Montgomery Park (Portland, Oregon)
Encyclopedia
Montgomery Park is an office building and former Montgomery Ward
mail-order catalog
warehouse
and department store
located in Portland, Oregon
, United States
, built in 1920. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
under its historic name Montgomery Ward & Company Building. The building is located on property once used for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition
, of 1905. It was occupied by Montgomery Ward from 1920 until 1985, although the majority of the company's operations at this location ended in 1982.
s, and in the early 1970s Montgomery Ward
began to follow the same path itself, opening stores at Mall 205
, Jantzen Beach Mall
, and Beaverton Mall
. The Northwest Portland store closed in July 1976, and the building remained in use only for warehouse and mail-order functions and as a "catalog overstock outlet". In 1978, the company built a new warehouse in Portland's Rivergate Industrial District, and in 1982 it closed the Northwest Portland warehouse, eliminating 500 jobs at the site. Only the small "clearance outlet" store continued to operate, and following the 1984 sale of the building, that store closed finally in July 1985.
and his brother Sam Naito. In 1985, the Naitos initiated a rehabilitation and refitting of the building's interior for use for trade show
s, banquets and offices. As part of the renovations, the building was renamed "Montgomery Park". The "notoriously frugal" Bill Naito liked the new name, because it meant that only two letters of the building's huge 14-letter neon
rooftop sign needed to be altered. The sign was changed in May 1986, at which time most of the renovations also were completed and the building opened for regular use for trade shows, among other uses.
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
mail-order catalog
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
and department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
located in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, built in 1920. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
under its historic name Montgomery Ward & Company Building. The building is located on property once used for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition
Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition
The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, commonly also known as the Lewis and Clark Exposition, and officially known as the Lewis and Clark Centennial American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair, was a worldwide exposition held in Portland, Oregon, United States in 1905 to celebrate the...
, of 1905. It was occupied by Montgomery Ward from 1920 until 1985, although the majority of the company's operations at this location ended in 1982.
Description and original uses
At the time of its completion, in September 1920, the building was the largest in the city, as measured by floor space, which was approximately 569000 ft2 originally. A 229000 ft2 wing was added to the building's northwest corner in 1935–36, changing what had been an L-shaped building to a roughly U-shaped one. The building has nine floors plus a basement. The 4th through 9th floors were used almost exclusively as warehouse space, while most portions of the 2nd and 3rd floors functioned as office and mail-order workspace. The first floor was used primarily for loading and unloading of freight arriving and leaving by truck or rail and temporary storage of such goods. Three rail spurs served the facility, extending into the ground floor. Among other things, the building is known for its large steel-framed roof sign, the largest sign in Portland, which was constructed in 1925.Retail store
Retail service at this location was relatively limited in its first years. A 1936 expansion added retail space, covering a variety of goods, occupying a new mezzanine floor and parts of the 2nd and 3rd floors. A tire store was opened in an adjacent annex. In the post-World War II years, the Vaughn Street store's business declined steadily. An increasing proportion of the store's customers were attracted to new suburban shopping mallShopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
s, and in the early 1970s Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
began to follow the same path itself, opening stores at Mall 205
Mall 205
Mall 205 is an enclosed shopping mall located at the junction of Interstate 205 and S.E. Washington Street in Portland, Oregon, United States. The mall features over 40 stores and a food court; anchor stores include Bed Bath & Beyond, The Home Depot, Target, and 24 Hour Fitness...
, Jantzen Beach Mall
Jantzen Beach SuperCenter
Jantzen Beach SuperCenter is a shopping mall located in Portland, Oregon on Hayden Island in the Columbia River. Opened in 1972 as Jantzen Beach Mall, it was largely torn down in the mid-1990s for big box development...
, and Beaverton Mall
Cedar Hills Crossing
Cedar Hills Crossing, formerly Beaverton Mall, is a retail shopping center in the city of Beaverton, Oregon, United States. The center is notable in that it was the prior site of a historic airport, Bernard's Airport, where many of the early aircraft innovations of the 1920s and 1930s occurred...
. The Northwest Portland store closed in July 1976, and the building remained in use only for warehouse and mail-order functions and as a "catalog overstock outlet". In 1978, the company built a new warehouse in Portland's Rivergate Industrial District, and in 1982 it closed the Northwest Portland warehouse, eliminating 500 jobs at the site. Only the small "clearance outlet" store continued to operate, and following the 1984 sale of the building, that store closed finally in July 1985.
Renovation
In 1984, the building was acquired by the Norcrest China Company, a Portland property development company owned by Bill NaitoBill Naito
William Sumio Naito , better known as Bill Naito, was a noted businessman, civic leader and philanthropist in Portland, Oregon, U.S...
and his brother Sam Naito. In 1985, the Naitos initiated a rehabilitation and refitting of the building's interior for use for trade show
Trade fair
A trade fair is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent market trends and opportunities...
s, banquets and offices. As part of the renovations, the building was renamed "Montgomery Park". The "notoriously frugal" Bill Naito liked the new name, because it meant that only two letters of the building's huge 14-letter neon
Neon sign
Neon signs are made using electrified, luminous tube lights that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in December, 1910 by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show. While they are used worldwide, neon signs...
rooftop sign needed to be altered. The sign was changed in May 1986, at which time most of the renovations also were completed and the building opened for regular use for trade shows, among other uses.