JENNIFER: WE ARE TAKING A WALK
DOWN MEMORY LANE AS WE EXPLORE
OREGON'S PAST.
DAN: OUR JEFF GIANOLA JOINS US
NOW.
JEFF, YOU DISCOVERED A BIT OF
NOSTALGIA AS WE HEAD INTO THE
HOLIDAY SEASON.
JEFF: YEAH.
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE
CHRISTMAS MEMORIES?
FOR MANY WHO GREW UP HERE, IT
WAS A MAGICAL PLACE CALLED
SANTALAND ON THE 10TH FLOOR OF
THE OLD DOWNTOWN MEIER AND FRANK
STORE.
SANTALAND CLOSED ALONG WITH THE
DEPARTMENT STORE, BUT THAT
CHRISTMAS MEMORY IS STILL
PRESERVED INSIDE A MASSIVE
SECRET WAREHOUSE.
AS I'M ABOUT TO SHOW YOU AS WE
UNCOVER OREGON'S TREASURES.
THIS IS LIKE BEING IN A GIGANTIC
ATTIC.
100,000 SQUARE FEET,
STATE-OF-THE-ART, CLIMATE AND
HUMIDITY CONTROL.
JEFF: THE THOUSANDS OF OBJECTS
STORED HERE, TELL THE STORY OF
OUR LIVES, OREGON HISTORY
PRESERVED FOR FUTURE
GENERATIONS.
WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THIS
COW?
A FELLOW NAMED RICHARD
PERKINS WHO WAS A NATIVE OF
ENGLAND MADE A FORTUNE IN THE
WEST IN CATTLE.
AND HE CAME TO PORTALND AND IN
THE EARLY 1890'S AND HE BUILT A
HOTEL AND HE WANTED IT TO BE BE
-- WANTED TO BE A SPECIAL HOTEL
FOR CATTLEMEN AND STOCKYARD
PEOPLE.
SO HE INSTALLED THIS CEDAR COW
ON TOP OF HIS HOTEL.
JEFF: MANY OF THE ITEMS HERE
HAVE A MORE PERSONAL STORY.
WELL, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I
THINK IS NEAT BECAUSE TOM MCCALL
WAS REALLY ONE OF MY HEROES.
CERTAINLY THE MOST ICONIC
GOVERNOR IN OREGON HISTORY.
AND THIS WAS HIS DESK THAT HE
KEPT AT HIS HOME OFFICE A
CLASSIC OLD ROLL TOP DESK.
JEFF: AND THERE ARE THE STRANGE
QUIRKY ITEMS.
ONE OF THE MOST COLORFUL
PORTLANDERS I THINK OF THE 60'S
AND 70'S LONGTIME PORTLANDERS
MIGHT REMEMBER GRACIE HANSEN.
SHE WAS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER
TERM, PORTAND'S SOPHIE TUCKER.
SHE PERFORMED AT A CLUB AT THE
COIT HOTEL, A 500 SEAT THEATER,
AND SHE WAS A CHAUNTUESE SORTA A
-- SORT OF A MAE WEST TYPE
PERSONALITY.
JEFF: THESE BRIGHT PINK LAMPS
FROM GRACIES STAGE SHOW ARE NOW
PART OF HISTORY SOMEBODY ELSE
GOT THE REST.
AND DARCELLE NOW HAS ONE OF
THRE DRESSES OF GRACIE HANSEN
AND SHE WAS A LITTLE OVER 5 FEET
TALL.
AND OUR CELL IS A BIT BIGGER.
MUCH TALLER.
BUT HAS ONE OF GRACIE'S DRESSES.
JEFF:
THE COLLECTION IS
ENORMOUS.
OBJECTS STACKED HIGH ON EVERY
SHELF, DOWN EVERY AISLE, EACH
CAREFULLY TAGGED AND CATALOGUED.
A ROLL OF BARBED WIRE NEXT TO A
1970'S TELEVISION SET.
AN OLD RADIO.
YES, WE USED TO OWN A RADIO
STATION.
ONE OF PORTLAND'S FIRST BANK
TELLER WINDOWS.
AND AN EARLY EXAMPLE OF HIGH
TECH PHONE COMMUNICATION.
WE HAVE MANY THINGS FROM
MEIER AND FRANK IN OUR
COLLECTION.
THIS WAS THEIR SWITCHBOARD.
THEIR ALL-TIME PHONE OPERATING
SYSTEM.
WHEN SOMEONE WOULD CALL MEIER
AND FRANK AND BE CONNECTED WITH
YOU KNOW THE MENS HABADASHERY
DEPARTMENT, OR THE LADIES ATTIRE
DEPARTMENT.
JEFF: MEIER AND FRANK WAS A BIG
PART OF OUR LOCAL HISTORY DATING
BACK TO 1857.
RIGHT BEHIND THIS, YOU SEEING
-- YOU SEE THE GREEN WAGON.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL
MEIER AND FRANK DELIVERY WAGONS
WHEN THEY WOULD DELIVER THINGS
BY HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGE.
JEFF: TO YOUR HOME.
TO YOUR HOME.
JEFF: THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST
INTERESTING OBJECTS.
KING TOUTS TOMB.
IT DID NOT.
IT CAME OUT OF MEIER AND FRANK.
AT THEIR OLD LAWYERS CENTER.
IT WAS THE ALADDIN RESTAURANT.
IT WAS AN EGYPTIAN THEMED
RESTAURANT.
THIS PRESIDED OVER THE
RESTAURANT AND FOLKS WERE
INTRIGUED BY IT.
THERE WAS THIS KING TATTOO
LOOKING THING IN THE RESTAURANT.
NOW IT IS HERE.
♪ JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
♪ ♪
JEFF:
FOR GENERATIONS OF
OREGONIANS, MEIER AND FRANK IS
ETCHED IN THEIR MEMORIES FOR A
DIFFERENT REASON.
THE DEPARTMENT STORE CAME ALIVE
AT CHRISTMAS.
GENERATIONS OF OREGON
FAMILIES EVERY CHRISTMAS YOU
COULD FIND THEM AT THE DOWNTOWN
PORTLAND MEIER AND FRANK WHERE
KIDS WOULD RIDE IN THIS TRAM IN
SANTALAND, WHERE SANTA WAS
ANIMATRONICS ELVES AND REINDEER.
AND THE TRAM WOULD RUN AROUND
THE CEILING OF THE 10TH FLOOR
AND KIDS WOULD GET A LOOK AT
SANTA LAND.
THESE ARE ANIMATRONICS.
YOU PLUG THEM IN, MOVE THEM,
THAT WOULD BE SURROUNDING THIS
AND A LAND SEEN.
JEFF: MEIER AND FRANK IS GONE,
BUT HERE IN THE VAULT SANTA LAND
LIVES ON CAREFULLY STORED AWAY,
INCLUDING THE MOST IMPORTANT
PIECE IN THE COLLECTION.
BUT YOU THINK ABOUT THE
GENERATIONS OF KIDS THAT SAT ON
SANTA'S LAP IN THIS CHAIR.
I'M SURE A LOT OF FOLKS WATCHING
THIS NOW ARE SAYING YEAH, I
REMEMBER THAT CHAIR SO WELL.
I REMEMBER SANTA SO WELL.
THIS IS ANOTHER NEAT PART OF
OUR HISTORY.
I THINK IT SHOULD BE THE
ANCHOR CHAIR AT KOIN.
JEFF: I'M GOING TO TALK TO MY
BOSS ABOUT THAT, I LIKE THAT.
I THINK I
JUST GOT IT CLEARED,
THE BOSS WILL LET US USE THE
SANTA CHAIR AS AN ANCHOR CHAIR
THIS CHRISTMAS.
I WANT TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT
THIS PHOTO OF TWO KIDS ON SANTAS
LAP.
DO THESE KIDS LOOK FAMILIAR?
DAN: THOSE ARE MY KIDS.
ELLIE AND BEN.
SHE'S LIKE FOUR, HE IS LIKE 18
MONTHS OLD.
I REMEMBER SO CLEARLY, SHE WAS
SO EXCITED TO WEAR THAT DRESS
AND SIT ON SANTA'S LAP.
YOU STAND IN LINE FOR A LONG
TIME.
JEFF: AND THEY HAVE THE SAME
SANTA FOR YEARS.
IT WAS THE SAME SANTA CLAUSE.
DAN: MY SON, WE WERE STANDING IN
LINE WITH THE KIDS AND MY WIFE
HAD HIS HAIR DONE NICELY.
HE WANTED NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.
HE'S PATTING IT DOWN.
MY WIFE WAS MORTIFIED THAT HIS
HAIR DOES NOT LOOK GOOD.
THEY ARE BOTH IN COLLEGE NOW.
BOTH TALLER THAN ME.
JEFF: UNCOVERING OREGON'S
TREASURES CONTINUES EVERY
WEDNESDAY RIGHT HERE ON THE 4:00
P.M. NEWS.
WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE WHAT WE
UNCOVER FOR NEXT WEEK, BUT RIGHT
NOW GO TO KOIN.COM TO ANSWER THE
QUESTION, HOW DO THEY DECIDE
WHAT THEY KEEP INSIDE THE VAULT?
WHAT IS VALUABLE?
IT'S A STORY ONLY ON KOIN.COM
ALONG WITH ALL OUR TREASURE
STORIES FROM THE VAULT.
WE WILL CONTINUE THAT NEXT
WEDNESDAY.