Santaland Is Coming Back Thanks to the Oregon Historical Society

A few pieces from the original is Meier & Frank display found their way in to safe hands after Macy's shut down earlier this year.

By Shannon Armour

Last year, a Portland Christmas tradition came to an end.

When Macy's announced last November that they would be closing their downtown Portland store in spring of 2017, long-time fans knew it would also be their very last chance to take a walk down the Christmas tree lined nostalgia lane of Santaland, the department store's long-running holiday display that had been started decades ago by the Meier & Frank department store and resurrected by the Federated Department Stores after they remodeled and rebranded into a Macy's in 2005.

Although Macy's version wasn't exactly the same as the beloved Meier & Frank decorations—they moved everything from the 10th floor down to the basement and removed the coveted Santaland SuperTrack monorail kid-sized train that hung from the ceiling and replaced it with a really lame plastic monorail model— families could still get a glimpse of the old decorations in an area of the new Santaland that paid homage to the holiday décor of the past in a museum-like set-up.

Thankfully, a few of the original Meier & Frank Santaland pieces made it into the safe hands of the Oregon Historical Society after Macy's shut down and will once again be on display for the holidays.

OHS's Meier& Frank exhibit will include Santa's original throne, Rudolph, the slightly creepy animatronics elves and the decorated Christmas trees.

Sadly, a representative from OHS confirmed that the two remaining cars from the original kiddo monorail will not be in the exhibit.

Instead, you'll just have to watch this ridiculously long video of the one of the last voyages of the legendary Meier & Frank Santaland monorail whip around her track at a top speed of approximately one mile per hour.

Go: The exhibit opens on November 30th and will run the entire month of December. $11 for adults, Free for members and Multnomah County residents.

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