If you are like me, you don’t accept change willingly. I’m still in a minor state of mourning over the loss of the Pixie Kitchen and the Organ Grinder – the two places that held the most magic for me as a child. A Motel 6 now stands where the Pixie Kitchen stood and the Organ Grinder has become a Super King Buffet. Change may be inevitable, but it isn’t always for the better.
Frankly I’m kind of glad that I had never been to the old Meier & Frank Santaland because it would just be another thing for me to talk about like a sentimental old lady.
The old Meier & Frank Santaland was in operation for some 50 years, delighting children with a kid-sized monorail that made trips around the ceiling of the 10th floor of the downtown flagship store. The monorail made its last trip in 2005 and then that portion of the building was remolded into a boutique hotel because Portland is in desperate need of more boutique hotels for its booming tourism industry. Yes, I was using sarcasm.
Meier & Frank is now Macy’s and Macy’s has brought back the Santaland. On the surface, this seems like a good thing. After all, Macy’s is somewhat synonymous with Santaland. Think Miracle on 34th Street, or the Santaland Diaries, or the big Macy’s parade in NYC where the King of the Shopping Mall Santas makes his annual televised debut. But the purists know that the new Macy’s Santaland is no match for the beloved Santaland they knew as a child and perhaps have taken their own children to.
But I guess we must live in the now and learn to love what is. That’s what all the self-help gurus are always saying anyway. We all know how solid their advice is.
Macy’s Santaland is located in the basement. There is no better way to say that. I guess they figure the children won’t notice the low ceilings.
Once you get over the basement factor, Santaland itself is delightful. They make good use of some of the old Meier & Frank animatronics giving the place a very chic vintage feel. It’s very very pretty and I can imagine that the little kids will just love it.
I can’t tell you much about the Santa himself. The posted signs make it VERY clear that you are not to take a photo of Santa unless you have paid for a photo of Santa. You can’t even get a very good look at Santa unless you are in the photo line because he is tucked away in a small, windowless, low-ceilinged corner – far away from the casual passerby.
I did manage to sneak over to the SantaCubicle for a quick up-close glimpse. Santa was by himself and he looked miserable. Much like the modern day employees of large corporations, I don’t think Santa likes being in such a tightly controlled environment. Santa is there for the enjoyment of paying customers only, not any enjoyment of his own.
But that’s progress for you.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch Judy Garland sing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas while Tootie cries in Meet Me in St. Louis. Christmas nostalgia doesn’t get any better than that.
And if you still find yourself longing for the old Meier & Frank Santaland – you can still visit their website.
Next up – Bridgeport Village Santa
Previous Santas – Pioneer Place, Washington Square, Lloyd Center, Clackamas Town Center
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OMG, I am so happy to hear another Portlander who has fond childhood memories of the Organ Grinder. We used to go there for special occasions when I was a kid, and it was always a HUGE DEAL!! I remember loving the old black and white silent movies, and the bubble machine, and the upstairs arcade…though the giant mouse always gave me the creeps. It was utterly tragic when we lost this magical place.
Other great Portland places that have gone the way of the dinos…..Waddles on Hayden Island, and Ferrells in the Lloyd District (though there is a rumor they are rebuilding at another location…one can only hope!)
Glad I found your blog.
I was asking my mom over Christmas if I had imagined the Meyer and Frank’s monorail and all of the amazing animatronic decorations and “A Christmas Story” type decorations. She told me that I hadn’t done too many drugs and all of that really existed. The other cool things I remember as a kid was the Alpenrose Dairy Christmas setup, and seeing Santa at Lloyd Center when it was still open-aired and you could ice-skate under the sky.
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