Clackamas Town Center Opens on March 6, 1981
Earliest Rendering: 1975 artist concept drawing of Clackamas Town Center. This model was closely followed with exception of the 12-story hotels on the north side which never came to fruition.
Developers: Ernest Hahn and May Dept Stores (owner of M&F)
Address: 12100 SE 82nd Ave, Portland OR
Architect: John Graham and Company
Mall Footprint with Parking Lot: 112 acres
Construction on CTC started: May 1 1979
Mall officially opened: March 6 1981
CTC Mall Cost: $125 million
The concept of a shopping mall in North Clackamas began in 1972. The development became official in 1973, when Hahn purchased the future cornerstone of the mall, a 27 acre piece of property from the North Clackamas School District for $805,000. Hahn almost missed his chance, as the school board had rejected a similar bid by Fred Meyer of $802,721 only a few months earlier. Once Hahn acquired the key piece of property, he began accumulating surrounding parcels of land.
The next 7 years would center around negotiations with the Tri-Met transit system, Department of Transportation, infrastructure and parking concessions, bond sales and a comprehensive land use amendment that went all the way to the Oregon Supreme Court. Finally, a deal was made and mall construction was authorized.
Mall construction began May 1, 1979 and would eventually employ about 1000 contractors and tradesman. When mall construction began, Hahn was relieved, if not a little bruised. He described the project as "$100 million of brick and mortar, sweat and lawsuits." The residents of Clackamas County wanted more than a sprawling shopping center, they wanted an investment into their community.
The 1.3 million square-foot, 2-level enclosed mall would have 5 anchor tenants and 175 specialty shops. The 5 anchors would be: Meier and Frank, Nordstrom, JC Penny, Sears and Montgomery Ward. Lipman's was also to have a store but those plans were canceled when the chain was sold 6 months earlier.
In addition to the retail shops, the mall would act as a community center by offering a skating rink, library, public meeting rooms and a daycare facility. Hahn emphasized a 'mixed use concept' for the shopping center, "Something besides clinking cash registers and consumer goods. We will have recreational facilities and eating places." The focal point of the mall would be the Ice Capades Chalet Rink, an 85-by-180-foot Olympic sized skating rink, located in the center of the mall.
The 1978 County Commission's approval of the mall stipulated that the ice rink be built in phase one and would serve to strengthen the relationship between the shopping center and the community. Although built as the centerpiece of the mall, by 1986, the ice rink was already underperforming and becoming a mall financial liability. In 1987, a plan was unveiled to replace the skating rink with a food court and a carousel. This plan was rejected by the County. In 1992, the ice rink saw a revival as hundreds of people would line the balconies to watch Tonya Harding perform her daily workouts before the 1994 Olympics. The revival would eventually end and on May of 1994, one month after Harding's guilty plea to the Kerrigan case, Dorothy Hamill purchased the rights of skating rink, remodeled it and renamed it the Dorothy Hamill Skating Centre.
The food court would reside on the upper 2 levels, overseeing the skating rink.
Above, Tonya Harding performs for a crowd at the CTC's Olympic sized skating rink in 1994.
The mall featured a branch of the Clackamas County library next to the ice rink.
At the mall entrance to each anchor store was a display that focused on aspects of the Pacific NW These displays would be called Courts. At JC Penny's, a sitting area called Court of the Timberline featured a 9 foot bronze elk sculpture. At Sears, a collection of boulders from Cascade Mountains comprised The Court of the Cascades. At Ward's, a diagram of the Oregon Trail with the State Seal made up the Court of the Oregon Trail and at Nordstrom's, the Court of the Seasons depicted the 4 seasons with landscaping and terrazzo in different colors. The most majestic display would be located in front of Meier and Frank, and was named the 'Court of Cedars'. It was comprised of 3 large cedar trees carved by Seattle sculptor Dudley Carter, who at the time was 88 years old. The cedar trees resembled totem poles and were over 30 feet tall. The Courts created a NW theme for the mall and contributed a unique ambience for shoppers. Unfortunately, the trees were removed during mall remodel in 2004. The trees now reside at the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum.
Seen above is Carter's cedar tree carving "Primitive' Woman"
During mall construction in December of 1979, chips could be seen flying as Dudley Carter swung his 3 pound axe while scampering up and down a 30-foot scaffolding carving his cedar tree sculptures. He lived onsite in a trailer and worked outside in elements carving the 30-foot cedar trunks. Each of his works had a name: "Primitive Woman", "Mythical Beast" and "Forest Garland". The trees would be the centerpiece of the 'Court of Cedars'. Working outdoors, he used an oil drum for heat and sometimes could be seen at night, working under floodlights. He completed the trees in time for the Nov 1980 opening of Meier & Frank.
The food court featured 17 fast-food stands with western store fronts and common seating at the mezzanine level. The eating area overlooked the skating rink so people could eat and watch the antics of the skaters. The mall had parking for 6400 cars along with a Park and Ride bus area for 393 shoppers and buses that carried shoppers to the shopping center.
From the beginning, the mall was a retail success but the ice rink underperformed. 5 years after opening, there mall floated the idea of closing the skating rink. It lasted until 2003, when it was closed. In 2007, the rink was removed and replaced with retail space.
Clackamas Town Center Transit Center
The first Clackamas Town Center Transit Center opened in 1981 and was located on the north side of the shopping mall, next to the movie theater and Meier & Frank store. Buses began serving the site of the transit center on June 14, 1981, but construction of the TC's passenger facilities was still under way at that time. An island with a large passenger shelter in the middle was constructed, with buses looping clockwise around it and serving stops designated for each route. This was completed in the fall and came into use on November 22, 1981.
The transit center was funded by a combination of a $350,000 grant from the federal Urban Mass Transportation Administration and $50,000 from the mall's owner, The Hahn Company, but $90,000 of the UMTA grant was for transit improvements elsewhere at the then-new shopping mall, including a park-and-ride lot to the east of the mall (near where the MAX station was built many years later) and a signalized bus-only exit road onto Sunnyside Road. Only three bus routes served the transit center originally, routes 72-82nd Avenue, 76-King Road and 78-Linwood, but other routes were added later, including 79-Canby in 1982. In 1985, routes 31-Estacada and 71-Killingsworth-60th were diverted or extended to the Clackamas TC, route 78 was renumbered 28, and route 76 was replaced by 29 Lake-Webster and a change in route 31. Other changes to the bus service have been made in subsequent years.
Clackamas Town Center Time Line
1973 Ernest Hahn buys 27 acres from N Clackamas School district
1979 Construction begins on Clackamas Town Center
1980 Canadian real estate company Trizec buys Hahn Inc. for $270M
1980 Meier and Frank opens at CTC
1981 Clackamas Town Center opens
1994 Clackamas Town Center undergoes remodel
1994 Hamill acquires rights to CTC skating rink
1996 Library inside CTC closes
2003 Skating rink closes
2004 Cedar tree sculptures are removed
2007 Skating rink removed
2007 Remodel replaces ice rink with retail space and cinema expands to 20 screens
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