Shopping
The Oregon Coast offers a variety of shopping experiences. You’ll find everything from outlet malls to small upscale shops in quaint historic districts. Many shops are locally owned and feature one-of-a-kind arts and crafts, toys, clothing, jewelry, candy, and everything in between. The shops in this chapter are listed from north to south.
Shopping - The Arts
The natural beauty of the Oregon Coast inspires writers, artists, and musicians to express themselves in a variety of ways. Use this chapter as your stepping stone into the Oregon Coast art and culture scene, where you’ll find dozens of activities that will satisfy your artistic cravings.
In this section you’ll find a listing of art museums that feature traditional and contemporary artwork, and writing events and retreats where you’ll find out about workshops you can attend. Also you’ll find eclectic events such as the Fisher Poets Gathering, which features the lyrics of salty seafarers and gives you a chance to recite your own verse, and an overview of selected stages where you can attend theater and music performances plus the rich offering of music festivals and events that are present throughout the year. You’ll also find a comprehensive listing of art galleries that showcase the talents of Northwest artists in a variety of mediums. The galleries listed are a mix of working studios, traditional art galleries, and galleries that are often combined with a bookstore, gift shop, or other retail enterprise. Many of these galleries hold art shows during the summer months but may have shorter hours during the winter months. Keep your eyes and ears open, for every place you visit on the scenic Oregon Coast you’ll find that the arts are alive and are celebrated year-round.
1. Columbia River Maritime Museum
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 325-2323
Address: 1792 Marine Dr.
Description: Museum gift shops are often excellent resources for unusual birthday, anniversary, and wedding gifts, and the shop at this well-planned museum is no exception. Comprehensive books and monographs on Indian art, Oregon history, maritime history, fishing, shipwrecks, lighthouses, and other water-related items are for sale, and so are elegant sand glasses and ships’ lanterns. Their teaching resources are outstanding; in addition to all the books, there are maps, charts, graphs, and videos. If none of those sound like the right gift, try the jewelry.
2. Lucy’S Books
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 325-4210
Address: 348 12th St.
Description: Lucy’s is a bookstore with a strong local focus, and Astoria is a town with a lot of writers. Lucy’s has not only an excellent selection of books about the Pacific Northwest but carries the local writers too; you can find things here that you cannot find anywhere else, like anthologies of poems collected from the Fisher Poets Gathering, which takes place in February. Lucy’s also has a good section on women’s writing and a decent travel section. It’s closed Sunday.
3. Seaside Antique Mall
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 717-9312
Address: 39 South Holladay
Description: There are about a dozen stores in Seaside that sell antiques; the Seaside Antique Mall is the largest, and browsing here is a splendid way to spend a rainy Oregon day. In addition to the usual china, glass, and linens, you can also score some great finds in the advertising, Indian artifact, and art pottery departments. You can find a lot more than that, too: 88 antiques and collectibles dealers have pooled their resources at this mall. Open Sunday to Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Address: 300 Broadway
5. Seaside Factory Outlet Center
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 717-1603
Address: 111 North Roosevelt
Description: One of the favorite activities of visitors to the North Coast is spending the day at the shopping mall, and in this case big savings are in store. You’ll see some familiar outlet names at this 25-store complex—Kitchen Collection, OshKosh B’Gosh, Bass Shoes, and Dress Barn all have spaces here. Our favorites include the Black & Decker store for small appliances, Nike for sportswear and shoes, and Eddie Bauer for outdoor apparel and gear. Open January and February 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. During the rest of the year, they are open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
6. Bruce’S Candy Kitchen
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 436-2641
Address: 256 North Hemlock St.
Description: This plank-floored, false-fronted building sells handmade chocolate and saltwater taffy and it’s a Cannon Beach institution. It’s a full-service candy store; you can get swirly rainbow lollipops and gummi bears. You can watch them make the candy right there, and watching it being made imparts an even more delicious flavor. They don’t pull every flavor in their saltwater taffy line; that means that the butterscotch, root beer, butter, and cinnamon varieties are stickier and harder (and usually the first ones eaten, as long as no dental work is in jeopardy). Bruce’s also makes a line of sugar-free candy; it’s quite good.
7. Cannon Beach Book Company
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 436-1301, (800) 312-5045
Address: 132 Hemlock #2
Description: A fine bookstore, the Cannon Beach Book Company is a great supporter of writers and literary events in the area, so stop by to see what’s happening and what local writers have published lately. While you’re there, check out the contemporary fiction and literary nonfiction—and anything else, for this is a shop that believes in browsing. You’ll also find a good mystery section and books for children.
8. Center Diamond
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 436-0833, (888) 305-0854
Address: 1065 South Hemlock St.
Description: This shop is helping to feed the mania for quilting, and after a visit, it’s easy to see why. It’s a must-stop for North Coast quilters. The Center Diamond really is a center—not only do they sell beautiful fabrics, patterns, and notions for quilting, but they also feature classes and workshops. You might try a “Slumber party,” which is an extended retreatlike workshop on doll making, quilting, or related topics. Open every day 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
9. Ecola Square
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Address: 123 South Hemlock St.
Description: Ecola Square has some of the most interesting shops in Cannon Beach. Its attractively faded, white-trimmed exterior just begs to be visited. Some highlights of this village mall are Ecola Square Books, which specializes in books for children as well as books about the region. and the Wild Bird Shop, which features everything you need to learn about birds. Ecola Square is very Cannon Beach, and a great place to spend a rainy day when you can’t have the real thing.
10. El Mundo For Men
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 436-1002, (888) 662-4927
Address: 231 North Hemlock St.
Description: El Mundo for men was doing Casual Friday long before anyone else; in 1975 the owner, George Vetter, was convincing college students that they should skip the necktie and mellow out. Now he carries a lot of attractive natural-fiber clothing for men; he also has quite a selection of joke T-shirts. When the beach look won’t do, El Mundo’s can also spiff you up in a dinner jacket by Ralph Lauren or Christian Dior; they have all sizes, including those for children.
11. Geppetto’S Toy Shoppe
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 436-2467
Address: 299 North Hemlock St.
Description: This shop is a longtime favorite of vacationers to Cannon Beach, and those families know that Geppetto’s is a must-stop before a long car trip home. It specializes in entertaining and educational toys, and the folks who work there are imaginative about travel and rainy-day activities. Also noteworthy is the good selection of arts-and-crafts kits appropriate for different ages and all the sand toys a child could ever want.
12. Jupiter’S Rare And Used Books
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 436-0549
Address: 244 North Spruce St.
Description: Used bookstores are awfully fun, and Jupiter’s is no exception. You can find that copy of Plato you were looking for or pick up last month’s Stephen King novel, all for really great prices. And like many of the bookstores on the Coast, they feature local writers, especially hard-to-find editions of them. You’ll also find some first editions.
13. M. Sellin
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 436-1572
Address: 215 North Hemlock St.
Description: This clothing shop for women features natural-fiber garb that is as stylish as it is comfortable. In addition to the wonderful dresses, skirts, trousers, and shirts, M. Sellin carries a good selection of fashionable shoes and jewelry. Recently, they have started featuring yummy-smelling skin care products too. M. Sellin is an institution here in Cannon Beach, and so is its sister store on Hawthorne in Portland.
14. Puppy Love By The Sea Dog Boutique
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 436-9800
Address: 271 North Hemlock St. #1
Description: This friendly pup boutique lets you shop with your dog and features a wide assortment of canine apparel, doggie backpacks, float coats, collars, leashes, and gourmet dog treats.
15. Manzanita News And Espresso
City: Coastal Oregon, OR
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (503) 368-7450
Address: 500 Laneda Ave.
Description: Manzanita News is a dangerous and distracting heaven for magazine fanatics, who probably should stop reading them and get outdoors. But no one could break the habit with the 435 titles here to tempt them. Not only does the shop carry Martha Stewart Living and Atlantic Monthly, but it also carries the Sun and Film Quarterly. And there are lots of maps and newspapers and very inviting spaces to sit and read. Add to this the Portland Roasting Company coffee and the cookies, muffins, and scones by Temptations, a local baking company, and you might forget to go back out to the beach (we’d tell you how good the gingerbread scones were, only then there might not be any left for us).