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Lipman's was an American
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
chain based in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. Founded in 1850 in
Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...
, the company was originally known as the Lipman–Wolfe & Company, named after the two founding partners: Adolphe Wolfe and his uncle, Soloman Lipman. It eventually grew to six stores in Oregon before they were rebranded to
Frederick & Nelson Frederick & Nelson was a department store chain in the northwestern United States, based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Founded in 1890 as a furniture store, it later expanded to sell other types of merchandise. The company was acqu ...
in 1979. The 1912 building in
downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildi ...
that was the company's
flagship store A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
, as the Lipman–Wolfe and Company Building.


History

In 1850, Lipman and Wolfe formed a partnership in
Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...
during the
California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...
. They became prosperous merchants, expanding into Nevada during the great silver rushes. The later decline of the
Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the U ...
impacted the business, prompting Wolfe to move to Portland in 1880. Wolfe opened a new store in Portland, re-establishing his business. Floods and space limitations forced the store to move three times, the last of which was in 1912, when the flagship store was opened at Fifth and Washington Streets. The new store was just across the street from
Meier & Frank Meier & Frank was an American department store chain founded in 1857 by Aaron Meier. He partnered with Emil and Sigmund Frank in the early history of the company, and opened the Meier & Frank Building flagship store in Portland, Oregon, Portland ...
's flagship store, sparking an intense rivalry. Lipman's was well-known locally for establishing several "firsts" in Portland retail history: *The first use of an
elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...
system in a department store. *The first retailer to mark set prices on merchandise, eliminating haggling and the fashion code price system. *The first retailer to make change down to the penny instead of nickel. By the end of its identity, the Lipman's brand had grown into a chain of six stores. Adolphe Wolfe died in 1938, passing the company on to his nephew. In the 1950s, the Wolfe family sold Lipman's to the Dayton Hudson Company, which kept the Lipman's brand as a division. Lipman's began to lose market share to Meier & Frank in the 1970s, when
Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (colloquially Marshall Field's) was an American department store chain founded in 1852 by Potter Palmer. It was based in Chicago, Illinois and founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, ...
bought all six stores in 1979. All were rebranded as
Frederick & Nelson Frederick & Nelson was a department store chain in the northwestern United States, based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Founded in 1890 as a furniture store, it later expanded to sell other types of merchandise. The company was acqu ...
in early April of that year. In 1987, these stores, except for the downtown Portland store which was closed in October 1986 and the Eastport Plaza store which became Mervyn's, were re-branded, as
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
-based The Crescent, a division of Frederick & Nelson. They were purchased by
Lamonts Lamonts was a chain of department stores founded in Seattle, Washington. The chain was started in 1970 when Pay 'n Save renamed its suburban branches of Rhodes, a department store chain the company acquired in 1965. Lamonts remained a division of ...
in 1988.


Brief resurrection

In early 1987, F&N Acquisition Corp., the owners of Frederick's announced that they would bring back the Lipman's name as an off-price retail division. Five Frederick & Nelson stores in Oregon and four Great Clothes Outlets in Washington were to be renamed Lipman's, but the Oregon locations instead were sold to The Crescent. These stores were slightly smaller in size than normal stores and catered to "fashion-conscious 20- to 40-year-olds with money to spend on career and casual wardrobes". The division was meant to compete directly with
Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and a seco ...
along with complementing its sister store. By January 1988, sales at the stores fell short of the $125 (~$ in )-per-square-foot target. Ownership was handed over to F&N executives and all the stores became Frederick & Nelson Red Tag Clearance Centers by mid-1988. All these stores were closed during 1990 cutbacks.


Cinnamon Bear

Lipman's is probably best remembered for
the Cinnamon Bear ''The Cinnamon Bear'' is an old-time radio program produced by Transco (Transcription Company of America), based in Hollywood, California. The series comprised 26 episodes, and was specifically designed to be listened to six days a week betwee ...
, a popular Portland
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
time tradition since 1937. The Cinnamon Bear was introduced as a Lipman's-sponsored radio story character, meant to count down the days until Christmas. Along with
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
, his costumed likeness appeared every Christmas at Lipman's stores, handing out cookies to children. Frederick & Nelson continued the practice after absorbing the brand. The Cinnamon Bear survives today as a souvenir at the Fifth Avenue Suites. To this day, the Cinnamon Bear is aired during the holidays on K103. The Cinnamon Bear radio show can also be heard on Kool 99.1 in
Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...
every Christmas


Portland flagship store reuse

Frederick & Nelson closed the former Lipman's
flagship store A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
during a reorganization of the chain in 1986. The building was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
, as the Lipman–Wolfe and Company Building, in 1988. In 1996, after extensive renovation, the ten-story, half-block building reopened as the Fifth Avenue Suites, a 222-room hotel. In 2007, the Fifth Avenue Suites was renamed the Hotel Monaco.


References

{{reflist


External links


Lipman's at PDXhistory.com
Mark Moore's page on Lipman-Wolfe & Company
Fifth Avenue Suites Portland
history of the building
"Lessons from the past", a 2005 article comparing the Lipman building reuse to a similar plan for the nearby Meier & Frank Building
from ''
Portland Tribune The ''Portland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes a number of community newspapers in the Portland metropolitan area. Launched i ...
''
1956 photograph of Lipman Wolfe & Co. store in Salem
from Salem Public Library Retail companies established in 1850 Defunct department stores based in Oregon Defunct companies based in Oregon Companies based in Portland, Oregon Retail companies disestablished in 1979 Target Corporation 1850 establishments in California 1979 disestablishments in Oregon