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Will the last person to leave Northgate Mall turn out the lights?
CrosscutIf you’ve lived in Seattle for any period of time, you’ll know I am in the Northgate Mall food court. What you may not know is that Northgate — the nation’s very first mall — is now one of the country’s latest ghost malls. In a trend that reflects shifting retail patterns across the globe, the mall is being “redeveloped,” as brick-and-mortar stores close and online sales surge.
As of Monday, the landlord had turned off the heat in the food court, where Piroshky, Piroshky employees appear to be warming themselves by standing close to the baked meat pies.
Northgate opened in 1950, on a 60-acre plot, and the ribbon-cutting was such a big deal to Seattle that television stations interrupted regular programming to show it. Then newspapers described Northgate as a “miracle mile,” with the $3 million state-of-the-art Bon Marche department store as centerpiece. Back then Northgate wasn’t even covered — it was more like University Village.
Today, America’s first mall is mostly deserted, with all but a few dozen stores closed. I write this in the food court, a place I discovered a few years ago as an ideal setting to work. I’m at my favorite table, which is just far enough away from the automatic doors to avoid a breeze, but not too close to Sarku Japan, which would make me smell like teriyaki. But these days there isn’t a lot of meat on the grill at Sarku, and those automatic doors hardly ever slide open, either.
As of Monday, the landlord had turned off the heat in the food court, where Piroshky, Piroshky employees appear to be warming themselves by standing close to the baked meat pies.
Northgate opened in 1950, on a 60-acre plot, and the ribbon-cutting was such a big deal to Seattle that television stations interrupted regular programming to show it. Then newspapers described Northgate as a “miracle mile,” with the $3 million state-of-the-art Bon Marche department store as centerpiece. Back then Northgate wasn’t even covered — it was more like University Village.
Today, America’s first mall is mostly deserted, with all but a few dozen stores closed. I write this in the food court, a place I discovered a few years ago as an ideal setting to work. I’m at my favorite table, which is just far enough away from the automatic doors to avoid a breeze, but not too close to Sarku Japan, which would make me smell like teriyaki. But these days there isn’t a lot of meat on the grill at Sarku, and those automatic doors hardly ever slide open, either.
The times, they are a'chaingin...
8 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Northgate has been performing very successfully for decades, and showed no signs of weakening. But, given the insane real-estate rates here in Seattle, the owners decided they could make more money by essentially redeveloping (i.e. demolishing) the whole thing and replacing it with an “urban village” of condo towers, offices, retail, and the offices/training facility for the upcoming NHL franchise.
It’s a real shame, because Northgate was the one sensible retail hub for North Seattle, and now their only options are downtown or malls way off in the suburbs (some of which ARE in economic trouble). But, hey, money talks!
