John Graham, Junior (1908-1991). He, along with Victor Gruen, Lathrop Douglass, James Rouse and Welton Becket, envisaged the American shopping mall.

Photo from www.docomomo-wewa.org

John Graham, Senior was born in Liverpool, England and migrated stateside in 1900. Soon after arriving in Seattle, he established an architectural firm known as John Graham & Associates. A son, John Graham, Junior, came along on April 8, 1908. 

John Graham, Junior attended the Moran Military Academy and graduated from Seattle's Queen Anne High School in 1925. He earned a Bachelor's In Architecture degree -from Connecticut's Yale University- in 1931. Jobs were hard to come by in the midst of the Great Depression. John Junior worked a retail position at Allied Stores until 1937, when the economy began to improve. He took a job at his father's architectural firm and relocated to New York City, in 1938, to work at a branch office.

RETAIL REVOLUTION 

After John Senior's retirement, in 1946, John Junior returned to Washington State to head his father's firm. A name change, to John Graham & Company, was instituted soon after. In 1947, John Junior was commissioned to design a suburban shopping center for Allied Stores, who operated Seattle's The Bon Marche chain. This shopping facility, originally known as NORTHGATE CENTER,  revolutionized the retail industry.

John Graham, Junior's NORTHGATE was officially dedicated between April
and July of 1950. The 1962 graphic above promotes the mall and the Jet
City's Century 21 Exposition-World's Fair.
Advert from the Alstores Realty Corporation

 

NORTHGATE CENTER was the first shopping complex in America to be configured as a "mall." A long corridor was lined, on both sides, by rows of inline stores and an open court fronted on a 3-level The Bon Marche anchor store. The complex, which was built in an outlying location, was also surrounded by a large parking area.

MALL METAMORPHOSIS

America's first major shopping complex to be marketed as a (quote-unquote) "mall" was Paramus, New Jersey's BERGEN MALL, another project designed by John Graham, Junior. Like Seattle's NORTHGATE, the BERGEN property was also developed by Allied Stores; this time as a vehicle for their Stern Brothers chain. The complex was dedicated in November 1957.

By this time, John Junior had three major shopping mall projects under his belt; the aforementioned NORTHGATE CENTER, plus CAPITOL COURT (1956) {Milwaukee} and GULFGATE SHOPPING CITY (1956) {Houston}. These were followed by NORTHSHORE CENTER (1958) {Greater Boston}, ALA MOANA CENTER (1959) {Honolulu}, WELLINGTON SQUARE (1960) {London, Ontario} and LLOYD CENTER (1960) {Portland, Oregon}.

John Graham, Junior's most celebrated structure is the Space Needle. This was built for the Jet City's Century 21 Exposition (a.k.a. Seattle World's Fair), which was held between April and October 1962. The tower eventually became a major Mid-Century Modern icon.

LIFETIME LEGACY

Graham went on to envisage three more Seattle-centric shopping centers; TACOMA MALL (1965) {Tacoma}, SOUTHCENTER (1968) {Tukwila} and ALDERWOOD MALL (1979) {Snohomish County (Lynwood)}. Eventually, he was responsible for the design of over seventy mall-type complexes; these located in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France and Australia.

John Graham, Junior retired in 1986, doing only consultant-type work from then on. He passed away on January 29, 1991, at the age of eighty-two.

GRAHAM-DESIGNED MALLS:

 

 A list of  shopping malls designed by John Graham, Junior between the early 1950s and mid-1980s. Those indicated in green have been inducted into the Mall Hall of Fame. Those in blue are on exhibit at the Shopping Mall Museum site.

1. NORTHGATE CENTER-NORTHGATE MALL, King County (Seattle), WA (April 1950-May 2019)
2. CAPITOL COURT, Milwaukee, WI (August 1956-February 2001)
3. GULFGATE SHOPPING CITY-GULFGATE MALL, Houston, TX (September 1956-March 2001)
4. BERGEN MALL-BERGEN TOWN CENTER-OUTLETS AT AT BERGEN TOWN CENTER, Paramus, NJ (November 1957)
5. NORTHSHORE CENTER-NORTHSHORE MALL Peabody, MA (August 1958)
6. ALA MOANA CENTER, Honolulu, HI (August 1959) 
7. AURORA VILLAGE CENTER-AURORA VILLAGE MALL,  King County-Shoreline, WA (April 1960)

8.  COLLEGE GROVE CENTER-MARKETPLACE AT THE GROVE-COLLEGE GROVE CENTER, Lemon Grove, CA (July 1960)  

9.  WELLINGTON SQUARE-LONDON EATON SQUARE-GALLERIA LONDON-CITI PLAZA, London, ON (August 1960) 

10. LLOYD CENTER, Portland, OR (August 1960)
11. BRENTWOOD CENTRE-BRENTWOOD TOWN CENTRE-AMAZING BRENTWOOD, Burnaby, BC (August 1961)

12. WARD PARKWAY CENTER, Kansas City, MO (October 1961) 

13. COTTONWOOD MALL, Salt Lake County (Holladay), UT (August 1962)

14. HALIFAX CENTRE, Halifax, NS (September 1962)
15. PARK ROYAL SOUTH, West Vancouver, BC (October 1962)

16. MOORESTOWN MALL, Burlington County, NJ (September 1963)
17. SEVERANCE CENTER-SEVERANCE TOWN CENTER-, Cleveland Heights, OH (October 1963)
18. YORKDALE CENTRE, North York, ON (February 1964)
19. SOUTHLAND CENTER-SOUTHLAND MALL, Hayward, CA (October 1964)  

20. FAIRVIEW POINTE-CLAIRE CENTRE, City of Pointe-Claire, QU (August 1965) 

21. TACOMA MALL, Tacoma, WA (October 1965)  

22. (GREECE) TOWNE MALL, Monroe County, NY (May 1967) 

23. MONTGOMERY MALL-WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN MONTGOMERY-WESTFIELD MONTGOMERY, Montgomery County, MD (March 1968)
24. THE BOULEVARD-BOULEVARD MALL-THE BOULEVARD, Clark County, NV (March 1968)
25. SOUTHCENTER MALL-WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN SOUTHCENTER-WESTFIELD SOUTHCENTER, Tukwila, WA (July 1968)
26. THE MALL IN NEW ROCHELLE, New Rochelle, NY (July 1968-November 1995)

27. VALLEY RIVER CENTER, Eugene, OR (August 1969)
28. LANCASTER MALL-WILLAMETTE TOWN CENTER, Salem, OR (August 1971)
29. MERIDEN SQUARE-WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN MERIDEN-WESTFIELD MERIDEN-MERIDEN MALL, Meriden, CT (October 1971)  

30. ENFIELD SQUARE-WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTON ENFIELD-WESTFIELD ENFIELD-ENFIELD SQUARE, Enfield, CT (November 1971)

31. JANTZEN BEACH CENTER-JANTZEN BEACH SUPERCENTER-30. JANTZEN BEACH CENTER, Portland, OR (September 1972)

32. SKAGIT VALLEY MALL, Skagit County, WA (June 1973-1990)

33. WASHINGTON SQUARE, Washington County (Tigard), OR (February 1974) 

34. CAPITAL MALL-WESTFIELD SHOPPINGTOWN CAPITAL-WESTFIELD CAPITAL-CAPITAL MALL, Olympia, WA (October 1978)
35. CENTRAL MALL-CENTRAL PLAZA, Lawton, OK (October 1979)
36. ALDERWOOD MALL-ALDERWOOD, Snohomish County (Lynnwood), WA (October 1979)
37. CLACKAMAS TOWN CENTER, Clackamas County (Milwaukie), OR (March 1981)

38. WEST PARK PLAZA renovation, Billings, MT (August 1986) 

Master mall designers Victor Gruen and John Graham reputedly argued over the proper width of the standard mall shopping concourse. Gruen preferred an expansive corridor of up to 70 feet, as demonstrated by this view of Indianapolis' GLENDALE MALL. 

Photo from the Estell Wholesale Company / John V. Pontiere, Junior

On the other hand, Mr. Graham thought that a concourse should be no wider than the 44 foot "Miracle Mall" at Seattle's NORTHGATE CENTER.

Photo provided by Meredith L. Clausen

Graham conceived and executed the world's very first revolving restaurant. La Ronde opened in late 1961, atop Honolulu's Ala Moana Building. The high-rise was an outparcel of his ALA MOANA CENTER mall project.
Drawing from www.hawaiirama.com

The Seattleite's crowing achievement was the 605-foot-tall Space Needle, symbol of the city's 1962 World's Fair. It, too, had a revolving rooftop restaurant...the Top of the Needle. John Graham, Junior designed the structure, along with Victor Steinbrueck and John Ridley. 

Photo from Wikipedia / "My Name (Cacophony)"

Greater Seattle's first fully-enclosed shopping center also came off the drawing board of John, Junior. TACOMA MALL was completed between 1964 and 1966. This snapshot was taken sometime around 1974, after the mall had emerged from its first expansion.
Photo from Tacoma Public Library

"Book him, Dan-O." The Ilikai Hotel, on Waikiki Beach, was another Graham-designed structure. It was completed in 1964 and used in the opening credits of CBS's "Hawaii Five-0" series, which debuted in September 1968.
Photo from Wikipedia / "J Clear"

Two more Jet City landmarks. On the left is the 397-foot-tall Washington Plaza Hotel South Tower, dedicated in 1969. Graham also designed its twin, the 449-foot-tall North Tower (on the right), which was completed in 1982. Today, the structures are known collectively as the Westin Seattle.

Photo from Wikipedia / "DavidPHogan74"

 Sources:

The Tacoma News Tribune
The Bergen Evening Record (Hackensack, NJ)
The Ogden Standard-Examiner (Ogden, UT)
The Spokane Chronicle
https://pcad.lib.washington.edu / PCAD /  "John Graham, Jr. (Architect)  
https://dahp.wa.gov / Department of Archeology + Historic Preservation / "John Graham, Jr. 1908-1991"
https://www.historylink.org  https://www.docomomo-wewa.org
"Graham, John Jr. (1908-1991)" / Heather M. MacIntosh / November 1998
https://pcad.lib.washington.edu / PCAD /  "John Graham, Jr. (Architect)  
https://www.historylink.org / "Graham, John Jr. (1908-1991)" / Heather M. MacIntosh / November 1998
https://pcad.lib.washington.edu / PCAD /  "John Graham, Jr. (Architect)  
"John Graham & Company" / Article on Wikipedia

Graham Malls:

Greater Seattle's Alderwood Mall

A rendering of the prospective Jet City shopping center. As it turned out, the completed complex was a bit different than what is depicted here. Two additional anchor stores would be attached to the north side and The Bon Marche would not be built with a recessed (basement level) parking area.
Drawing from http://www.historylink.org / University of Washington Special Collections

In 1980, the DeBartolo-developed ALDERWOOD MALL encompassed approximately 965,000 leasable square feet and contained 136 stores and services under its roof. There was free parking for  6,000 autos.

Zooming through time to the year 1999, we come to an expanded ALDERWOOD MALL. A Southwest Wing (medium gray) was built in 1995. It added a Food Court and increased the gross leasable area of the shopping hub to approximately 1,051,000 square feet. The retail roster now lists 155 stores and services. 

ALDERWOOD MALL TENANTS 1999:

J.C. PENNEY (with Beauty Salon and Portrait Studio) / LAMONTS / NORDSTROM (with Cafe Nordstrom and  Espresso Bar & Grill) / SEARS (with Garden Center and attached Auto Center) / THE BON MARCHE / Abercrombie & Fitch apparel / Aldo Shoes / American Eagle Outfitters / Andrew's Hallmark Shop / Ann Taylor ladies' wear / Anna's Linens / Athletes Foot shoes / Auntie Anne's Pretzels (kiosk) / Aveda cosmetics / Avon cosmetics (kiosk) / BC Surf & Sports apparel / B. Dalton Bookseller / Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream / Banana Republic apparel / Bath & Body Works cosmetics / Ben Bridge Jewelers / Biagio Luggage & Gifts / Camelot Music / Carlene Research / Carlton Cards / Cathy Jean Shoes / Century 21 realty (kiosk) / Champs Sports shoes & apparel / Cristian Supply / Claire's Boutique accessories / Deck The Walls home accessories / Expressly Portraits / Eddie Bauer apparel / Electronics Boutique / Express ladies' wear / Flickering Images home accessories / FootAction USA / Foot Locker shoes / Fredericks of Hollywood / Fred Meyer Jewelers / Fun & Games / GNC / Games Workshop / Garden Botanika cosmetics / Gap Kids children's wear / Gene Juarez Salon & Spa / Godiva Chocolatier (kiosk) / Gordon's Jewelers / Gymboree children's wear / House Of Cutlery / Hot Topic apparel / Imaginarium children's wear / Inprints home accessories / Jay Jacobs apparel / Journeys Shoes / Juxtapose ladies' wear / Kay-Bee Toys / Kay Jewelers / Kennelly Keys Music / Kenneth Behm Galleries / Kitchen & Company / Kits Camera & 1-Hour Photo / Lady Foot Locker shoes / Lane Bryant ladies' wear / Lids hats / Lucca's Pasta Bar / Made In Washington gifts / Mariposa ladies' wear / Miller's Outpost apparel / Mrs. Field's Cookies / Mister Rags men's wear / Motherhood Maternity / Mulberry Lane home furnishings / Natural Wonders children's wear / Nine West shoes / Northern Reflections / Northwest Eye Associates / Pacific Sunwear apparel / Papyrus stationers / Pearle Vision Center / Piercing Pagoda (kiosk) / Rags 2 children's wear / Regaldo D' Oro jewelers / Regis Hairstylists / Sam Goody Music / Sanrio / Select Comfort / Simply Seattle gifts / Software Etcetera / Spencer Gifts / Starbucks Coffee / Store of Knowledge / Structure men's wear / Suncoast Motion Picture Company / Sunglass Hut (kiosk) / Sunshade Optique / Surprises children's wear / Sweet Factory / Tall's AirTouch Cellular (kiosk) / Tall's Camera & Video / The Bombay Company home furnishings / The Bon Trim-A-Home / The Disney Store / The Gap apparel / The Limited ladies' wear / Things Remembered (kiosk) / Tiny Computers / Totally Wireless (kiosk) / Track 'n Trail shoes / Trade Secret cosmetics / Victoria's Secret Beauty / Victoria's Secret lingerie / Waldenbooks / Watches, Watches, Watches (kiosk) / Watch World International (kiosk) / Wet Seal ladies' wear / Whitehall Company Jewelers / Wilsons The Leather Experts / Winters Formal Wear / Yankee Candle Company / Zales Jewelers / Zumiez apparel 

FOOD COURT:

Acropolis Gyros / Auntie Anne's Pretzels / Cajun & Grill / Cinnabon / Ivar's / Kidd Valley / Kojo of Japan / Orange Julius / Panda Express / Pizzeria Uno and Chicago Bar & Grill / Quizno's Subs / Sbarro the Italian Eatery / Steak Escape / Taco Time 

By the early 2000s, ALDERWOOD MALL was ready for another expansion and makeover. Above is a GGP-generated rendering of a proposed The Village lifestyle component.

Drawing from www.ggp.com / General Growth Properties

Among other things, the 2002-2004 renovation brought a new (and substantially larger) Nordstrom. It replaced a vacant Lamonts and opened for business in September 2003.
Photo from www.ggp.com / General Growth Properties

The open-air The Village concourse was constructed on the north side of the existing mall. This addition was dedicated in November 2004 and included tony establishments, such as Red Mango, Lucky Brand Jeans and Blue C. Sushi.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Marcusaxavier77"

A rendering of The Terraces, a second lifestyle component added to the southwest corner of the ALDERWOOD complex. It was also dedicated in November 2004 and included Ruby's Diner, Japan Cafe, Starbucks and Jamba Juice.
Drawing from www.ggp.com / General Growth Properties
 

The freestanding Loews Alderwood Mall 16 showed first features in March 2005. It was rebranded by AMC Entertainment in 2006. An IMAX auditorium was installed in 2009.
Photo from Snohomish County, Washington

A circa-2005 layout includes the 200,000+ square feet of additions built between 2002 and 2004 (medium gray). The adjusted gross leasable area of the shopping hub, now known as simply ALDERWOOD, is 1,325,300 square feet, with a roster of 166 stores and services.

The demise of Sears, in March 2017, provided the impetus for a daring renovation. The abandoned store was bulldozed. At first, it was going to be replaced by a simple outdoor collection of retailers. This plan was amended to include two 5-level apartment buildings, which would cover ground floor stores and restaurants.

Drawing from https://www.brookfieldproperties.com / Brookfield Property Partners

A circa-2022 layout shows the new Avalon Alderwood Place section. It houses 77,000 leasable square feet, six stores and services, and 350 residential units. The gross leasable area of the mall, which -pre-renovation- stood at 1,325,300 square feet, has been adjusted to 1,234,300. There are now around 171 stores and services.  

ALDERWOOD MALL
Alderwood Mall Parkway and 184th Street Southwest
Snohomish County (Lynnwood), Washington

One of the final shopping centers designed by master mall architect John Graham, Junior was also one of two built on America's "left coast" by Youngstown, Ohio's Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation. This mall's story began in 1966, when New York City-based Allied Stores acquired a 77-acre site located 15.5 miles northeast of center city Seattle. 

At the time, the land parcel was in an unincorporated section of Snohomish ["snuh-hoe-mish"] County known as Alderwood Manor. Plans for a fully-enclosed mall were announced. However, implementation of the shopping hub was postponed by a sluggish local and national economy. Eventually, Allied sold the plot to DeBartolo, who initiated construction in 1977.

Located directly west of the junction of Interstates 5 and 405, ALDERWOOD MALL was officially dedicated on October 4, 1979. Seventy stores opened for business. The grand opening was attended by Edward J. DeBartolo and M.J. Hrdlicka (Mayor of Lynnwood). The complex consisted of a single level of retail and approximately 965,000 leasable square feet. 

Original anchors were a 2-level (221,000 square foot), Seattle-based The Bon Marche, 2-level (178,000 square foot) Sears, 2-level (101,000 square foot), Seattle-based Nordstrom and 1-level (60,000 square foot), Bellevue-based Lamonts.

A 2-level (159,000 square foot) J.C. Penney opened its doors on March 12, 1980. By June, the full compliment of 136 tenants were in business. These included Musicland, GNC, The Gap, Weisfield's Jewelers, Lane Bryant, Motherhood Maternity, Orange Julius, Spencer Gifts, The Limited and Waldenbooks. There was also an 18-bay Food Court in the mall's northwest corner 

The bulk of the Alderwood Manor community, including ALDERWOOD MALL, was annexed into the City of Lynnwood in 1984. A cinematic venue, the first in -or around- the shopping complex, was built on a pad located .2 mile northwest. The Luxury Theatres Alderwood 7 opened for business on June 13, 1986.

Major retail centers in the northern environs of Seattle included NORTHGATE MALL (1950) {8.6 miles southwest, in Seattle}, EVERETT MALL (1974) {5.9 miles northeast, in Everett}, BELLEVUE SQUARE (1946) {15.7 miles southeast, in Bellevue} and REDMOND TOWN CENTER (1997) {13.4 miles southeast, in Redmond}.

By the mid-1990s, ALDERWOOD MALL was due for an update. A 68,000 square foot Southwest Wing was built, which housed nineteen stores including a 10-bay Food Court. The 11 million dollar expansion, which had commenced in January 1995, was completed in November. ALDERWOOD MALL now encompassed approximately 1,051,000 leasable square feet.

Chicago-based General Growth Properties, who had been managing the ALDERWOOD property since 1997, established full ownership in May 1999. Financially-strapped Lamonts sold their ALDERWOOD store in February 1996 and ended up shuttering it in July 2000. The vacant store was razed in the autumn of 2001.

In May 2002, a second mall renovation got underway. The existing structure was given an indoor-outdoor makeover, assuming a "contemporary northwest" look. New flooring, seating, skylights and fireplaces were installed. Mall entrances were also refurbished, with a new Southeast Entry created.

A 2-level (151,000 square foot) Nordstrom and attached parking garage were built, replacing the old Lamonts. The new Nordstrom was dedicated on September 19, 2003. The old Nordstrom was demolished and replaced by a single-level (187,000 square foot) lifestyle addition known as THE VILLAGE. This new wing housed tony tenants, such as Pottery Barn, Borders Books, Williams-Sonoma, REI, Coldwater Creek and Gene Juarez Salon & Spa.

A second open-air addition, known as THE TERRACES, was built in front of the Southwest Wing. It encompassed 24,000 leasable square feet and included Claim Jumper and McGrath's Fish House casual dining restaurants. A second parking structure was also constructed.

The new mall space was officially dedicated on November 4, 2004. The complex, now officially known as ALDERWOOD, enveloped around 1,270,000 leasable square feet and contained over 200 stores and services. 

A freestanding movie house, the Loews Cineplex Alderwood Mall 16, was added to THE TERRACES and showed first features on April 1, 2005. The theater was rebranded as an American Multi-Cinema venue in early 2006. Meanwhile, The Bon Marche had been rebranded as a Bon-Macy's on August 1, 2003 and became a full-fledged Macy's on March 6, 2005.

Sears, a charter mall tenant, was shuttered on March 26, 2017, as one of forty-two decommissioned Sears locations across the nation. The vacant store prompted a fourth renovation of the shopping facility. The building was demolished in August 2019. It was going to be replaced by an Entertainment Food Village. 

This open-air lifestyle wing would have consisted of five structures and been anchored by a 2-level (85,000 square foot) Dick's Sporting Goods and 1-level (40,000 square foot) Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe.

Brookfield Property Partners, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, acquired a share of General Growth Properties in 2016. In August 2018, Brookfield established 100 percent ownership of the corporation. Hence, the ALDERWOOD mall became part of the Brookfield retail center portfolio.

Brookfield rethought the mall refurbishment. They formed a joint venture with Seritage Growth Properties and Avalon Bay Communities, Incorporated. An altered plan for Avalon Alderwood Place was drawn up. This complex would feature ground floor retail and restaurant components in two 5-level apartment buildings. A Dick's Sporting Goods store would not be included.

When fully-realized, the new section housed six store and restaurant spaces and 350 one, two and three bedroom apartments. A (40,000 square foot) Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Cafe welcomed first customers on August 29, 2022. Adjacent tenants included Paris Baguette and a Fogo De Chao upscale restaurant.

Sources:

The Seattle Times

The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Washington)
http://www.historylink.com
http://www.allbusiness.com
https://www.heraldnet.com
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com
https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov / Snohomish County, Washington 
https://mynorthwest.com

https://www.brookfieldproperties.com

http://mallmanac.blogspot.com

https://www.alderwoodmall.com

"Alderwood Mall" article on Wikipedia 

Houston's Gulfgate Shopping City

Greater Houston's first major shopping mall was designed by John Graham, Junior, of Seattle, with additional work by the Bayou City's Irving R. Klein Associates. In its original state, GULFGATE spanned approximately 802,800 leasable square feet.

Graphic from Theodore W. Berenson Associates