The Exchange Building on SW 6th Avenue between Alder and Washington Streets is no longer home to a Fred Meyer store but it’s still standing at age 110 years. Built in 1902, it was a part of the Olds, Wortman & King Department Store, whose main building at SW 5th & Washington butted up against the back of this building.
(University of Oregon Libraries)
Tags: Allied Van Lines, Cascade Building, Fred Meyer, Historic Photo, Kodak, Oregon, Portland, Weisfield's Jewelry
March 1, 2012 at 8:15 am
i would love to see a downtown store front fred meyer again
March 1, 2012 at 8:23 am
Not very often you get to see a picture were all the buildings are still there. To be honest though they have been remodeled a little. Here’s how they look now http://g.co/maps/yt85w
March 1, 2012 at 9:04 am
Lived in Portland till 1952. Bought my wedding rings at Weisfield’s jewelry store. Think I still have my credit card for them
March 1, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Not available at 6th and Alder!
March 1, 2012 at 6:44 pm
how many downtown locations did Fred Meyers have? 5th and Morrison, 6th and Alder (Rite-Aid), 6th and Alder/Washington…
March 2, 2012 at 7:33 am
Dash, Wiki places his first store at 5th and Yamhill, but I could have sworn I had seen a previous picture here that included a photo of a Third or Fourth Street early Freddy’s.
March 3, 2012 at 2:22 pm
Yes you are correct, The original Fred Meyer offices with a store downstairs was on Fourth Av. just North of Yamhill. From there they moved to 24th off of Powell headquarters. It was across the street from Manning Coffee Shop that was on the corner of Fourth and Yamhill.
March 3, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Thanks for the hint Norm. This 4th and Morrison picture is the one I was thinking of.
http://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/sw-4th-morrison-1938/
There is another picture at 4th and Yamhill that shows a Fred Meyer Yamhill Auto Supply.
http://vintageportland.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/sw-4th-yamhill/
March 6, 2012 at 6:02 am
Love those old pics! Thanks for sharing!
April 23, 2012 at 4:43 pm
The Exchange Building is an architectural jewel about which there is very little information; …such as: who designed it? Its a very modern building for its time: expansive windows and minimal ornamentation; real Chicago Style. The only reference to it that I’ve found says it is “purportedly the first steel-framed building in Portland”. The windows in this picture don’t look original and were probably shortened for a retro-fit dropped ceiling. It looks much better now with bigger windows. Any pics of the original windows and ground floor?