Meier & Frank Building, historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S
The Meier & Frank Building is a former department store in downtown Portland, Oregon, built in 1909 with distinctive glazed terra cotta exterior walls across 15 floors. The structure has since been adapted with its lower levels now holding office and retail spaces while the upper floors operate as the luxury hotel The Nines, which opened in 2008.
The building was designed in 1909 by architect A. E. Doyle, inspired by department stores in Chicago, to create a similar shopping center in Portland. The original Meier & Frank store was known for several innovations, including Portland's first escalator and a radio station studio that launched in 1922, which became a center of city communication.
The hotel name 'The Nines' references the old tradition of dressing up 'to the nines,' which reflects how people once treated this place as a special shopping destination where appearance mattered. Visitors today can sense this legacy through the elegant proportions and details that made it a gathering spot for the city's shoppers.
The building sits at the center of Portland at the intersection of Fifth and Morrison streets, making it easy to reach and surrounded by shops, restaurants, and historic sites. Public areas are accessible, though much of it is now private space, so the best approach is to admire the exterior architecture and optionally visit the hotel or its active retail sections.
Actor Clark Gable worked in the store's tie department before his film career took off, making it an unexpected link between Portland's retail history and Hollywood. This overlooked detail shows how an ordinary job in an early 1900s department store could shape different paths in life.
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