As major changes come to Northgate, a look back at the country's (almost) first mall's history

Was Northgate Mall the first shopping mall in America? Was Northgate Mall the first shopping mall in America? Image 1 of / 89 Caption Close As major changes come to Northgate, a look back at the country's (almost) first mall's history 1 / 89 Back to Gallery

Just glancing at Seattle's Northgate Mall while driving along Interstate 5, it's clear that change is coming. Step inside, and a stroll through the mall feels a bit like a walk through a ghost town.

Popular stores, especially those located in the middle of the mall, have dwindling stock and sale percentages increasing incrementally. At least, that's true for the stores that are still open. Nordstrom is expected to close on Aug. 9. Other stores have already closed or are planning to close before next year.

Soon, many of those stores will close as the mall begins construction of a new training center for the city's upcoming NHL team.

The project is expected to take 13-18 months to complete. The facility should open sometime next year, and about a year after that, the Northgate Link Extension light rail station is expected to open.

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Construction adjacent to the light rail may also include the addition of a hotel and 1,200 housing units, according to a report from KING 5.

In a couple of years, the Seattle mall will be a facility unlike any the city has seen. But when it was built, it was a mall the likes of which the world had never seen.

When Northgate Mall opened in 1950, it was the nation's first suburban shopping center to be called a mall.*

Suburban Company, the corporation that created Northgate Mall, announced plans for the $12 million mall (a value of about $128 million today) on 60 acres.

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"Architects' plans for the ambitious development show a group of modern store buildings erected around a decorative parkway," the P-I's first account of the mall's construction reads. "Covered sidewalks will protect shoppers from the weather and parking space for 3,500 automobiles is provided. A nursery is included, where mothers can leave their children.

"No automobile traffic will be allowed within the center, to permit shoppers to move about freely from store to store."

Bon Marché was the first anchor store for the shopping mall, located near the intersection of NE Northgate Way and Fifth Avenue NE. Smaller specialty stores also opened, and the parking lot was quickly determined to be insufficient, according to HistoryLink.org. In 1951, The Northgate Theater opened, the first ever mall movie theater. It was demolished in 2005 and Barnes and Noble took its place. (The Regal Thornton Place movie theater was later built just south of the mall.)

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Developer Ben B. Ehrlichman, president of the Suburban Company, told the P-I the Northgate name was chosen because the center was envisioned as the "gateway to metropolitan Seattle." At the time it was built, Northgate was just outside the city's limits, though the city has since grown to include the mall.

To see historical photos of Northgate Mall, click through the gallery above.

*Though Northgate opened first, Minneapolis's Southdale Mall in 1956 became the nation's first fully enclosed and climate controlled shopping mall. As it happens, Northgate owner Simon Property Group is also a part owner of Southdale.

Historical information for this article was sourced from SeattlePI archives, unless otherwise cited.

Reporter/Producer Natalie Guevara can be contacted at natalie.guevara@seattlepi.com. Follow her on Twitter. Find more from Natalie on her author page.