and always packed. Christmas time was so busy there.
In addition to shops, I'd like to see this turn more into a community center with a library branch and parks & recreation use with classes for all ages, a technology lab, a wood workshop and other public educational and/or fun programs.
No.
This mall looks so big! I was in Portland once in 1991. I would have gone to the mall if I knew it existed.
It was the biggest mall in the world when it was built.
I grew up here, this is where I learned how to Ice skate, we would cruise here for Christmas. I think we were here when the new Star Trek movie for the Return of Capt Kirk was being released and had all kinds of advertising and creatures.
As a young child, my parents would take me to watch the Lloyd Center being built. As I grew up, I shopped at all the great stores there. Bring back the Lloyd Center! ❤❤❤
This is my favorite abandoned mall yet, it's so nice, amazing that people stoped going and the stores closed up. One thing ive recognized about abandoned malls and I wonder why it is a reocurring thing, in these abandoned malls it seems that MOST of the remaining stores are always on the 2nd floor level or 3rd. Wierd. I love this mall, From Miami
Wow Malls really are becoming a thing of the past. So sad.
I would go to the Lloyd Center in 1978 when I livedin Portland. I loved that place.
Some friends and I visited Portland in 1973 and we went to Lloyd Center to go ice skating one afternoon. It was the largest mall that I had ever visited up to that time. It doesn’t look like it is entirely abandoned yet, but it is definitely on its last legs.
It's not abandoned, it's just a dead mall on life support. It also started dying around 2017ish. Now both ends are dead and stores are only in the center now around the ice rink and the food court has like 3 eating places I last saw.
Yeah, this is not an abandoned mall... it's simply a dead mall. Abandoned would mean no lights on, no security, no businesses open, no taxes being paid, and no maintenance being performed... anyone who says something is abandoned when it's obviously not is just making crap up for views.
A Mall That's Slowly But Surely Losing It's Stores & Closing Down Does Not Mean It's Abandoned 🤔
As a very houng kid I remdember when it opened to great fanfare. Through most of my life it ewas crowded with shoppers, people just hanging out, ice skaters, and retirees who walked in it on bad weather days. It will be remembered in Portland history.
It could be turned into a senior community! Have small apartments, a Towne center for shopping, and plenty of parking. Have a walking trail. They could use golf carts to get around in there!
This place is enormous. How long can it survive like this?
Think about all the interactions between people that are lost when we shop online and don't communicate face to face.
It is what it is
I worked at a small specialty store there from 1979 to 1981 when it was an outdoor mall and I was still in high school-it was so cool then and quite an education working there. I learned more about people in my time there than anywhere else I've worked. I used to walk outside on my breaks and watch the ice skaters below.
Thanks for the memories!❤
Hearing "Election Day" from Arcadia (Duran Duran)...
This is an incredible mall, and disappointing that the rich people/investors who own these properties, can never figure how to tweak the formula to bring them bring back to popularity. -- if you examine modern economics, it's not really that hard.
That's the brightest mall I've ever seen, lots of white (I'm talking about the structure, not race). Also one of the largest malls I've seen and a nice looking mall for a modern mall.
Thank you for this. I loved that mall in it’s heyday. I had lots of dates and lots of fun. It was a great place to while away some time. This makes me sad.
We moved to Oregon in the 70’s and we did all our school shopping at Lloyd Center! (This was before Washington Square/Target/WalMart existed). We used to go ice skating there too. Lots of memories. So sad to see it like this. Thanks for the video. I enjoyed the old music too! 😂
I would be curious to know what day of the week and what time of day this walkaround was created. I was at Lloyd Center this weekend and, while many of the shoppes have closed, it was certainly more active than during this video.
What a travesty! This is one of the most beautiful malls I've ever seen.
When I lived in Portland about 15 years ago the Lloyd Center was bustling with activity.
My significant other and I used to go there to walk around, go to the theater, or have a bite to eat. It was a fun way to get out of the house.
Now the mall is dead. Like my relationship. 😅😢
This doesn't look abandoned to me. With most of the storefronts still in business and some of the shops open and some not, it looks like you were there in the morning. Even in their heyday, malls tended to be quiet early in the day, especially during the workweek. What day and time were you there?
I loved this mall. I used to go there way back in the day. Loved it.😇😎🤑💯🦾🕸. I hope that people will start hanging out there.🎉🎉.Really cool spot. God bless.🌹🌹🌹🎰🎲.
So sad. I'm 69 and grew up in The Dalles about 83 miles from Portland. We visited it several times.
What time of day was this video taken? Perhaps before the shops all opened? Lots of merchandise still around. I used to drive one hour to go to the Nordstrom. I believe mall opens for walking before shops open
I'm not disputing the sad decline of this place, but to be fair, it looks like this walk through is happening very first thing in the morning where a good chunk of stores that are still in operation just aren't open for the day yet. Any stores that are closed up but look fully stocked probably aren't abandoned (...yet).
I haven't been since the late 1980s, maybe early 1990s when my grandma took me to see an orchestra perform in the space where the ice rink is. I think they just covered it up for the performance.
Good point! Many stores are obviously DOA but others appear to have merch in them. Many malls open the mall an hour or more before store openings so the “mall walkers” can get their morning walks done.
My grandma took me ice skating there years ago. Loved it.
The mall to go to back when I was in High-school in the 90's.
i grew up in portland as a child in the 80's and early 90's. Lots and lots of memories of this place. I ice skated a lot there. This is pure nostalgia for me.
This was such a cool place in the 60s. Mama and daddy took us there at least for Christmas every year. Such fine times.
Wait…..was that the mall owner hanging from the mezzanine railing?