JCPenney operated in downtown Vancouver in 1976 before it moved to the Vancouver Mall. Clash Beauty Collective now occupies the building on Main Street. (The Columbian files)Photo Gallery
A long-awaited $21 million, two-year project to overhaul Main Street in downtown Vancouver is expected to begin this fall.
It took 30 years to get to this point. The city began planning for reconstruction of Main Street from Fifth to 15th streets in 1993, but budget constraints led to false starts.
Efforts to revitalize downtown date back even further with the “Study Plan” in 1961, “Operation Facelift” in 1966 and “Project Go” in 1971. Today, Vancouver’s new waterfront has stolen the spotlight. Downtown boosters, however, hold out hope that the energy will spread to Main Street, given its storied history.
Michael Walker, executive director of Vancouver’s Downtown Association, said he’s encouraged that federal funds are pushing the so-called Main Street Promise project forward. The “promise” in its name refers to it being in the works for 30-some years and attempted three times, most recently in 2008, when the Great Recession halted the project (although it got far enough to change Main Street from one-way to two-way traffic).
“This is the largest infrastructure investment on Main Street in 116 years,” he said. “A lot of the existing conditions, like the underground utilities, are in need of replacement due to age.”
Then and now
About 50 years ago, Main Street was bustling “with plenty to attract the eye and the dollar,” according to The Columbian’s archives.
Longtime community members may remember the F.W. Woolworth & Co. department store that closed in 1976. Now, it’s home to Divine Consign, another beloved store.
Across Main Street, JCPenney stood at the corner of Evergreen Boulevard until it moved to Vancouver Mall in 1981. The former store drew a bid of $555,000 in 1989 and rented out the basement to Clark College for adult education classes, according to Clark County Historical Museum archives.
In 2019, that building went through reconstruction to become The Quinn, a three-story building with offices on the top floors and retail space on the ground floor. Hair stylists, barbers, estheticians, nail techs and tattoo artists at Clash Beauty Collective occupy half of the retail space.
On the other end of the block, Wild Fern Boutique sells trendy clothing and accessory styles. Fifty years ago, it was Main Street Sporting Goods and Loans.
Big plans
According to Columbian archives, plans to enhance downtown date back decades and evolved throughout time.
The civic and business leaders in the 1960s and ’70s proposed big ideas for redeveloping downtown. Since then, buildings vacated and businesses moved — especially when the mall opened in central Vancouver in 1977. A 1991 Oregonian article stated Runyan’s Jewelers, on West Evergreen Boulevard and Main Street, moved to the mall in 1986 — five years after JCPenney. (It has since returned to Main Street.)
In 1989, a real estate broker proposed a $100 million-plus, 10-year project converting Main Street into a district with upscale condominiums and retail shops. A 1991 panel of state experts suggested more two-way streets, better window displays and a public relations campaign to drive customers downtown and help city leaders attract more businesses, according to past Columbian articles.
Although many of the grand plans never materialized, Main Street has become more lively over the years. The vacant building at 812 Main St. illustrates the ongoing challenges. It’s been vacant since Spanky’s Legendary Consignment closed in 2007.
“That building faces a lot of hurdles right now because they have to seismically retrofit it to meet code, and it’s very expensive to do,” Walker said. “I hope eventually the market forces will help that building transition into something that better maximizes that really important corner there.”
Changes, continuity
One Main Street business has outlasted all the rest. In 1932, Joe Brown opened Joe Brown’s Fountain Lunch. The name later changed to Joe Brown’s Cafe. Brown sold it to Lew Carlton in 1985. He continues to run the diner with his wife, Karen Carlton.
“In the ’70s, I would walk down and have Joe Brown’s French toast,” Karen Carlton said. “It was my favorite.”
The restaurant decor has hardly changed since. Lew Carlton filled the walls above the booths with photos he took of customers from the early days.
“A young fella in a suit and tie came in and looked for his photo as a teen with a blue mohawk to show his friends,” Karen Carlton said.
The diner has kept up with the times to survive, especially during COVID, she said. A customer tapped his phone on the cash register’s point-of-sale system to settle his bill with Apple Pay. Behind the counter, tablets sat on the counter for Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats orders.
A few customers finished their meals and said they come to Joe Brown’s Cafe once a year when they’re visiting from Virginia.
“If you’re walking down the street and blink, you’ll miss us, but we have a huge following,” Karen Carlton said.
She was directed around March to remove the tables outside to prepare for construction on Main Street, but the additional seating was huge for business in the summer, so she waited until crews started working, she said.
“It’s going to be hard during construction for people trying to get to us, but once it’s completed, it’ll be nice,” Karen Carlton said. “We’re optimistic.”
Walker shares her outlook. He said Vancouver’s Downtown Association plans to host a ceremony to tie into the groundbreaking with a time capsule to be opened in 50 years filled with items from this year.
“We’re creating a place that people spend time in, meet their family and friends, a place that has pedestrian access that will provide for economic activity, expanded street eating areas and all that, so businesses can be successful in the long term,” Walker said. “I think we’re really working to pass the torch on to the next generation, to steward the heart of our community into the future.”
This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.
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