Northgate Mall (Seattle, WA)

**Northgate Mall** is an enclosed shopping mall in northern Seattle, Washington, United States. It is anchored by Bed Bath & Beyond, DSW, and Nordstrom Rack. The mall is located in the Northgate neighborhood on Interstate 5, adjacent to Northgate Way and the Northgate Transit Center (a future light rail station).

Northgate opened in 1950 as one of the first modern shopping centers to be built in the post-war United States. The mall was developed by Allied Stores and was initially an open-air facility until renovations in the 1970s.

## History

An open-air retail hub in the northern environs of Seattle, Northgate Mall was one of the first post-war, suburban mall-type shopping centers in the United States. It was originally known as *Northgate Center*, named for its location at the north edge of Seattle (and being beyond the city limits at the time). It began business with 18 stores in April 1950, anchored by The Bon Marché. By 1952, the fully leased structure housed over seventy tenants, with an adjoined 4-story Northgate Building medical/dental center and Northgate Theatre, which seated over 1300 patrons.

Northgate was the first of three Puget Sound-area malls developed by Allied Stores (parent company of The Bon Marché) and designed by Seattle architect John Graham, Jr. The development was built over part of Thornton Creek, on land that had been a cranberry bog in Maple Leaf neighborhood. Northgate was the first regional shopping center in the United States to be described as a mall,[*citation needed*] in this instance a double row of stores facing each other across a covered pedestrian walkway, and was the first mall to have public restrooms.

In 1952, Redmond sculptor Dudley C. Carter designed and carved the 59-foot (18 m) cedar totem pole that decorated the grand entrance to the central retail corridor, known as the "Miracle Mall". The shopping center was originally anchored by The Bon Marché (which was acquired by Macy's in 2003; it went by the name *Bon-Macy's* before the *Bon* name was retired in 2005). There were also a J.J. Newberry 5 and 10, Butler Brothers variety store and an A & P Supermarket.

Other tenants signing on early that still exist were National Bank of Commerce (bought by Norwest Corporation, renamed Wells Fargo) and locally owned Nordstrom's Shoes. This was expanded into a full line clothing store in 1965. Opened as a Best's Apparel, a division of the Nordstrom Company since 1963, it was rebranded as Nordstrom Best in 1967 and Nordstrom in 1973. The 1965 expansion that added the Best's Apparel store also included an extension of the south end of the complex. This was anchored by a new JCPenney and QFC (Quality Food Center) grocery.

The "Miracle Mall" concourse had been partially enclosed with a "SkyShield" structure in 1962. This was replaced in 1973-1974, with the mall corridor being fully enclosed. The official name of the shopping complex was changed to *Northgate Mall* at this time. Seattle-based Lamonts added a store to the northern end of the concourse in 1977.

With another renovation to the mall 20 years later in 1997, Toys "R" Us opened its doors in October 30. The food court was also renovated. Two new stores, Sam Goody and Foot Locker also opened. The new interior was also completed in 1998.

After the acquisition of the Lamonts department store chain by Gottschalks in 2000, Gottschalks was located at Northgate Mall until September 2006. It closed after six years due to underperforming sales, and the former location is currently the home to DSW and Bed, Bath and Beyond. In January 2012, Toys "R" Us closed which coincided with the end of its lease. A year later in 2013, Nordstrom Rack opened up in the space formerly occupied by Toys "R" Us.

## See Also

* Northgate Mall (Seattle, WA)/Tenant List

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