Carl Wallin and John Nordstrom stand at the rear of their downtown Seattle shoe store. The footwear emporium opened for business in 1901.

Photo from University of Washington Special Collections 

A November 1907 newspaper advert proclaims (that) "There's long wear in every pair" of Wallin & Nordstrom shoes. 

Advert from Wallin & Nordstrom

Nordstrom's Shoes acquired Best's Apparel, another Seattle-centric retailer, in 1963. The two concerns merged in the mid-1960s, forming a chain of stores known as Nordstrom Best. The fifth branch, seen here, anchored Tukwila, Washington's SOUTHCENTER mall, which opened its doors in July 1968.

Nordstrom Best stores were converted to the Nordstrom nameplate in December 1972. A massive expansion of the company soon got underway. The first California store was added to Costa Mesa's SOUTH COAST PLAZA in 1978.

Nordstrom renovated an abandoned downtown Seattle Frederick & Nelson store. The new Nordstrom flagship, dedicated in August 1998, spanned 383,000 square feet.

Photo from Wikipedia / Joe Mabel