PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A northeast Portland business has made it onto the U.S. National Register of Historical Places. Dean’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop at 213 NE Hancock is the longest continually operated Black-owned business in the State of Oregon.
Former State Senator Margaret Carter and Kim Moreland of Oregon Black Pioneers provided the research for this historical designation They say Dean’s has been an anchor of economic development in the community.
Benjamin and Mary Rose Dean started the business in 1956. Since then, many of the businesses on NE Hancock street have left but Dean’s has continuously provided employment and a sense of community for the neighborhood.
Today the business is run by Kimberly Brown. She is the granddaughter of the couple who opened Dean’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop. She says she hopes to keep the shop open as long as she can because it serves as a place where people in the community can network and share resources as well as advice.
Brown keeps photos of the people who have supported the business over the years on the shop’s wall. Some have gone on to become famous. AC Green who played basketball for the Oregon State Beavers and Los Angeles Lakers is one who grew up in the neighborhood getting his hair cut at Dean’s.
Xfinity is planning a block party in front of the shop Saturday, July 23, for all the customers who have kept Dean’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop profitable over nearly 70 years.
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