-UPDATE BELOW-
25 July 2026
It was the winter of 2000 as I sat in a window seat toward the back of a Northwest 757, enjoying my complimentary breakfast biscuit, while a buddy from work and I sped at 35,000 feet westward toward my first visit to Seattle. I looked out of the window as we chased the sun over the Rocky Mountains and toward the Pacific Northwest. You're going to love Seattle, my friend told me. You're never going to want to leave.
The Terraces and Loews Theaters at the Terraces, the outdoor element attached to the front of Alderwood and its food court.
The clouds became thicker as we started crossing over the Cascades before Mount Rainier revealed itself to us just to the south. Then, as we descended into the Puget Sound area, the clouds started breaking up, giving me my first ever intermittent glimpses of the greens and the blues that would later be my home. I'll never forget the sage words of my friend. Even though it was over another decade before I moved to the Seattle area, from the moment I stepped out into a rare, mostly sunny January day in Seatac, I never wanted to leave.
-UPDATE- Alderwood Mall lease plan ca. 1979. View the full PDF version here.
I'll never forget the drive from the airport to my sister's home in Everett. One of the first things I noticed and loved were the towering evergreens everywhere. Then there were the majestic, snowcapped Cascades framing the city. Later, as we turned north onto I-5, there was something else. A Nordstrom. It was the Nordstrom of Southcenter in Tukwila to be exact. Before we arrived at my sister's clone-y subdivision, we passed three other malls. For some reason, though, Alderwood really stuck in my mind.
Alderwood Mall Mallmanac ca. 1999. View the full PDF version here.
Maybe it was the twin glass towers over the main entrance. Maybe it was the flat, lifeless seventies modern architecture and mud brown brickwork that I had learned to love. Whatever it was, I never forgot it. And now, it is the primary shopping destination in my new home. I really love their Nordstrom and, although I'm no big fan of Macy's, Alderwood's location is exceptional.
1 & 2- The Macy’s store, originally The Bon Marché. 3 & 4- JCPenney’s store. 5- Sears and the western entrance to The Village. 6- Nordstrom’s new store entrance from The Village.
An expansion sometime before 2000 added the food court, with its distinctive glass towers, to the front of the mall. In 2000 an opportunity arose when Seattle's own Lamont's department store closed their Alderwood location. The old Lamont's was demolished then replaced by a new building for Nordstrom. The original Nordstrom, located next to Lamont's, was then demolished and replaced with The Village, an attached outdoor promenade of shops such as REI and Borders.
-UPDATE- Alderwood Mall lease plan ca. 2001. View the full PDF version here.
At the same time, additional outdoor shops and restaurants were added to the front of the mall just outside of the food court. This area, named The Terraces, features a Loews Cineplex and restaurants such as Anthony's and one of the Seattle area's million or so Starbuck's in addition to ambient greenspace. This double expansion also included two parking decks, each located on opposite sides of JCPenney.
1- The Village outdoor element built in the rear of Alderwood on the site of the original Nordstrom store. 2- Center court and Macy’s mall entrance. 3 & 4- The food court.
One of my favorite stores in the mall is Daiso, a Japanese dollar store (although most items are priced at a buck fifty.) The aisles are narrow, the layout unruly and the offerings diverse, but I have always loved stores like this. I spent a lot of pesos at the Philippine equivalent of Daiso, Japanese Home Store. A quick run through the store is always a good way to find everyday necessities that I didn't even realize I needed. (A hanging laundry bin for a sleeping cube? I need one!) I was recently surprised to find that this location was Daiso's first in the US.
-UPDATE- Alderwood lease plan ca. 2011. View the full PDF version here.
Today, the mall is simply called Alderwood and serves as the main shopping destination for Snohomish County's 750,000 residents. And when I tire of the snowy trails of the Cascades or the urban scene on Capitol Hill, one is fairly likely to find me within its concourses.
Alderwood Mallmanac ca. 2013. View the full PDF version here.
-UPDATE-
-26 July 2026
Over the past decade, Alderwood has managed to keep its footing while peers around it have met their inevitable ends. Nearby Everett Mall has closed its interior, Cascade Mall in Burlington has cordoned off its common areas as well and Northgate Mall has been reduced to a stub of its former self.
The Terraces outdoor “lifestyle” element and AMC Theaters outside of Alderwood’s main mall entrance and food court.
The entire Puget Sound region’s portfolio of enclosed shopping centers seems to have been consolidated into four solid players. There’s Tacoma Mall in Pierce County, King County boasts two with Bellevue Square and Southcenter while Alderwood anchors the top retail area in Snohomish County.
1 to 8- The food court. 9 & 10- The corridor connecting the food court to Alderwood’s main concourse.
Not one to venture very often into the suburbs, the recent opening of the northern extension of Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail to Lynnwood made the visit much quicker and easier. In less than twenty minutes, I made the journey to the northern terminus of the line while watching the stop and go traffic of I5 just outside my window.
Alderwood Mallmanac ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.
After a short bus ride I arrived at Alderwood an hour before its official opening to find that the facility was already filled with patrons although most of the smaller shops still had their gates in the down position. I entered through the outdoor addition named The Terrace to see that not much had changed since my last visit.
1 & 2- Looking north to the Nordstrom store. 3 & 4- JCPenney at the western end of Alderwood’s main concourse. 5 to 7- The western concourse. 8 to 10- Center Court and Macy’s mall entrance.
I entered through Alderwood’s main entrance at the food court and saw that not much had changed there as well. Moving northward into the original complex, I was actually glad to see that the muted greens in both the ceiling and flooring remained, resisting the trend of dressing every layer in different shades of grays and whites.
1 to 2- The corridor leading from Center Court to the Village once served as the hallway leading to the original Nordstrom. 3 to 7- Alderwood's western main concourse. 8- The new eastern mall entrance once served as the entry to Sears.
At Alderwood’s center court, where Macy’s mall entrance stands, the water feature from the past still stood in its place, but I was disappointed to find that liquid was no longer flowing and the mini tiles beneath were dry as the Sonora. I continued my walk to the east and what used to be the mall entrance to Sears.
In place of the what was once the world’s largest retailer was Alderwood’s newest exterior entrance. Just outside of the glass doors I found myself in the newest of the facility’s additions- an outdoor plaza running in between two residential buildings named Avalon at Alderwood.
1 to 4- The mall entrance where Sears once stood now hosts several smaller shops and eateries as well as the Avalon at Alderwood residences. 5- The main entrance to The Village, Alderwood’s main open-air addition. 6 to 10- The Village.
While the ground level of each of the new builds offered commercial space that was occupied by the likes of Dave & Buster’s, Paris Baguette and Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse, it was devoid of shoppers. The absence of patrons on the exterior portions was in complete contrast to the many located just inside.
Around the corner from the northerly of the two residential buildings was the extensive and 2003 constructed outdoor addition known as The Village. It was surprising to find this section of Alderwood also missing patrons browsing its shops. The few I did see headed straight to the nearest entrance to the interior.
Walking westward along the Village’s main walkway.
I also noticed that The Village, while by no means dead, also hosted a much higher proportion of vacancies than the interior concourses, punctuated by the most noticeable exit of outdoor retailer REI. Alderwood is one of the few of the hundreds of shopping facilities I’ve visited where the interior portions are healthier than those located outside.
The western half of The Village leading to Nordstrom.
I ended my walk just past the Nordstrom and JCPenney anchors before catching a bus back to the Lynnwood City Center light rail station to catch a ride home surrounded by revelers heading into the city to catch the USA versus Australia World Cup match. Again, the light rail extension is a game changer that may make me venture into the Snohomish wilderness more often.
Alderwood Mallmanac ca. 2026. View the full PDF version here.
Since Alderwood Mall’s debut in 1979, the super-regional facility has ruled the retail scene in Snohomish County. In its nearly fifty year lifespan, it has only seen the departure of two anchor department stores, Lamont’s and Sears. Both vacancies were replaced in a heartbeat by newer additions.
1 to 3- Nordstrom, built where Lamont’s originally resided. 4- Alderwood’s rear façade between Nordstrom and JCPenney. 5 to 8- JCPenney, the center’s last remaining extant anchor still in its original location.
In today’s retail environment, while many traditional enclosed shopping malls have fallen by the wayside, it seems that the ones that are still successful tend to be really successful. And Alderwood is definitely still a popular place, especially now that it is the only retail complex of its kind between Tukwila and Bellingham.
1 & 2- The food court façade. 3 to 7- Macy’s, still with two of the original entrance porticos built for its first tenant The Bon Marché in 1979. 8 to 10- Alderwood’s eastern front mall entrance.
While former stalwarts such as the nation’s first Daiso location and Dick’s Sporting Goods have moved into larger locations off property, Alderwood has adjusted well. With new names such as Uniqlo and Shake Shack added to their mallmanacs and a strong line up of anchors, it should continue to see success in the coming years.
Reference
wish there were more pictures inside and out of Alderwood BEFORE lamonts left
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any at all
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