What’s going on with Lloyd Center? It appears to have survived COVID-19, but just barely share Back in late 2019—when a global pandemic still seemed like a remote possibility—Lloyd Center, Portland’s oldest and arguably most iconic shopping center, was already in its death throes, at least according to the press. For Willamette Week, Nigel Jacquiss profiled the mall right before Christmas that year, and the picture he painted was dour. The headline says it all: “Will Lloyd Center Last Another Christmas?”
Not only did Lloyd Center manage to survive another Christmas, it endured one of the most devastating global crises within the last century. While plenty of Portland businesses and restaurants closed or changed owners within the past year, Lloyd Center—Portland’s retail behemoth—has managed to survive.