The outer parts of the parking lot were (unsurprisingly) empty on this visit, but the inner portion that slopes down to the Macy's entrance was packed! I wouldn't be surprised if this is Macy's busiest store in the region, and it certainly seems to have received a lot more investment in recent years than any of their other stores locally.
While the two buildings don't look super similar, there are a few traces of similarities so I do wonder if this Bon Marche and the Joske's (now Dillard's) near The Galleria in Houston shared the same architects. Both Bon Marche and Joske's were owned by Allied Stores so I suppose it is possible, but I don't know! Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AWPoNYZKmu487Zui9
ReplyDeleteThe Joske's/Dillard's opened in 1963, so it is a bit older than what I assume Southcenter to be, but it probably isn't a lot older. While many people say that the Joske's/Dillard's is at The Galleria since The Galleria is right next door, technically that is not correct and the Dillard's people often correct people when they make that mistake...especially when they park at the Dillard's and then go shopping at The Galleria!
I wonder what the story is with the two US flags and the empty flagpole in the middle.
I do see the similarities! I know the three Allied malls were designed by John Graham & Company from Seattle, but I'm not sure if they were responsible for the Bon Marche buildings or just the mall core. Southcenter is from 1968, so it's a bit newer (which is interesting because the Joske's building looks newer to me!), though the design is pretty much identical to what was used at Tacoma Mall in 1965.
DeleteI think the story is the same as it often is with Macy's -- lack of maintenance. It appears that all three flagpoles are supposed to have American flags on them, but the middle one disappeared at some point in 2018 or 2019 and was never replaced. The one on the left went away sometime between this visit and 2022, and the most recent Street View capture (2023) shows all three missing. I doubt they've been replaced since then. I had been thinking that they might not have all been the American flag originally, perhaps being something like what the Port Angeles Safeway has with one US, one Washington, and one Safeway flag (admittedly, the Bon Marche's logo doesn't seem like it would work well on a flag), but the earliest pictures I can find of this store all show it with three American flags.