Mall's last call: Lloyd Center closes with farewell events
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The Lloyd Center as it appeared in 1964, with Holladay Park in the background. Photo: Courtesy of the Portland City Archives, AP/51574
If you have any business at the Lloyd Center, now's the time: Portland's oldest mall shutters for good on Saturday with a smattering of events to mark the closure.
Why it matters: The Lloyd Center has been a gathering place for generations of Portlanders, even as business has waned there in recent years.
Here's how to say your mall goodbyes this weekend:
🚶🏽 Final Food Court 5000
This "retro-fitness, mall walking movement" will take its last neon and spandex-clad jaunt through the Lloyd starting in the food court at 11am Saturday.
- This time, they'll be partnering with Heart Beat Silent Disco to distribute wireless headphones to their "community of fast-walking, snack-loving, retro-fabulous weirdos" for one final musical saunter.
🚲 Celebration of life bike ride
Cyclists will gather at Holladay Park for a community ride to commemorate the mall's place in Portland history.
- Riders will depart from the park at 1:30pm Saturday with the ice rink as their final destination.
⛸️ One last skate with Jerry and Tally Leonard
The Leonards have skated at Lloyd Center nearly as long as the mall has been open and will lace up their skates one last time to bid it farewell.
- They'll take to the rink at 6:45pm Saturday.
- Earlier in the day, skaters will be invited to write goodbye messages or share their memories directly on the ice or on a commemorative banner.
What they're saying: "It's the closing of a chapter in Portland's history," Tom Kilbane of the Urban Renaissance Group said in a statement.
- "We're grateful for the memories Lloyd Center has created for generations of Oregonians, and we're excited to begin writing its next chapter."
Yes, but: The final day is not a going-out-of-business sale. Lloyd Center representatives said "mall furnishings, fixtures, artwork, landscaping and other property should remain in place."
What's next: Plans to redevelop the site call for a reconnected street grid, a pedestrian promenade, up to 5,000 apartments and a possible corporate campus.
- The project also includes courtyards, plazas, a 2.3-acre park, a dog run, nature walk and public art.