The former Lipmans flagship store in Portland, now Hotel Monaco

Lipmans was a department store chain based in Portland, Oregon. A department store is a Retail establishment which specializes in selling a wide range of products without a single predominant merchandise line. Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers The company was originally known as Lipman-Wolfe & Company, named after the two founding partners; Adolphe Wolfe and his uncle, Soloman Lipman. It is now defunct.

History

In 1850, Lipman and Wolfe formed a partnership in Sacramento, California during the California Gold Rush. The California Gold Rush (1848&ndash1855 began on January 24 1848 when Gold was discovered by James Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California They became prosperous merchants, expanding into Nevada during the great silver rushes. The later decline of the Comstock Lode 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's flagship store, sparking an intense rivalry. Meier & Frank was a chain of Department stores historically part of May Department Stores that operated in the Pacific Northwest from 1857 to 2005

Lipmans was well-known locally for establishing several "firsts" in Portland retail history:

• The first use of an elevator system in a department store. An elevator or lift is a Transport device used to move people or goods vertically from one floor to another
• 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 Lipmans brand had grown into a chain of six stores. Adolphe Wolfe died in 1938, passing the company on to his nephew. In the 1950's, the Wolfe family sold Lipmans to the Dayton Hudson Company, which kept the Lipmans brand as a division. Target Corporation ( is an American Retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis Minnesota in 1902 Lipman's began to lose market share to Meier & Frank in the 1970's when Marshall Field's bought all six stores in 1979. Marshall Field's ( Marshall Field & Company) was an iconic Chicago Illinois, Department store that grew to become a major chain before being acquired All were rebranded as Frederick & Nelson in 1980. Frederick & Nelson was a historic Seattle Washington, Department store founded in 1890

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. For the English indie band see The Crescent (English band The Crescent was a historic Spokane Washington, Department store. These stores were slightly smaller in size to 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 along with complementing its sister store. Nordstrom Inc ( is an upscale Department store chain in the United States. By January of 1988, sales at the stores fell short of the 125$ 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

Lipmans is probably best remembered for the Cinnamon Bear, a popular Portland Christmas time tradition since 1937. For the animal see Cinnamon bear. The Cinnamon Bear is an Old time radio program produced Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Cinnamon Bear was introduced as a Lipmans-sponsored radio story character, meant to count down the days until Christmas. Along with Santa Claus, His costumed likeness appeared every Christmas at Lipmans stores handing out cookies to children. Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply " Santa " is the Frederick & Nelson continued the practice after absorbing the brand. The Cinnamon Bear survives today as a souvineer at the Fifth Avenue Suites.

Portland flagship store reuse

Frederick & Nelson closed the former Lipmans flagship store during a reorganization of the chain in 1986. Ten years and a massive renovation later, the ten-story, half-block building reopened as the Fifth Avenue Suites, a 222-room hotel. 2007: Fifth Avenue Suites renamed to Hotel Monaco.

Restaurants

Tea Room, on the 10th floor - Downtown Portland

Former locations

Oregon

• Corvallis - Downtown (opened ? as Lipman's, became Frederick & Nelson in 1979, became The Crescent in 1988, Lamonts in 1990's, Gottschalks in 2000, closed 2004)
• Portland - Downtown Portland - (Former Flagship) (opened 1912 as Lipmans, became Frederick & Nelson 1979, turned back to Lipmans in 1979, closed 1986)
• Portland - Eastport Plaza (sold to Mervyns 1979, location closed in 1986)^[1]
• Portland - Lloyd Center (opened 1960 as Lipmans, became Frederick & Nelson 1979, turned back to Lipmans in 1979, closed 1986, became a second Nordstrom in 1986, converted to mall space 1990 with construction of adjoining new Nordstrom)
• Salem - Downtown Salem (Near Salem Center Mall) (sold to Frederick & Nelson 1979, location closed in 1987) ^[2]
• Tigard - Washington Square (opened 1974, sold to Frederick & Nelson 1979, closed in 1991, became a Nordstrom in 1994)

Washington

• Vancouver - Westfield Vancouver (Proposed but never built. Corvallis (kɔrˈvælɪs is a City located in central western Oregon, United States. For the English indie band see The Crescent (English band The Crescent was a historic Spokane Washington, Department store. Lamonts was a chain department stores founded in Seattle Washington in 1965. Gottschalks is a middle-tier American Department store chain currently operating 58 department stores and three specialty apparel stores in six western states Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers Downtown Portland is located on the west bank of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers Portland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the Confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers Lloyd Center is a Shopping mall in the Lloyd District of Portland Oregon, United States, just northeast of downtown. Salem (ˈseɪləm is the Capital of the US state of Oregon, and the County seat of Marion County. Tigard (ˈtaɪgərd is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Washington Square is a Shopping mall in the Portland Oregon suburb of Tigard. Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U Westfield Vancouver, formerly known as Vancouver Mall, is a Shopping mall owned by The Westfield Group, and is located in Vancouver Washington Location became a Mervyns in 1982, closed in 2007)

References

External links

• Lipmans at PDXhistory.com-Mark Moore's page on the Lipman-Wolfe Company
• Fifth Avenue Suites Portland-History of the building
• Portland Tribune-Article comparing the Lipman building reuse to a similar plan for the nearby Meier & Frank Building.