Meier & Frank Department Store
Values Codes I – E – L – P
Aaron Meier was born in Ellerstat, Baveria, Germany in 1831.
Aaron Meier, Original Founder of Meier & Frank, Portland, Oregon,
#WS2745
Meier migrated to Wilsonville, Oregon, in 1855, and began selling merchandise from a pack.
In 1857, he opened a store on Front Street in Portland, Oregon.
Meier partnered with a Mr. Mariholtz and brought in merchandise from San Francisco.
When his father passed away, Aaron Meier returned to Ellerstat, where he married Jeanette Hirsch in 1864.
Returning to Portland, Meier found his business and partnership had collapsed.
Using his inheritance, he opened a larger store in Front Street, where hired two brothers, Emil and Sigmund Frank, as clerks.
In 1873, Emil Frank became a partner and Meier & Frank was born.
The Great Portland Fire destroyed the store in 1878.
Great Fire of Portland Oregon
Meier & Frank was rebuilt and Sigmund Frank was also made a partner a few years later.
In 1885, Meier & Frank built a two-story masonry building on Taylor Street. In the early West, a masonry building said that the business was here to stay.
Early Meier & Frank Store, Portland, OR
Emil Frank retired in 1888 and Aaron Meier died the following year, leaving Sigmund Frank the President, and Aaron’s wife, Jeannette Hirsch Meier, running the store “behind the scenes.”
The business expanded, and by 1898, Meier & Frank was “One of America’s Great Stores” — the fourth largest department store in the country.
Meier & Frank Full Department Store, Portland, OR,
WSJH Postcard Collection
In 1914, Meier & Frank relocated to a new, elegant, five story building on 5th Street in Portland.
The 120,000 square foot, full-line department store had two elevators, and many mechanical innovations never before seen on the West Coast.
A ten-story annex was added in 1908, making it Portland’s first skyscraper.
Meier & Frank became famous for its high level of customer service. Its green wagons/trucks would deliver, free of charge, any purchases, whether they be a bedroom set or a spool of thread.
In 1915, Meier & Frank opened its new 16 story building with 11 acres of selling space.
Meier & Frank’s 10-Story Portland Skyscraper Department Store, WSJH Postcard Collection
In 1922, a new radio station, KFEC – the Meier & Frank Station, broadcasted from the fifth floor with its antenna atop of the 16th story.
Employees included a young Clark Gable in the Men’s Wear Necktie Department.
When the banks were closed in the 1930’s, Meier & Frank invited all their customers to bring their savings to the store for safekeeping, and canceled all interest charges on their customer’s credit accounts.
For over 1,200 days during World War II, Meier & Frank ran a full page advertisement selling War Bonds.
At one time, Meier & Frank had a two-week War-Bond sale that totaled 32 million dollars — the largest single sale in the nation.
Meier & Frank Keep Growing!
In 1966, to settle an on-going family dispute, Meier & Frank was sold to the May Co. Department Store Chain. [click here]
Meier & Frank’s Monorail in Santa Land
When Sigmund Frank died in 1910, Aaron Meier’s older son, Abe Meier, took the presidency and his younger brother Julius Meier became Store General Manager.
Aaron (Bud) Meier Frank, became the next President, a position he held for 40 years.
Fraternal
Julius Meier was a member of B’nai B’rith Lodge #65.
Civic
In 1930, Julius Meier was elected Governor of Oregon as an independent, making him the first Jewish Governor of the State of Oregon. He served from 1931 to 1935.
Julius Meier promoted Portland’s 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition and was considered the ‘father’ of the Columbia River Highway.
Jeanette Meier was a major supporter of Neighborhood House, which has been serving the poorer neighborhoods of Portland for over 100 years.
Community
Jeanette Meier was also instrumental in founding the Jewish Shelter Home for Children in Portland in 1920. She literally paid the mortgage on the house. Julius Meier was the first President of the Jewish Shelter Home for Children.
Julius and Jeanette Meier were members of Temple Beth Israel of Portland.
Family
Aaron and Jeannette Meier had four children: Fannie married Sigmund Frank; Abraham served as President of Meier & Frank; Hattie, who died at age two and a half; and Julius, who served as Manager of Meier & Frank.
Aaron Meier — 1831-1889
Emil Frank — 1845-1898
Sigmund Frank — 1850-1910
Jeanette Hirsch Meier — 1843-1925
Fanny Meier Frank — 1865-1930
Julius L. Meier — 1874-1937
Aaron (Bud) Meier Frank — 1891-1968
Source
- Steven Lowenstein, The Jews of Oregon: 1850-1950 (Portland: Jewish Historical Society of Oregon, 1987).
Gladys Sturman & Samantha Silver are curators for this Meier & Frank exhibit.
Multi-Generational Jewish Department Stores of the West
Neiman-Marcus of Dallas, Texas
Hamburger’s Department Store of Los Angeles, California
Gump’s of San Francisco, California
Meier & Frank of Portland, Oregon
Auerbach’s of Salt Lake City, Utah