Hippo Hardware and Trading Company

Store in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Hippo Hardware and Trading Company

Logo

The store's exterior, 2022

Founded| 1976; 49 years ago (1976)
Owners|

* Steven Miller
* Stephen Oppenheim

Website| hippohardware.com

Hippo Hardware and Trading Company, or simply Hippo Hardware, is a hardware store in Portland, Oregon.[1] Established by Steven Miller and Stephen Oppenheim in southeast Portland in 1976, the business has operated from its current location on East Burnside Street in the Buckman neighborhood since 1990. Hippo Hardware sells new and salvaged hardware, lighting, plumbing and other materials, as has a hippopotamus theme throughout. The store has supplied locally filmed television series and has been described as an institution and a landmark.

## Description

[edit]

The store's interior, 2022

Hippo Hardware is a three-floor hardware store at the intersection of 11th Avenue and East Burnside Street, in the southeast Portland part of the Buckman neighborhood. Housed in the Cromwell Tailors building (1921),[2] the store has approximately 30,000 square feet of new and salvaged hardware, lighting, plumbing, and architectural materials dating from the 1850s to the 1960s.[3] The business has a hippopotamus theme, with dolls,[4] statues, and toys displayed throughout, as well as exterior columns painted with hippos wearing togas.[5][6]

Portland Monthly says, "Clawfoot tubs, high-tank toilets, Victorian doorknobs, Mission ceiling fans, stained- and leaded-glass windows—it's a home rebuilder's paradise. Hippo even has a UL-certified lighting shop to wire any purchases you make or to repair a light you already own."[7] Willamette Week has said, "The real treasures live upstairs on the floor dedicated completely to lighting, where you can find bins of sconces, a thousand pendants, and wacky table lamps, all tuned up by the in-house maintenance service."[8]

## History

[edit]

Hippos painted on exterior columns

Hippo Hardware was established by co-owners Steven Miller and Stephen Oppenheim in 1976.[9][10] The business relocated from Southeast 12th and Ash to its current location in 1990.[11] Hippo Hardware supplied the productions of the television series Grimm and Leverage. According to Kathy Eaton of The Hollywood Star News, This Old House Magazine named Hippo Hardware one of five "iconic" hardware stores in the U.S. in 2014, and several Japanese magazines have advertised the business as a tourist destination.[12]

## Reception

[edit]

In 2005, Hippo Hardware placed third in the Best Lighting category in Willamette Week's annual reader's poll.[13] The store was a runner-up in the same category in 2007.[14] Hippo Hardware was a runner-up in the Best Hardware Store category in 2016,[15] and won in the same category in 2020.[16] The business has been called a "fancy junk store", an institution,[17] a local landmark,[18] an "icon for decades",[19] and a favorite of author Chuck Palahniuk.[20] A mural of the Buckman neighborhood by artist Joe Cotter, painted on the side of a Plaid Pantry store at Southeast 12th Avenue and Morrison Street, depicts a hippo from the store along with other nearby landmarks.[21]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Dresbeck, Rachel (March 1, 2011). Insiders' Guide® to Portland, Oregon, 7th. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7627-7477-7.
2. ^ Foster, Laura O. (January 1, 2008). Portland City Walks: Twenty Explorations in and Around Town. Timber Press. ISBN 978-0-88192-885-3.
3. ^ Buchanan, Leigh (September 24, 2020). "How Hippo Hardware Became Famous for Turning Portland, Oregon's Trash into Treasure". Inc.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
4. ^ Palahniuk, Chuck (December 18, 2007). Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon. Crown. ISBN 978-0-307-42075-6. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
5. ^ "Hippo Hardware". Atlas Obscura. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
6. ^ "Cheapish Modern". Willamette Week. September 10, 2008. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
7. ^ "Hippo Hardware & Trading Company". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
8. ^ "Hippo Hardware". Willamette Week. August 20, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
9. ^ Brawn, Jeff (October 1, 2022). Secret Portland, OR: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. Reedy Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-68106-405-5.
10. ^ Jewell, Judy; McRae, W. C. (July 5, 2016). Moon Oregon. Avalon Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63121-255-0. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
11. ^ "The Treasures and Tales of East Burnside's Hippo Hardware". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
12. ^ Eaton, Kathy (March 23, 2018). "Block by Block: Betting on Buckman at the bridgehead". The Hollywood Star News. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
13. ^ "READER'S POLL - YOU VOTED. WE TALLIED". Willamette Week. August 10, 2005. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
14. ^ "Readers Poll". Willamette Week. July 25, 2007. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
15. ^ "Best of Portland Reader's Poll 2016: The Complete List of Winners". Willamette Week. July 18, 2016. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
16. ^ "SHOPS & SERVICES". Willamette Week. July 22, 2020. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
17. ^ The Pacific Northwest (Rough Guides Snapshot USA). Penguin. May 1, 2017. ISBN 978-0-241-31298-8. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
18. ^ Ohlsen, Becky (April 9, 2013). Walking Portland: 30 Tours of Stumptown's Funky Neighborhoods, Historic Landmarks, Park Trails, Farmers Markets, and Brewpubs. Wilderness Press. ISBN 978-0-89997-681-5. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
19. ^ Eyewitness, D. K.; Frane, Alex; Moore, Jenni; Cottell, Pete (September 27, 2022). Portland Like a Local: By the People Who Call It Home. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-7440-7825-1. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
20. ^ Make The Most Of Your Time On Earth 3. Penguin. March 1, 2016. ISBN 978-0-241-26326-6. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
21. ^ Genovese, Fran (December 4, 2008). "Buckman: Mural will show local landmarks". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hippo Hardware and Trading Company.

* Oregon portal

* Official website
* Hippo Hardware at Roadside America

* v
* t
* e

Buckman, Portland, Oregon

Buildings|

* 5 MLK
* Alfred Webb Investment Properties
* Auto Freight Transport
* Barber Block
* Blake McFall Co.
* Bossanova Ballroom
* Central Catholic High School
* Cinemagic Theater
* East Portland Branch, Public Library of Multnomah County
* Enterprise Planing Mill
* Eugenia Apartments
* Frigidaire
* Grand Central Public Market
* Griesel Fruit Co.
* Henry Kuehle Investment Property
* Hotel Grand Stark
* International Harvester Co.
* Italian Gardeners and Ranchers Association Market
* John Deere Plow Co.
* Jones Cash Store
* Martin Parelius Fourplex
* Melody Event Center
* Nathaniel West
* Nettie Krouse Fourplex
* New Logus Block
* Olympic Cereal Mill
* Oregon Portland Cement
* Oriental Theatre
* Osborn Hotel
* Portland Fire Station No. 7
* Redd on Salmon Street
* Rex Arms Apartments
* Tree Farm
* Troy Laundry
* Washington High School
* Weatherly
* West's Block
* Yale Union Laundry

| Houses|

* Franklin W. Farrer
* William D. Fenton
* Rachel Louise Hawthorne
* Clarence H. Jones
* William O. Munsell
* Otto W. and Ida L. Nelson
* James S. Polhemus
* Capt. George Raabe
* W. S. Salmon

|

Business|

* Afuri
* Ate-Oh-Ate
* Bauman's on Oak
* Berlu
* Canard
* Cartopia
* Chicken and Guns
* City Liquidators
* Clarklewis
* Coffin Club
* Coopers Hall
* Delicious Donuts
* Doc Marie's
* Dos Hermanos Bakery
* Doug Fir Lounge
* EastBurn
* Fifty Licks
* Fire on the Mountain
* Grassa
* Hair of the Dog Brewing
* Hat Yai
* Hawthorne Asylum
* Hey Love
* Hippo Hardware and Trading
* Holman's
* Holocene
* Jam on Hawthorne
* Jupiter Hotel
* Kachka
* Kann
* Kinboshi Ramen
* La Calaca Comelona
* Le Pigeon
* Lil' America
* Loyal Legion
* Lucky Labrador Brewing
* Mad Greek Deli
* Maruti
* My Father's Place
* Nemo Design
* Nicholas
* Nong's Khao Man Gai
* Nostrana
* Ota Tofu
* The Paper Bridge
* Pizza Jerk
* Portland Night Market
* Prism Health
* Produce Row Café
* Revolution Hall
* Rimsky-Korsakoffee House
* Rontoms
* Rukdiew Cafe
* Rum Club
* Shalom Y'all
* Smaaken Waffle Sandwiches
* Sousòl
* Tusk
* Water Avenue Coffee
* Wayfinder Beer
* White Owl Social Club

| Defunct|

* Aviv
* Beaker & Flask
* Bit House Saloon
* Biwa
* Bombay Cricket Club
* Câche Câche
* Century Bar
* Crush Bar
* Dig a Pony
* Esparza's
* Farm Spirit
* Fermenter
* The Goose
* Hawks PDX†
* Le Bistro Montage
* Mama Đút
* Monte Carlo
* Red and Black Cafe
* Revelry
* Roost
* Sissy Bar
* There Be Monsters

|

Geography|

* Belmont
* Colonel Summers Park
* East Portland Grand Avenue Historic District
* Eastbank Esplanade
* Goat Blocks
* Hawthorne
* Lone Fir Cemetery

Public art|

* Alluvial Wall
* Echo Gate
* Ghost Ship
* Inversion: Plus Minus
* Nash
* Stack Stalk
* Statue of Vera Katz
* The Rippling Wall

Transit|

* Burnside Bridge
* Hawthorne Bridge
* Morrison Bridge

Key: † Extant but not in Buckman

* Category

45°31′22″N 122°39′18″W﻿ / ﻿45.52278°N 122.65500°W﻿ / 45.52278; -122.65500
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template