Northgate mall - Seattle

TY · ‎03-10-2010

As Northgate mall loses its tenants, take a look at the photos about it on the Business Insider website.

https://www.businessinsider.com/americas-first-mall-northgate-mall-seattle-dying-photos-2019-7

Northgate was the first indoor enclosed mall in the U.S. and is being redeveloped but for now it looks like a ghost town.

godi · ‎03-09-2010

Boy how we have changed. Gone are the days of being excited to go to the mall. Now we just click a few keys and viola it’s on your porch. Brick and mortar is slowly going away. 😢

Shelbelle · ‎03-09-2010

We had a gorgeous upscale mall here built in 80's, had Macys, etc. Was totally torn down, now it has been revamped with a Costco, Lowe's and apts to be added soon.

ROMARY · ‎04-28-2010

I've been hearing, more and more, about the overall trend of adding apartments and condos above stores in shopping mall space.

'Sort of'/Slightly similar (but not the same) to the 'mom and pop' stores underneath an attached apartment/flat.

In those days, mom could run the store and take care of the baby/young child/children while pop went out to work in another field.

Actually, it did make a lot of sense........two incomes while paying the mortgage, saving money (no childcare expenses), and working all at the same time.

But, of course, the stores are usually chains, and probably, if they are private stores/businesses, I'm only guessing that babies/children wouldn't be allowed (?)

'Anyway', it might be nice to be able to live above the stores and work 'downstairs', ( if financially feasible) for a couple and/or family. No commuting, etc.

Although, it would be a major renovation and inconvenience, (with all of the machinery, construction, etc.) for a community/neighborhood.

Something that would require a lot of patience.

'More or less', 'Right or wrong', 'In general', and 'Just thinking out loud ' (as usual).

RainCityWoman · ‎06-16-2015

@TY wrote:
As Northgate mall loses its tenants, take a look at the photos about it on the Business Insider website.

https://www.businessinsider.com/americas-first-mall-northgate-mall-seattle-dying-photos-2019-7

Northgate was the first indoor enclosed mall in the U.S. and is being redeveloped but for now it looks like a ghost town.

Actually, it wasn't all indoors originally. The long passageway between both sides was outdoors. It was built that way in 1950, but in the 70's it was completely enclosed. I was there yesterday to take a last look at Macy's. I was shocked when I walked into the mall level and the place was so empty it echoed. They had moved what merchandise they had left all to that floor, while the lower level and upper level were completely emptied. This was the first of its kind in the U.S. Now most of the stores and boutiques will be gone. Nordstrom will close there in August. Penneys is closing, and of course, Macy's for all intents and purposes is already closed. I can always drive to those stores either downtown or to malls further away in either north or south directions, but I wonder if I will.

I'm not sure that they are putting apartments in above establishments or not. They already have tons of condos at the south end of the mall across from the movie theater. The only thing I have heard much about is the planned hockey training center and public ice rink. The food court will probably stay.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

That looks like a lot of the malls around here, they are ghost towns. There's one here, just a few years ago, it was "the" place to shop and eat. Every store was there and along with all the chain restaurants. Now....only a couple of chain restaurants remain. It's a little scary if you walk through it to get to the parking lot. Last summer, there were a few pop up shops but my friend said that did not happen this summer.

Pqfan · ‎03-09-2010

this made me sad😞

The end of an era.

IMW · ‎06-15-2014

That integrated use of space for retail and residences was/ is a great to keep neighborhoods vital. No empty

downtown commerce areas, no long commutes.

It was the old style years ago. Everything old is new again. Jane Jacobs wrote excellent books re urban

planning.

@ROMARY wrote:
I've been hearing, more and more, about the overall trend of adding apartments and condos above stores in shopping mall space.

'Sort of'/Slightly similar (but not the same) to the 'mom and pop' stores underneath an attached apartment/flat.
In those days, mom could run the store and take care of the baby/young child/children while pop went out to work in another field.

Actually, it did make a lot of sense........two incomes while paying the mortgage, saving money (no childcare expenses), and working all at the same time.

But, of course, the stores are usually chains, and probably, if they are private stores/businesses, I'm only guessing that babies/children wouldn't be allowed (?)

'Anyway', it might be nice to be able to live above the stores and work 'downstairs', ( if financially feasible) for a couple and/or family. No commuting, etc.

Although, it would be a major renovation and inconvenience, (with all of the machinery, construction, etc.) for a community/neighborhood.

Something that would require a lot of patience.

sidsmom · ‎11-25-2011

Here in Dallas, we have long standing enclosed mall

called NorthPark Mall. In the era of malls being torn down...

this mall keeps going & going! I swear they signed a deal

w/ the devil. It’s very active, very nice, near a very high wealth

part of town...and people still go there. Lots of nice, pricey

designer stores, as well as the old standbys.

Amazing how some areas make it & others don’t.

Really no rhyme or reason.

TY · ‎03-10-2010

I grew up in a Tacoma, WA suburb and my mom used to work at Nordstrom at the Tacoma mall. I have fond memories of shopping there as a student but Nordstrom took forever to come to Vancouver, B.C. only 4 years ago and the store never lived up to the hype and reputation that preceeded their arrival.

I just visited my relatives in Tacoma and the drive down I-5 on Friday was a traffic nightmare, especially through Seattle and Tacoma. Downtown Seattle may only be 7 miles from Northgate but it took us 40 minutes in bumper to bumper traffic to navigate that stretch of I-5 and about the same amount of time to go from Federal Way to Tacoma, again in bumper to bumper traffic on I-5 due to ongoing freeway construction that has been going on for 6 years and counting. There is no way I would drive the interstate to get to any mall in the Seattle or Tacoma area. I can imagine that traffic like that would deter most people from driving to a mall too.