Kim G.
Yelp
Washington Square is a mall that doesn't feel like a mall. I mean that in a good way! It's bright, clean and beautifully designed. Unlike the drab Malls of yesteryear, Washington Square has an abundance of relevant stores, ones you actually want to shop at! With a Nordstrom's and Macy's as anchor stores, and Apple, Williams Sonoma, White House Black Market, Sephora, and lots of food, bath & body, clothing, candy and accessory stores in between.
And there are lots of people! Meaning, there were people in the mall on some random Monday in the middle of the afternoon! Lloyd Center is a ghost town even on the weekends! I kept wondering why these people were not at work or in school! Bottom line, this mall is doing it right otherwise it, too, would be empty.
I lived in NE Portland for 18 years and now live in SW on the water. There is a level of safety at this mall that I have not experienced in many years. When I went to Nordstrom's to pick up a pair of boots, all of the online orders were bagged and on shelves with no salesperson in sight. The door to the street was just a few steps away. I found myself looking around wanting to tell someone to be careful, but this seemed to be their norm. If this was Lloyd Center, I assure you those bags of online purchases would be out the door and in an old broken down van in a matter of minutes! on Craig's list within the hour.
I'm not a Mall person. I'm a go into a particular store, do my thing, leave, kind of shopper. But at this mall, I found myself leaving Nordstrom's and walking around the mall just to check out the different stores. Especially See's Chocolate where they still give a sample just for walking in!
There are all the normal mall food options like Wetzels Pretzels and Annie's, and Jamba Juice to name a few. But they also have The Cheesecake Factory, Panera Bread, Bubble Tea, Din Tai Fung - all chains but a step up from food court food. They even have an Avid Cider stand in the hallway in case you need a hard cider on the way back to Nordstrom's. Which I did!
As far as indoor malls go in the Portland area, Washington Square is tops.