Meier & Frank Delivery Depot facts for kids

Meier & Frank Delivery Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Meier & Frank Delivery Depot in 2012 (now the U.S. headquarters of Vestas)
Location in Portland, Oregon Show map of Portland, Oregon Location in Oregon Show map of Oregon Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	1417 NW Everett Street Portland, Oregon
Built	1927
Architect	Sutton & Whitney
Architectural style	Half modern
NRHP reference No.	01000936
Added to NRHP	September 3, 2001

The Meier & Frank Delivery Depot is a historic building in Portland, Oregon. It's so important that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This special building was made for a big store called Meier & Frank. It was designed by Sutton & Whitney and built in 1927. For many years, from 1986 to 2001, the Oregon Historical Society used it to store and organize old items.

A New Chapter for the Historic Building

After the Meier & Frank store no longer needed the building, it found a new purpose. In 1986, the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) bought the four-story building. They wanted to keep their large collections and new items there. OHS updated the third and fourth floors for their needs. Their main museum and library stayed in downtown Portland.

The Building's Quiet Years

OHS used the building for 15 years. But then, the area around the building, called the Pearl District, started to become very popular. Property values went up a lot. OHS began to get many offers to sell the building. They decided to sell it for $12.7 million in 2000. OHS then moved their collections to a new warehouse in Gresham in 2001.

After OHS moved out, the building was empty for a long time. It stayed vacant for almost seven years, until late 2007.

South entrance, with historic "Meier & Frank Co." lettering, in bronze, above the doorway.

A Modern Comeback: Vestas Headquarters

From 2011 to 2012, the building got a big makeover. It was renovated to become the new Portland headquarters for Vestas Wind Systems. Vestas is a company from Denmark that makes wind turbines. Their U.S. headquarters had been in Portland since 2002, but at a different spot.

A company called Gerding Edlen Development bought the building in 2007. Vestas started leasing it in 2010. The renovations cost $66 million. Vestas moved into the building in the spring of 2012. The company hopes the renovated building will earn a special "Platinum LEED" certification. This means it's very energy-efficient and good for the environment.