Fred G. Meyer, the Claussen Brothers, and the Architecture of “One-Stop Shopping”

Perhaps no other entrepreneur had such an impact on 20th century Portland as Fred G. Meyer. In the 1920s, Meyer began building his “One-Stop Shopping” stores around the Portland area. This program takes a close look at the life and work of Meyer as well as the work of the architectural firm of Claussen & Claussen, with whom Meyer frequently worked.

Please join us for the encore presentation as Fred Leeson, presents the story of Fred Meyer, putting his life and work in context with the stores he built. Portland architects Fred and William Claussen play an important role in the story, as they designed some of Meyer’s first stores, along with several other notable Portland buildings including the Roosevelt Hotel and Laurelhurst School.

In addition to his volunteer work with the Bosco-Milligan Foundation/Architectural Heritage Center, Leeson is also the author of the recent biography of Fred G. Meyer, My-Te-Fine Merchant: Fred Meyer’s Retail Revolution (2014).

As a special treat, Fred will be offering a FREE copy of his book to the first 60 people that register for this talk.

This lecture program is held at the Architectural Heritage Center - 701 SE Grand Avenue

Parking is on-street (free on Saturdays) or in the parking lot on the west side of Grand Avenue between SE Yamhill and Belmont Streets - just to the north of the Grand Marketplace. Do not use the lot where Dutch Bros. Coffee is located. Thank you to Bolliger and Sons Insurance for sharing their lot with us for our evening and Saturday education programs.

Image: Courtesy of University of Oregon Libraries.