7123 NE Glisan Street began as the Shreiner bakery
This two-story building on the north side of Glisan Street is being transformed. Crews built the wood-frame 7123 NE Glisan Street storefront for John Shreiner’s business in 1912. Born in Indianapolis in 1854, this son of German immigrants settled in Portland around 1896. In 1913, he opened a bakery on the first floor of this new building on NE Glisan. He and his wife Catherine lived on the second floor.
In the 1920s, the Shreiner bakery also sold some groceries and confectioneries. Apparently, the business ran smoothly until, on Sunday, August 21, 1921, two bandits entered the store, flashed a revolver, and drove Shreiner into a back room where they beat him violently. They stole $60 from the cash register and fled. Shriner was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital and treated for a broken jaw and lacerations.
John continued operating his store on Glisan until his death in 1929. Since then, a succession of varied businesses has occupied the building, including a washing machine repair shop, a carburetor service location, a car supplies store, a bicycle shop, and an appliance store.
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Montavilla History Tidbits is a series of focused history-related articles by local historian Patricia Sanders. Please email your questions to history@montavilla.net, and Patricia Sanders may research them for a future article or tidbit.
Editor’s note: This article uses the spelling of John Jacob Shreiner to match his signed 1914 voter registration. The 1913 Portland City directory also uses the spelling Shreiner, as do news reports. It is an anglicized spelling of his German name, sometimes written as Schreiner, adopted by some families after immigration.