 Opened in 1976, the Galleria was an indoor shopping arcade for dozens of small stores and restaurants, and has been described as downtown Portland's first shopping mall.Retail shops and restaurants occupied the first three floors, while floors 4 and 5 were leased to companies in the wholesale apparel business.Three months after the Galleria's opening, "The Oregonian" newspaper referred to the project as being possibly "the most exciting development in downtown [Portland] merchandising in several decades."