Mallmanac.com: Gateway West Mall, Kalispell, MT

A relic of retail

(Source)

Kalispell, Montana is a city I’ve looked closely at visiting over the past several years. Besides its beautiful location at the south end of the Rocky Mountain Trench and just north of the state’s largest lake by surface area, Flathead Lake, the town of around 25,000 also boasts an enclosed shopping mall just north of its idyllic downtown area.

1- Depot Park in downtown Kalispell. 2- The storefronts along First Avenue East. 3- The Northwest Montana History Museum. 4 & 5- Art Deco classics The Strand Theater and City Garage, now home to a local television station. 6 to 10- Along Main Street.

But while exploring the town on Google Maps looking for other points of interest, I also noticed a large building just to the northwest of Main Street. At first glance, it seemed like nothing more than a really large warehouse or factory. But a closer look revealed that this was the Gateway Community Center.

Gateway West Mall lease plan ca. 1985. View the full PDF version here.

Further research showed that this community center actually originated as the Gateway West Mall, Kalispell Center Mall’s retail precursor. It seemed that the tiny mountain resort town of Kalispell had hosted two malls in its more recent history.

1- The recently added Gateway Community Center sign off of Highway 2. 2 & 3- The south end of Gateway. 4 & 5- The eastern facing flanking side. 6 to 8- The building’s north end.

On the final day of my recent visit to Kalispell, I made the one and a half mile trek from my hotel to the former Gateway West Mall with cloudy and drizzly skies above and slippery sidewalks below. I finally arrived to see that, even at that early hour, the community center was already a hub of activity.

I entered via the entrance labeled West just north of the Flathead Food Bank, a building which looks to have been a supermarket in its previous life. As soon as my eyes met the interior of what once served as the main concourse of the former Gateway West Mall, I knew that I had uncovered a gem.

1 to 4- The northern half of the front façade. 5 & 6- The Midwest entry, the northerly of the two accesses facing the front of Gateway Community Center.

The floors beneath my feet proudly wore their decades old veneer of light beige and dark brown tile. Floating above my head were the original wooden trusses with translucent skylights cut out of the roof in intervening intervals. It was absolutely magnificent.

Just past the offices for the United Way of Northwest Montana was what must have served as the original facility’s main court. In this space where the concourse made a turn to the north, the rising ceiling was held aloft by a slanted series of vertical frames convening at the bottom with a small bench where they all met.

1 to 3- Between the Midwest and West entrances. 4 & 5- The southern half of Gateway including what once served as a southern anchor, now the Flathead Food Bank. 6- The West entranceway.

I traversed the main concourse from south to north passing used book stores, community gathering spaces and services to assist members of the community in need. A good number of the storefronts seemed to be vacant, still wearing the exterior belonging to whatever retail entity held tenancy before.

I continued north past the second small entrance and the “food court.” From there, the concourse looked to have been an addition as the décor and ornamentation, though similar in age and theme with the southern half, was probably constructed either later or separately.

I exited at the north end of the community center, past repeating circular structures dressed in beige tile that once hosted either greenery or water features. On this visit, they hosted simple and humble holiday décor, which definitely seemed appropriate for the Gateway Community Center.

1- Just inside the West entrance. 2 & 3- The centerpiece structure at what once served as a main court. 4 to 6- A library occupies a section of the southern main concourse.

Gateway West Mall opened in the spring of 1973 on the western outskirts of Kalispell. Originally debuting as several separate buildings, the complex seems to have never hosted any traditional anchors. Over the decades, stores like Ben Franklin, Strawberry Patch, Drug Fair, Corral West and Athlete’s Food found homes within its walls.

Gateway Community Center Mallmanac ca. 2025. View the full PDF version here.

Gateway West‘s best times lasted just a little over a decade before Kalispell Center Mall opened less than two miles away in 1986. With its attached full service hotel and space for 2 full size and 1 junior size anchor, the newer competitor immediately had a crushing effect on the smaller and older extant facility.

1- Gateway Community Center’s food court just inside the Midwest entrance. 2 to 6- The northern half of the facility’s main concourse.

Gateway West Mall sat mainly vacant from the mid-nineties to 2009 when the Northwest Montana United Way took up residency in the moribund facility. Other non-profit organizations soon joined them, until what was once a retail facility slowly transitioned to a community center.

In 2015, the owners of Gateway West Mall put the complex up for auction. The community responded and through Westside CCC, Inc, the mall was purchased and rechristened as the Gateway Community Center. Today, the center hosts 22 non-profits as well as several retailers.

The northern half of the corridor to Gateway Community Center’s North entrance.

There’s been plenty of discussion about what should be done with the rising number of derelict shopping malls throughout the country. Gateway Community Center is one of the best examples I’ve found of an old shopping mall brought back to life. And while Kalispell Center Mall descends toward its own fate, Gateway has found an enduring presence within its community.