NORTHGATE CENTER
Northeast Northgate Way and 5th Avenue Northeast
King County, Washington

Seattle's NORTHGATE holds the distinction of being America's first quote / unquote "shopping mall". When construction of the center began in the late 1940s, there were only a few Post-World War II, suburban-style shopping centers in operation in the United States.

These were BELLEVUE SHOPPING SQUARE [August 2008 archive], in King County (nee Bellevue), Washington, BROADWAY-CRENSHAW CENTER [January 2007 archive], in Los Angeles, California, PARK FOREST PLAZA [January 2008 archive], in Park Forest, Illinois, NORTHSHORE CENTER in Beverly, Massachusetts and TOWN AND COUNTRY DRIVE-IN SHOPPING CENTER, in Whitehall, Ohio.

NORTHGATE CENTER was the first to be arranged around a lengthwise mall corridor, with stores facing each other on either side. It was also among the first shopping centers to be promoted as a "mall".

Originally an open-air structure with a single retail level and service basement, NORTHGATE was designed by Seattle's John Graham, Jr. . The complex, developed by New York City-based Allied Stores, was located 7.5 miles north of center city Seattle, on a 62 acre tract in the (then) unincorporated Maple Leaf community of King County.

The grand opening was held April 21, 1950, with the retail hub anchored by a 3-level -3 million dollar- department store, built for Seattle-based Bon Marche. There were seventeen other businesses coming inline then, including an A & P supermarket, Nordstrom's Shoes, and J.J. Newberry 5 and 10. The following year, a 4-level medical and dental clinic joined the directory.

NORTHGATE was the first shopping venue in the nation to have a "mall movie house". It had a single screen, seating for an audience of one thousand five hundred and opened in September 1951.

New stores at NORTHGATE opened in groups of five or so, with much fanfare. By 1952, all eighty spaces were leased. At this time, local sculptor Dudley C. Carter completed work on a 59 foot tall totem pole. This was installed in a fountain / plaza area -the mall's Main Entrance- along NE 110 Street. In 1954, the mall and its surrounding area were annexed into the Seattle city limits.

A "Sky Shield" roof was installed over the mall's courts and concourse in 1962. This was not a full-scale enclosure of the mall, but merely provided a bit of shelter from the elements. In 1965, the Interstate 5 expressway was completed to points north, with an interchange installed at NE Northgate Way (formerly NE 110 Street).

This spurred construction of a 10 million dollar -twenty-five store- addition, which included a 2-level (168,000 square foot) J.C. Penney and 4-level (Nordstrom-owned) Best Apparel. This 124,300 square foot store, along with an expansion of the existing Bon Marche, filled in the open Central Court area of the mall.

In 1967, the Best store was rebranded a Nordstrom Best. It became a full-fledged Nordstrom with a subsequent rebranding in 1973. Soon after, the structure was enlarged

NORTHGATE was fully-enclosed and climate-controlled in 1974...officially becomong a quote / unquote "mall". Soon after, a portion of the northeast section of the original structure was torn out. A fourth anchor store, Bellevue-based Lamonts, opened in this location in 1977. With these renovations, the mall housed over one hundred and twenty-three stores.

The first commercial competitor of NORTHGATE had been completed in 1960. AURORA VILLAGE CENTER [August 2008 archive] was located north of NORTHGATE, in the Shoreline area. Next came ALDERWOOD MALL, in Lynwood, and EVERETT MALL, in Everett. Both of these malls opened in 1979.

At the turn of the century, NORTHGATE MALL was going through more changes. Lamonts was rebranded by the Fresno-based Gottschalks chain in 1995, who closed the location in 2006.

Following the trend toward a central, coast-to-coast retail entity, the 308,800 square foot Bon Marche was rebranded under the Bon-Macy's moniker in 2003. In early 2005, the entire Seattle-based chain was "Macy-ated".

In late 2005, the theatre and medical clinic buildings were razed. In their space, part of an open-air, lifestyle component was constructed. This 100,000 square foot addition was built on the western side of the mall complex and included ten new stores and eateries, as well as a multi-level parking garage.

The old Lamonts / Gottschalks building was also gutted and rebuilt into a new DSW Shoe Warehouse (lower level) and Bed, Bath and Beyond (upper level). This latest group of renovations increased the GLA of NORTHGATE to 984,000 leasable square feet.

Seattle's center, due to its long history, is surely the "grandaddy of theMALL". The shopping center is owned and operated by the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, who acquired the property in 1987.

Sources:

"Northgate Mall" article on Wikipedia
"Bon Marche' " article on Wikipedia
"Gottschalk's" article on Wikipedia
www.historylink.org:Essay # 3186 / "Northgate Shopping Mall Opens On April 21, 1950" / David Wilma /August 2, 2001
Essay # 228 / "Northgate Beginnings: Jim Douglas Remembers" / Jim Douglas /Jan 1, 1999
http://www.northgateshoppingctr.com/
www.cinematreasures.com / "Northgate Theatre" article
http://www.simon.com/
King County, Washington tax assessor website