Vancouver Mall; Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington is a city with about 150,000 people located immediately north of Portland, Oregon and directly across the Columbia River from it. Vancouver and Portland share a census-defined metro area, which contains over 2 million residents. They also share shopping areas and a generally unified economy. Most notably, over 70 percent of Vancouver residents travel into Portland for work each and every day.
Interestingly, because Oregon does not have a sales tax and Washington does, many Vancouver residents choose to cross the bridges and shop in the many malls on the Oregon side. However, in doing so many Washington residents are breaking the law by not paying Washington’s use tax on goods purchased in Oregon. Thus, the retail offerings on the Washington side are relatively meager in comparison to those on the Oregon side. As such, Vancouver only has one mall, the Vancouver Mall or Westfield Vancouver as it is technically known today.
Opened in 1977, Vancouver Mall was originally by May Centers, Inc. and debuted with Meier & Frank, Nordstrom, and Sears east of downtown Vancouver along I-205. JCPenney and Mervyn’s were added later, and in 1994 the mall was purchased by Westfield America and renamed Westfield Vancouver because the Westfield company likes to totally rebrand their malls under a unified theme. In 2006, Meier & Frank, which was a May company store, became Macys with the rest of the May stores. In January 2007, the Mervyn’s store closed and also in 2007 Westfield announced plans to renovate the aging center.
Now that Westfield has finally put graphic mall directories on their website, I can remember that Vancouver Mall was a straight shot between Meier & Frank and JCPenney, and Mervyn’s, Nordstrom and Sears were located along the corridor which connected them. Old Navy also serves as a junior anchor on the lower level near JCPenney, and there’s pretty neat food court and carousel too.
I visited Vancouver Mall once in November 2005. It rained. And rained. And rained. Then, when it was done raining, it rained some more. So, forgive the rather lacking outdoor photos here. And, as always, feel free to leave your own comments and anecdotal stories about this mall.
J.T.
June 6th, 2007 at 2:43 am
Nothing too exciting left about this mall, but I absolutely love that retro Meier & Frank logo. It is about as 70’s as you can get.
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DRoman
June 6th, 2007 at 3:31 am
Well that food court sign’s pretty cool looking, but other than that there’s nothing noteworthy I can say about the looks of this mall.
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XISMZERO
June 6th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
I like the food court sign. The rest is…well… Westfield. So Westfield owns Vancouver now?!
What’s the deal with these play pen areas for kids? When I was a kid, I didn’t really want a play area at a mall. The atmosphere and just being there was the “magic” if you will.
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Prangeway
June 6th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
I actually saw the coolest play area ever at Westfield Fox Valley Center in Aurora, Illinois recently. It is a two level center, and on the bottom level is a “tree” which has tiers of carpet you can climb and toward the top you are higher than the second level. I would have loved that.
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Jonah N.
June 6th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Fox Valley, huh. Check out the Malls of America commercial:
http://mallsofamerica.blogspot.com/2007/05/retro-mall-video-fox-valley-center-aka.html
I love it!
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Prangeway
June 6th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
That is absolutely amazing! It pretty much looks like that now with a bit of retouching, and is still uber-dominant in an underserved area. Naperville + Aurora are over 300,000 people, and plus it serves tons of suburban area around it. Easily one of the best commercials ever. But wouldn’t that fox puppet eat his wife or companion or whatever? I wouldn’t trust him if I were her.
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Michael
June 6th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I know, the mall is fairly uninteresting in design. My specialty (see University Mall entry) is photographing department stores. I have thousands of them. But if I went to the Vancouver Mall and saw that vintage Meier & Frank sign it would have certainly made my day! I’m sorry that my M&F trip to Portland in 1998 didn’t include a stop in Vancouver. Oh well.
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Mark
June 12th, 2007 at 11:49 am
I’m loving the gigantic food court sign, the old Mier & Frank logo outside, the light boxes in the pillars, and whats that I see? the 1984 Sears logo!
dang the parking lot lighting is so groovy!
I can’t find anything to hate about this mall! Don’t take it for granted Vancouver!
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Scott
June 14th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
“Hey, can you tell me where the food court is?”
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Josh
June 18th, 2007 at 5:28 am
Fun fact: to my knowledge, the GameCrazy store in the mall is the only one in the Portland area that isn’t attached to a Hollywood Video.
And yeah, Vancouver Mall is pretty average looking, but that food court sign is pretty cool. Wonder where that awesome retro Meier & Frank sign went when Macy’s took over…
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Josh
June 18th, 2007 at 5:33 am
I forgot to mention that the mall used to have a movie theater (owned by Moyer Theaters, can’t remember if it had 3 or 4 screens) across the parking lot. I know I watched something there once in my childhood, but I can’t remember what. That closed sometime in the mid to late 90s.
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Trevor
June 20th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
Ah, Van Mall…I remember going there as a kid, before the ‘94 remodel.
It was wonderfully late ’70’s in decor. Dark red brick flooring, semi-rough cedar walls and support columns, smoked-glass globe lighting extending off the sides of said columns. There were 4 or 5 fountains in the dept. store courts , each uniquely terraced in sculpted concrete, uplit, filed with dropped-in pennies, and landscaped with moss, ferns, and small willow(?) trees. During Christmas season, they’d be turned into vignettes of winter wonderlands, with animatronic ice-skating children, etc.
In the years prior to the remodel, I worked at the Nordstrom there (which, at 70,000 sq. ft., the smallest in the company). It had ‘lovely’ wood parque floors, burnt orange carpet, and mirror-walls. On my lunch break, I would walk out into the mall and find one of the restaurants interspersed among the retail stores (before the food court was installed).
Lots of good memories…I’ve been back since the remodel, and although it was a necessary updating in decor, I do miss the fountains. Who knows, maybe mall fountains will become chic again and make a comeback…
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SEAN
August 5th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
When MAXcomes it will do wanders for business. There’s a new theatre with 16 screens owned by cinemark. Let me ask, what is so bad about westfield or any mall owner having play areas?
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G-dog
September 19th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Lived in Van, WA as a kid in the 70s and remember when this place was brand-new and state-of-the-art. But we never shopped there as tax-free Portland was across the bridge. One of my favorites was Jantzen Beach Center, a traditional indoor mall that’s been torn in favor of an outlet center. I would give a limb for any old pics of that one. Anyone? Jantzen Beach Center, Portland, OR?
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Allen
September 22nd, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Two things,
One, the M & F was completely remodeled in a gray and silver theme about a month before the macy conversion so the retro logo (and the new one) are gone.
Two. If you want to see an older Sears logo, go to the Grays Harbor Mall in Aberdeen, WA. It’s from the late 70’s.
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missburrows
November 13th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
The locals refer to it as “the mall” as it is the only one in Vancouver. When I moved here there was a fish sculpture hanging from the ceiling in the food court. It was sort of a head and then bones and then the tail. It disappeared one day and I haven’t seen it since. In addition, Meryvn’s has closed and there is a semi-thriving library location located in the mall.
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marcelita
December 5th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Since late 2006, the mall has gone through many updates and changes, including Meier & Frank, being updated to their new owners name, Macy’s. May want to update your website for their new updates remodel and all their new stores. As a local, who travels for business, this is one of the best and easiest access malls. May not be as large as some of the others in the area (Washington Square to Clackamas Town Center) but there is always parking and plenty of stores to choose from. Like the convienence and ease of the Vancouver Mall that you rarely see now in the new models (aka Bridgeport).
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Randy
December 21st, 2007 at 1:30 am
I grew up in Vanc, Wa. I remember the pastures that were there before Vancouver Mall. I remember being so excited that I didn’t have to ride my bike over to Jantzen Beach to go to the mall. Our house was about two miles from the mall. I worked in the McDonalds before it moved to the Food Court. I played Space Wars and Space Invaders at “Aladdin’s Castle” (it’s now a “Tilt” which only has fighting games, racing games and shooting games). I saw “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” at the Vancouver Mall Cinemas (long gone). After he retired, my dad was a faithfull mall walker there every morning before they opened the retail stores. On a clear day, the food court provides a nice view of Mount Hood. Good times.
The funny thing is, everyone in Vancouver, calls it “Vancouver Mall”. If you tell them that the name of the mall is “Westfield Shoppingtown – Vancouver”, they really don’t know what you are talking about.
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Gene
April 11th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Like Randy, I remember when there was just an empty field where the whole sprawling mall complex now exists.
The reason Penney’s and Mervyn’s were added later is that the mall actually doubled in size around 1980 or so. The Aladdin’s Castle that Randy mentions, and the Radio Shack across from it, marked the end of the original mall. The Mervyn’s and Penneys were added as the new cornerstones. This created an odd lack of symmetry, which the later addition of the food court somewhat fixed. Before the food court, various food locations were scattered throughout the mall. McDonald’s was the big franchise, with the rest of the establishments being odd B list franchises like The Taco Maker and Pizza Haven. There was also an Orange Julius, Hot Dog on a Stick and a couple of deli’s. An attempt was made to start a more upscale restaraunt near Penney’s as well.
It is hard to believe the now closed and demolished four screen theater was once state of the art. I also saw Star Trek TMP there (had to sell five new subscriptions to The Columbian and got tickets when the newspaper rented the theater) as well as Raiders and more.
It was a big deal when the C-Tran transit mall was opened up near Mervyn’s in ‘84 or so. It meant you could hop a bus instead of riding your bike. The bike ride back then was pretty nice though. The side streets were stil somewhat rural.
I worked at a few stores in the mall and used to bike there all the time. I walked the mall so many times I can still draw a map of the retail store layouts from 1980-1986. Going back now, after being away for so many years, is like entering an alternate universe.
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Jeff
April 11th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Big news, Westfield Vancouver Mall is getting a new movie theater. The Mervyn’s closed a few months back and finally a decision has been made as to what to do with the space. They are going to demolish the mervyns store and build a huge new space which will have room for new stores and a movie theater will go in as well!
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Yanna Reply:
September 13th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
@Jeff, How do you know this?
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Jonah Norason
April 11th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Has the vacant Mervyn’s been filled yet?
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werd
July 8th, 2008 at 1:06 am
I remember Bob’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream, karmelkorn, Square Pan Pizza, IHOP, the diner in Meier and Frank and Orange Bowl, MusicLand, B.Dalton. There is still some odd remnants of the old mall scattered about re: Tenants. Excalibur Cutlery looks the same as it has since the early 80’s. Alley Cat Pet Center’s mascot parrot Rocky turns 30 this year. I also remember America the Beautiful Dreamer, See’s Candy, some weird western garb store with a wooden indian, Puttin’ Around……the fountains…..WOW! Nostalgia Overload. I would love to see some pics of the old Jantzen Beach Mall, like the arcade and the waterslides.
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Gene
July 25th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Werd caused some more brain cells to fire about early Van Mall stores.
There was a Mr. Rags, and early Gap store near Meier and Frank that had the craziest signage. I think it was just pairs of jeans stapled to the wall outside. Foot Locker was up next to the McDonalds, across from the Bob’s Ice Cream. Let’ see, oh yeah, there was a Spencer’s. MusicLand has a competitor, The Wherehouse and so did B.Dalton. Waldenbooks? There was another woman’s clothing store down near Meier and Franks on the bottom level, Foxmoor maybe? It would be cool to see a directory from that era.
One thing I miss about the 70s/80s Jantzen Beach was the big water fountain that had a giant airplane propeller as the center piece. I wonder where that went to?
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Frank
July 30th, 2008 at 9:53 am
As previously mentioned (above), I remember Vancouver Mall from its early days. We moved to Vancouver in 1978 when I was just 10 years-old and “The Mall” (as it’s ALWAYS refered to) had just opened.
I could go on and on about all of the old stores that were there back in the day (many of which have been previously mentioned), but I’d be tyoing all morning. The one thing I will mention is the Pet Store is still there and Rocky the Parrot is in the same same cage he’s occupied since about 1979 or so. If you visit this mall be sure to stop in and say hello to Rocky… he’s a mainstay
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Trevor
August 1st, 2008 at 4:36 am
The ‘early Gap store next to M & F’ was a Jean Machine store, I think. The storefront had a bunch of cogs and gears next to the entrance.The Gap was downstairs.
I remember my parents treating us to ice cream bars dipped in chocolate and nuts at Bob’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream on the upper level! Also, shopping for shoes at Gallenkamp Shoes and climbing all over the display in the back of the store (obviously when I was much younger).
My older brother would go to the Squire Shop, with its walls full of jeans (San Francisco riding gear and Lawman, I bet).
Speaking of Jantzen Beach, that propeller fountain was awesome!
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Jonah Norason (Pseudo3D)
October 13th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Vancouver Mall was where Tonya Harding’s truck was stolen in 1997. Does this type of thing happen normally?
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