Lloyd Center - NE Portland, OR - a mall with numerous choices for shoppers

The concept of Lloyd Center was conceived around 1923 and the mall was named for Ralph B. Lloyd an oil company executive from southern California. He wanted to build a self sufficient area including both residential and store locations. It would take another 37 years for the center to be built because of world events. An open air configuration with one hundred stores the Lloyd Center Mall was opened on the first of August during 1960.

It was the Pacific Northwest's largest shopping center at the time it opened and is still thought to be the largest mall in the state. The location was very close to the retail core of downtown and the first development to challenge the core of retail downtown. The Lloyd Center focused on the commuters that utilizing the growing freeway system at the time mainly the Banfield Expressway.

When the mall first opened the center was Meier & Frank, the west end was Lipman & Wolfe and on the east end the anchor stores were Woolworth and J. C. Penny. In 1963 Nordstrom opened as a separate store before it expanded into an apparel store in the west wing of the mall. In 1979 Lipman's was renamed when it was acquired by Fredrick & Nelson, the store closed during 1986.

In 1987 the space was reopened as an expansion of the old store until a new store was built and opened extending the west wing during August of 1990, another renovation to the mall was done during 1991. During this renovation the mall was fully enclosed and a food court was put in. Sears replaced the JC Penny during 1999 and then during 2006 Meier & Frank changed the name to Macy's.

The regional transit system known as TriMet is readily available close to Lloyd Center. The buses stop directly outside the mall and the MAX light rail stops just a block from the mall. Parking at the mall is free for those that wish to drive instead of utilizing the public transportation in the area.

Today located just outside of downtown Portland the mall in the Lloyd District has three floors with the third floor featuring office space for professionals. The mall has an indoor multiplex and a food court for patron's enjoyment. The mall even includes the Lloyd Center Ice Rink which offers group rates for the services offered. Among the services offered at the rink are skating lessons and birthday parties that various packages are available for. Contact the Ice Rink directly for additional information.

There are indoor and outdoor stores at Lloyd Center that allow patrons to shop, eat, see a movie or do their banking right in the mall itself. The Lloyd Center is open from 10am until 9pm Monday through Saturday, and from 11am until 6pm on Sunday's. The hours of the actual stores and other facilities such as the financial institutions within the Lloyd Center may vary from that of the mall itself to determine what hours the stores themselves are open you can contact them directly.