The line outside Joe Brown’s Carmel Corn got long and stayed long.

Soon after the old-fashioned popcorn stall opened at 11 a.m., the queue had grown to at least 100 customers, snaking past vacant storefronts along the Lloyd Center’s busy second floor and remaining that way for the rest of the afternoon.

Not bad for a staple at a mall best known recently for its “ghost mall” status and impending demolition — followed by an improbable rebirth.

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The Lloyd Center seemed busier than it had in years Saturday. But at 7 p.m., doors will shut for good as the Northeast Portland mall heads toward redevelopment into a “mixed-use” neighborhood.

Karen Kraus, who grew up visiting the Lloyd Center back when it was still an open-air mall, was prepared to wait for two hours for her red-and-white striped box of popcorn.

“It’s kind of this nostalgia,” she said just before noon Saturday, another dozen mallgoers lined up in front of her. “When you walked through the mall, you could smell it, and it just called you.”

Joe Brown’s Carmel Corn is the Lloyd Center’s oldest tenant, popping popcorn from the same spot since 1960, the same year the mall opened.

To Kraus’ right, swarms of mall walkers blitzed by in their best neon accessories and matching headsets. Step left to peer over the edge and she had an aerial view of the mall’s historic ice skating rink — kids in sequined costumes gliding and twirling.

Thousands of customers new and old turned out Saturday to celebrate the Lloyd Center on its final day — its long history and its more recent pivot to an ephemeral incubator for the offbeat.

70 1 / 70 Closing time at Lloyd Center features one last skate from Jerry and Tally

How Lloyd became cool

The Lloyd Center has reinvented itself more than once over the past 66 years.

It was a marvel of its era when it first opened on Aug. 1, 1960 — at the time, the largest mall in the United States and the first to feature an ice rink.

The decline of mall culture eventually made its way to Oregon, and by 2021, the Lloyd Center had hollowed out into a “ghost mall,” devoid of any traditional anchor stores.

But then something magical, a bit bizarre and totally Portland happened.

Empty storefronts, once home to big names like Nordstrom and Victoria’s Secret, were revived by smaller, independent businesses. An ex-Spencer’s Gifts turned into a pinball museum; the former Brookstone became a magic theater. The food court transformed into a hub for local restaurateurs, plus a meeting ground for chess clubs and zine-making groups.

Lloyd wasn’t just decidedly undead; it was cool.

It’s that eclectic “indie” mall vibe that patrons who visited Saturday will most miss when the Northeast Portland institution is knocked down for good.

“We’re just really sad to see this open community space where people can gather being taken from us,” said Lauren Terpstra, sporting an all-black outfit and roller skates in preparation for Pedalpalooza’s funereal group bike ride.

Terpstra, whose kids had become regulars of the Lloyd Center’s various summer camp programs, was joined by nearly 200 other mourning cyclists and skaters.

Hundreds of people showed up to the Lloyd Center to celebrate the mall's last day. Festivities included a funeral procession-themed bike ride, a SantaCon and a 200-person mall walk. Allison Barr

Hundreds of people showed up to the Lloyd Center to celebrate the mall's last day. Festivities included a funeral procession-themed bike ride, a SantaCon and a 200-person mall walk. Allison Barr

A very Portland sendoff

In true Portland fashion, the mall’s last day was ablaze with a quirky sort of celebration.

Even before doors formally opened, a chess tournament had taken residence in the mall’s food court. That soon gave way to Lloyderpalooza, the open-invite vendor fair that transformed empty tables and ledges into makeshift artists booths.

Ashley Arriaga of Coyote Brains Glass sold tombstone-shaped magnets inscribed with the Lloyd Center’s too-short lifespan: 1960 to 2026. She sold out within two hours.

“It felt really sentimental to me,” said Arriaga, a self-described “Portland kid.” “It’s really going to be gone.”

By late afternoon, the food court turned over once again, now playing host to a music-comedy-poetry-karaoke festival called Lloyd Fest. Elsewhere in the mall, sentimental patrons plucked leafy plants from their brown pots as a kind of living keepsake — to the consternation of mall security.

Joe Brown’s Carmel Corn owner David Ferguson spent the afternoon weaving through artists, costumed ice skaters, a pop-up SantaCon appearance and the popcorn stand’s seemingly non-shrinking line.

Hundreds of people showed up to the Lloyd Center to celebrate the mall's last day. Festivities included a funeral procession-themed bike ride, a SantaCon and a 200-person mall walk. Allison Barr

Hundreds of people showed up to the Lloyd Center to celebrate the mall's last day. Festivities included a funeral procession-themed bike ride, a SantaCon and a 200-person mall walk. Allison Barr

Ferguson has fond memories of visiting the Lloyd Center as a kid in the 1980s — trips that were often marked by a box of Joe Brown’s popcorn. In 2019, he bought the business.

“This mall has a lot of nostalgia,” he said. “A lot of people have memories growing up here. I’m not the only one.”

When the Lloyd Center closes, Ferguson plans to expand Joe Brown’s with two new locations — one in Portland and another in Vancouver, he said. But as the mall’s oldest tenant, it was important to Ferguson that the popcorn vendor remained at the mall until its last day.

“That’s going to be a part of our legacy,” Ferguson said. “It’s going to be a part of our story.”