Lloyd
District Map: (click
for larger view)
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History
of the Lloyd District
Ralph
B. Lloyd was born in 1875 in Ventura, California and first came
to the Northwest in 1907. While in Portland he developed two strong
convictions. The first was that Portland would become a great
city. The second was that the East Side should be the center of
that city. In 1911, Lloyd returned to California to manage the
family ranch where be brought in his first oil gusher in 1920.
Almost overnight, he became a very wealthy man. Over the next
three decades, the millionaire oilman continued to believe and
invest in Portland’s East Side.
Lloyd
purchased his first parcel of Portland real estate in 1910, buying
two lots on the northwest corner of Union Avenue (now Martin Luther
King, Jr. Blvd.) and Multnomah Street. He continued to buy small
pieces of land until 1926, when he was finally able to purchase
the largely undeveloped Holladay’s Addition and, later,
170 lots on both sides of Sullivan’s Gulch.
Throughout
his time in Portland, Lloyd had to contend with skeptics and local
business opposition from West Siders who did not believe the East
Side could or should be allowed to prosper. Nevertheless, Lloyd
remained committed to the city as a whole and to its prosperity.
Ralph B. Lloyd died in 1953, without seeing his dream realized,
and perplexed by Portland’s conservative attitudes toward
development.
Realization
of Lloyd’s dream was left to his descendants – his
four daughters and their families. When construction of the Banfield
Freeway through Sullivan’s Gulch was assured, the Lloyd
family’s focus turned to a retail facility. Throughout the
1950s, master planning progressed for
the Lloyd Center and its surrounding area. At that time, the Lloyd
District was similar to many urban Portland neighborhoods –
middle-class, single- and multi-family homes with a big Sears
store, grocery stores, a few restaurants, dry cleaners, churches,
etc. serving the residents.
In
August 1960, Lloyd Center, the then-largest shopping center in
the country, opened its doors. As an open-air development, it
featured extensive award-winning landscaping and became immediately
popular with residents from all over Portland.
The
small commercial area to the North of the mall expanded steadily
until the 1980s when the area became and continues to be a very
desirable location for merchants. To the West of the mall, medical
facilities were built, hotels and office buildings were developed,
and the Memorial Coliseum opened. The Coliseum has now grown into
the Rose Quarter, which includes the Rose Garden Arena, home of
the Portland Trailblazers. The Oregon Convention Center’s
twin spires anchor this West End of the District.
The
mall itself underwent a major renovation in 1990, when it was
enclosed and a food court and theaters added. Another theater
complex sits on the northwest corner of the mall property.
The
Lloyd District is a bustling, diverse neighborhood with an endless
array of things to see and do. It’s the activity and entertainment
hub of Portland, hosting concerts and sporting events at the Rose
Quarter, and a wide variety of shops and services at Lloyd Center. |