Northgate is a neighborhood in north Seattle, Washington, named for and surrounding Northgate Mall, the first covered mall in the United States. Its east-west principal arterials are NE Northgate Way and 130th Street, and its north-south principal arterials are Roosevelt Way NE and Aurora Avenue N (SR 99). Minor arterials are College Way-Meridian Avenue N, 1st, 5th, and 15th avenues NE. Interstate 5 runs through the district. Besides the eponymous mall, the most characteristic distinctions of the area are North Seattle College (NSC), the south fork of the Thornton Creek watershed, and the Sheikh Abdul Kadir Idriss Mosque, also known as "Idriss Mosque".
History
Prehistory
What is now Northgate has been inhabited since the end of the last glacial period (c. 8,000 BCEâ€"10,000 years ago). The Dkhw’Duw’Absh, People of the Inside and XacuabÅ¡, People of the Large Lake, Lushootseed (Skagit-Nisqually) Coast Salish native people had used the Liq'tid Springs area as a spiritual health spa. They harvested cranberries from the Slo’q `qed (SLOQ-qed, bald head), an 85 acre (34 ha) marsh and bog at what is now the NSCC car park, Interstate 5 interchange, and Northgate Mall. Large open areas for game habitat and foraging (anthropogenic grasslands) were maintained in what are now these neighborhoods by selective burning every few years. Today the Native American descendants are represented by the Duwamish tribe.
Development
The Northgate area has been subject to a large amount of residential and commercial development in the last few years, and many huge projects are underway. The height limits in the area have been increased to 85' to allow for further population growth.
In 2009 the Northgate Mall was remodeled and added dozens more retail shops. In 2006, a new park, library, and community center opened in the Northgate neighborhood across 5th Ave NE from Northgate Mall. These are part of the city's plan to accelerate development in Northgate.
While there is much commerce in the area, hotel development has been limited with only the Hotel Nexus, previously a Ramada Inn, being the only upscale hotel in the area. The many motels lining Aurora Avenue are further northwest than the Northgate neighborhood.
Dense mixed-use development is expected to be constructed adjacent to the future Northgate station on Link Light Rail, scheduled to open in 2021 as the terminus of the Northgate Link Extension.
Neighborhoods
Northgate neighborhoods are (north to south):
- Haller Lake
- Pinehurst
- Licton Springs or North College Park
- Maple Leaf
Mosque
The Sheihk Idriss Mosque in Pinehurst has architecture unique in Seattle. An octagonal dome and a symbolic minaret, both sheathed in copper and capped with crescent moons, red brick walls banded with buff brick and tall glass-block windows topped with concrete lintels in the shape of Moorish arches distinguish the first mosque in Seattle (1981) and the first mosque west of the Mississippi River to be built in a Middle Eastern design.
Mall
The Northgate Mall, opened in 1950, is the oldest, first regional historic shopping center called a mall, though there are 3 other shopping centers in the United States which predate it. At the time of its opening, it was located outside of the Seattle city limits, though this is no longer the case. It is located in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Northgate.
Surrounding Northgate Mall are many strip malls and the "Northgate North" shopping center which features a Best Buy and a two-story Target.
Further reading
Notes and references
