Westfield Southcenter (Southcenter Mall); Tukwila, Washington

Westfield Southcenter is not only the biggest mall in the Seattle area, but it’s also the largest mall in the entire Pacific Northwest. Located at the intersection of I-405 and I-5, about 10 miles south of downtown Seattle and 20 miles north of Tacoma, Westfield Southcenter is a super-regional draw in western Washington, drawing shoppers from all parts of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area, a region home to 3.5 million people. Southcenter was developed by Allied Stores, an established department store conglomerate which also owned Seattle-based The Bon Marché.

Recently, we discovered a major hole in our Pacific Northwest coverage.  We consider this a major oversight, because we’ve visited most of the malls in Oregon and British Columbia, as well as in western Washington.  However, we’ve neglected to post anything in one of the largest cities in the country, Seattle.

So, it seems somewhat fitting to have a big Seattle debut, right?  Westfield Southcenter is not only the biggest mall in the Seattle area, but it’s also the largest mall in the entire Pacific Northwest.  Located at the intersection of I-405 and I-5, about 10 miles south of downtown Seattle and 20 miles north of Tacoma, Westfield Southcenter is a super-regional draw in western Washington, drawing shoppers from all parts of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area, a region home to 3.5 million people.

Westfield Southcenter opened to humbler beginnings in 1968 as Southcenter Mall.  Strategically located at the intersection of Interstate 5, the major north-south corridor through western Washington and the Pacific Northwest, and Interstate 405, which connects Interstate 5 to Seattle’s suburbs on the eastern side of Lake Washington, Southcenter’s success was predicated on this accessibility.

According to mall-hall-of-fame, Southcenter Mall originally had 116 stores on a single level, anchored by three Seattle-based department stores:  a 170,000 square-foot Frederick and Nelson, a 240,000 square-foot Bon Marché, and a smaller Nordstrom Best.

Here’s an early shot of the Frederick and Nelson (later Sears) store, courtesy Malls of America:

For those unfamiliar with Nordstrom’s history, prepare to get schooled.  The venerable retailer started in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle.  Here’s what I didn’t know, and you may not either: Nordstrom only sold shoes until 1963, when it merged with a Seattle apparel store called Best Apparel.  The name was then changed to Nordstrom Best, and later to just Nordstrom by 1973.

Southcenter was developed by Allied Stores, an established department store conglomerate which also owned Seattle-based The Bon Marché.  Not surprisingly, Bon Marché was featured as the centerpiece of Southcenter Mall, in the middle of the mall along the main hallway.  The court in front of Bon Marché featured an impressive atrium called Columnarium, the focal piece of the mall, which still exists today.  Another smaller court, East Court, between Bon Marché and JCPenney, was known for its stunning hanging chandeliers.  Allied also developed nearby Tacoma Mall in 1965, using a similar layout, and Northgate Mall, in Seattle, in 1950.

Also present at Southcenter was a 270,000 square-foot JCPenney store flanking the eastern end of the mall, which was the largest in the chain at the time, and a Lucky Supermarket at the south end.  Here’s an early shot of the JCPenney, courtesy Malls of America:

Here’s an early shot of the Columnarium, courtesy of DSHistory.com:

And a similar shot of the Columnarium as it stands today (October 2010)::

Few changes took place at Southcenter during the 1970s and 1980s.  A Cinerama-style movie theater, one of the last of its kind, opened in 1970.  And, as mentioned above, Nordstrom Best turned into simply Nordstrom in 1973, and in 1989 the Lucky Supermarket closed and was replaced by a food court.

In 1992, two major changes took place at Southcenter.  First, Frederick and Nelson closed up shop and was quickly replaced by Sears.  Second, a new 13-store wing was added to the eastern end of the mall, ending at a two-level, 86,000 square-foot Mervyn’s.

The 2000s brought even bigger changes to Southcenter, culminating in a renovation and expansion, which was complete in 2008.  First, in 2002, Westfield purchased the mall, changing its name from Southcenter Mall to Westfield Shoppingtown Southcenter.  Then, in 2003, Federated decided to phase out the venerable Bon Marché name in favor of Bon-Macys.  By 2005, Bon-Macys was rebranded as just Macys, and Westfield dropped the rather stupid ‘Shoppingtown’ moniker.

In 2006, a massive expansion project began, which added a new southern wing parallel to the original mall, with 300,000 square feet of additional space, 75 new stores, 5 sit-down restaurants, 2 parking structures, an AMC Multiplex Theater, and an expanded second-level food court with views of Mount Rainier.   The expansion was dedicated July 25, 2008, almost exactly 40 years after the mall’s grand opening.

During the expansion, in 2006, troubled and now non-existant retailer Mervyn’s shuttered their stores in the Pacific Northwest, including the one at Southcenter.  After remaining shuttered for several years, Westfield secured a non-traditional anchor tenant, Seafood City Supermarket, to retenant the space in 2010.  Seafood City is an asian-themed supermarket with an emphasis on Filipino items, and helped establish an Asian-themed wing of Southcenter, complementing fast-food restaurant Jolibee and other Asian-themed retailers also in operation.  This theming is a creative way of dealing with having a short wing die in an otherwise successful mall.

Here’s a shot looking south from the food court.  If you look closely, you can see the outline of Mount Rainier at sunset behind the trees:

Caldor and I visited Southcenter Mall together in October 2010 and took the pictures featured here.  Leave some of your own experiences and impressions in the comments.

Vancouver Mall; Vancouver, Washington

Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, WA

Vancouver, Washington is a city with about 150,000 people located immediately north of Portland, Oregon and directly across the Columbia River from it.  Vancouver and Portland share a census-defined metro area, which contains over 2 million residents.  They also share shopping areas and a generally unified economy.  Most notably, over 70 percent of Vancouver residents travel into Portland for work each and every day.

Interestingly, because Oregon does not have a sales tax and Washington does, many Vancouver residents choose to cross the bridges and shop in the many malls on the Oregon side.  However, in doing so many Washington residents are breaking the law by not paying Washington’s use tax on goods purchased in Oregon.  Thus, the retail offerings on the Washington side are relatively meager in comparison to those on the Oregon side.  As such, Vancouver only has one mall, the Vancouver Mall or Westfield Vancouver as it is technically known today.

Vancouver Mall Meier & Frank in Vancouver, WAOpened in 1977, Vancouver Mall was originally by May Centers, Inc. and debuted with Meier & Frank, Nordstrom, and Sears east of downtown Vancouver along I-205.  JCPenney and Mervyn’s were added later, and in 1994 the mall was purchased by Westfield America and renamed Westfield Vancouver because the Westfield company likes to totally rebrand their malls under a unified theme.  In 2006, Meier & Frank, which was a May company store, became Macys with the rest of the May stores.  In January 2007, the Mervyn’s store closed and also in 2007 Westfield announced plans to renovate the aging center.

Now that Westfield has finally put graphic mall directories on their website, I can remember that Vancouver Mall was a straight shot between Meier & Frank and JCPenney, and Mervyn’s, Nordstrom and Sears were located along the corridor which connected them.  Old Navy also serves as a junior anchor on the lower level near JCPenney, and there’s pretty neat food court and carousel too.    

I visited Vancouver Mall once in November 2005.  It rained.  And rained.  And rained.  Then, when it was done raining, it rained some more.  So, forgive the rather lacking outdoor photos here.  And, as always, feel free to leave your own comments and anecdotal stories about this mall. 

Vancouver Mall Meier & Frank in Vancouver, WA Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, WA Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, WA 

Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, WA Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, WA Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, WA

Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, WA Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, WA