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Hippo Hardware and Trading Company

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.

Hippo Hardware and Trading Company
Founded1976; 48 years ago (1976)
Owners
  • Steven Miller
  • Stephen Oppenheim
Websitehippohardware.com

Description

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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

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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

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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

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  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.
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