Pioneer Place, Portland, OR

An extant asset

Once upon a time, downtown urban enclosed shopping centers were all the rage.  Most decently sized cities had at least one built within their cores, though today the results are somewhat mixed.  Though one-time juggernauts Pacific Place, Edmonton City Centre and Saint Louis Centre have faded, spots like Copley Place and River Park Square seem to be doing well enough.  And I would have to say that Pioneer Place falls somewhere in the middle.

1 & 2- The exterior of Pioneer Place in 2017.  3 to 6- Inside the mall the same year.

Upon my first visit in 2017, Pioneer Place was still drawing in rather large crowds.  Being just a block or so away from Pioneer Square, the historic center of downtown Portland, meant plenty of foot traffic along the four blocks of its streetside façades.

Pioneer Place lease plan ca. 2011.  View the full PDF version here.

Normal mall fare such as Talbots, The Gap and Bath & Body Works then lined the corridors along with what was once a well-stocked food court on the bottom level.  Unfortunately, during this visit that area was being renovated into the present-day Roots Food District, so I never really got to see what it was like.

1- The entrance at Fifth and Morrison.  2- The skywalk leading to the center’s northeastern block.  3- The entrance at Third and Morrison.  4- Murals have replaced the Louis Vuitton store next to a now closed light rail station.  5- Looking south down Fourth.  6- The view north on Fourth.

As of 2023, all of the stores mentioned above have departed, but the commercial collection still seems healthy enough.  In fact, it’s doing quite a bit better than nearby Lloyd Center, which seems to be in its death throes.  Despite vacancies scattered throughout, names like Zara, H&M and Golden Goose still find a home there, although they are mainly located on the ground floor with their own exterior egress points.

Pioneer Place’s northwestern block.

Pioneer Place opened in 1990 on four blocks within the heart of Portland’s core.  The buildings are completely separated at ground level but connected by underground walkways and skybridges.  Saks Fifth Avenue served as the anchor for the four-level center.

Saks vacated their space in 2010, with the Apple Store eventually rebuilding and moving into their main location while H&M took over the balance of their vacated square footage, which once served as the home of their men’s store.

1 to 3- The circular mezzanines of the northeastern block. 4- An empty storefront in the same building.  5 & 6- The underground connection corridors between the different blocks.

Like many urban centers post pandemic, Pioneer Place has lost much of its clientele and does seem to be struggling, though not as badly as a good many of its peers.  The MAX stations for the city’s light rail that were once adjacent to Pioneer Place have been closed to quicken trips through downtown, further affecting the retail complex’s traffic.

The Roots Food Hall located in the basement level of the southwestern block.

Pioneer Place official website

Salem Center, Salem, OR

 An extant asset

(Source)

I love city center malls, especially ones found unexpectedly in smaller towns.  Being the mall nerd that I am, I’ve located them in hamlets such as Kalispell Center in Kalispell, Montana, Mankato Place in Mankato, Minnesota and Mason City Iowa’s Southbridge Mall.  But one of the most successful and active that I have found, so much so that it outlasted its own suburban peer, is in Oregon’s state capital, Salem Center.

Salem Center lease plan ca. 2002.  View the full PDF version here.

Though I’ve never been to the Salem Center, only having passed through the city via Interstate 5 on my way to Portland, it does seem to punch way above its weight when compared to the retail options in cities of a similar size.  To this day, it still hosts a traditional department store with Macy’s as well as several junior anchors.  What’s most unique, however, is that even though it is no longer open, this center once hosted a full line Nordstrom store.

1 to 4- Interior shots of Salem Center. (Source for all)  5- Empty storefronts in the center. (Source)  6- The mall entrance to the former Nordstrom store. (Source)

What today is known as Salem Center opened in 1979 occupying several blocks in the capital’s city center.  But the first of its anchor stores was actually built in the mid-fifties when Meier & Frank opened their first branch outlet on the corner of High and Center Streets.  A decade later in 1965, JCPenney joined the downtown lineup with their own two level addition just a few blocks away.  Then, in 1970, downtown’s first major suburban competition came with the opening of Lancaster Mall just to the east.

Salem Center lease plan ca. 2011.  View the full PDF version here.

Originally titled as Nordstrom Mall and Salem Plaza, the double and single tiered buildings were constructed on a couple of blocks between the two extant anchors.  JCPenney was connected to the Nordstrom Mall via a skybridge while the Seattle based luxury retailer of the same name debuted their own 72,000 square foot facility.  Mervyn’s opened their outlet in Salem Plaza, which itself was expanded with a second level in the mid-eighties.

Salem Center lease plan ca. 2015.  View the full PDF version here.

Soon after, the separate centers were consolidated and rechristened as the Salem Center.  Over the years, Mervyn’s ceded to Kohl’s and Meier & Frank was converted to a Macy’s upon their takeover.  Nordstrom pulled out of what was by then one of their smallest full line locations in 2018 while JCPenney announced their departure in 2020.  While these losses have had an impact, Salem Center still hosts standard mall retailers such as American Eagle Outfitters, Hot Topic and Spencer’s.

1 & 2- Two of Salem Center’s mall entrances.  3- The Cinnebare Theaters. (Source for 1 to 3)  4- The former JCPenney store. (Source)  5- The former Nordstrom exterior. (Source)  6- Apartments now stand where Nordstrom once did. (Source)

Salem Center’s sole competition within the market, Lancaster Mall, was de-malled in the late 2010s and was relabeled as Willamette Town Center.  This leaves the downtown complex as the only remaining enclosed plaza in the area.  The former Nordstrom location was demolished with a residential complex built in its place.  Hopefully this will keep enough patrons coming back for the city center retail destination to survive.

Salem Center Mallmanac ca. 2023.  View the full PDF version here.

Salem Center official website