Downtown Seattle Threads of history Increased competition changed the face of the retail core By SUSAN PHINNEY SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Downtown Seattle sure isn't the downtown it was just 18 years ago. Since 1980, dozens of stores have closed their doors. A few moved to the suburbs. Most just sank into unmarked plots in the retail graveyard. Pastry shops and ice cream parlors have been elbowed out by food that's fast, wrapped, exotic or rooted in California. Traditional one-stop department stores selling everything from diapers to dishwashers have given way to specialty chain stores -- from cut-rate to classy. New residents don't understand when natives reminisce about the "real" Santa Claus who chatted and posed with tots in a corner window at Frederick & Nelson. Nor can they comprehend that store's International Fashion Shows -- weeklong events that attracted thousands. Recent arrivals roll their eyes when established locals rave about the posh marble restrooms and huge dressing rooms at I. Magnin, a store that pampered generations of local debutantes and their families. They raise eyebrows (or maybe just yawn) when men bemoan the loss of both Littler and Klopfenstein's -- clothiers to businessmen for several decades. Women of a certain age can describe in great detail a special pair of shoes bought at Frank More in the 1960s. Mothers of grown children smile when remembering oh-so-special baby clothes from Le Petit Bateau. Department stores, menswear emporiums, shops specializing in party clothes, shoe stores, an Italian boutique, designer fabric stores and numerous gift shops -- places that once made downtown Seattle's shopping core unique -- have been replaced with chains ranging from Ann Taylor to Niketown, Barneys New York to Victoria's Secret. Woolworth, the popcorn-scented five-and-dime, provided a full spectrum of necessities and a place where children could bring their allowances to buy presents. The building now houses a unit of Ross Dress for Less. Brides no longer can register silver and china preferences at Friedlander & Sons -- a family-run concern that disappeared in 1985 when Pacific Centre was constructed. (The Friedlander name still exists on jewelry stores in suburban malls, but it's been owned by an Ohio chain since 1986.) Scott Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation, a trade association based in Washington, D.C., says there are several reasons why Seattle's downtown -- and those in other cities -- changed so dramatically in the past two decades. New stores moved in, creating too many choices and too many retailers competing for available dollars. Free-standing discount stores arrived and discount malls took root nearby, delivering blows to full-price outlets. Downtown stores also suffered when shoppers were inconvenienced by transportation problems, including an expensive parking squeeze and a seemingly endless string of construction projects. (Can you say transit tunnel?) Faced with all that, customers turned tail and fled to malls with easy access and free parking. Jeffrey Michael menswear set up shop at Fourth Avenue and Union Street from 1980 to 1995. Managing partner Michel Brotman watched the Men's Wearhouse open across the street, and he saw shopping patterns change. "Downtown wasn't the same," he says. J'Amy Owens, president of a Seattle-based retail consulting firm, says a shift in consumer values also spurred a downtown makeover. "They started spending more money on family and home," Owens says. Stores that didn't change to meet the new demand vanished in a generation gap. Seattle businessman David Sabey bought Frederick & Nelson in 1989 and tried to scale the store back and create an upturn in its sagging business. But he was the last owner. Sabey says years of decisions that benefited owners -- but not the store or its customers -- left it financially weak and unable to cope with the challenges of the '90s. "But for a few more dollars and a little bit of support, Frederick's would be alive and well today," he adds. "Isn't it ironic that today we could find $20 million to $30 million extra for a parking garage, but five years ago we couldn't find 10 cents to save a wonderful part of Seattle's history?" Frederick & Nelson's decline, however, had its roots in the 1960s. When it was slow to expand into the suburbs, its customer base began to erode. Sold to a British conglomerate in 1982, sold again to a group of local investors in 1986 and finally to Sabey, F&N had debts of more than $100 million when it filed for bankruptcy in 1991. JCPenney closed its downtown store at Second Avenue and Pike Street 10 years before Frederick & Nelson shut its doors, but for another set of reasons. "The building was a conglomerate of three other stores, an old building that was hard to maintain," says J. Lynn Dunkley, retired JCPenney district manager. "(And) we were no longer in the retail core." Penney's customer base dwindled as the city's retail center shifted a few blocks northeast -- to The Bon between Third and Fourth avenues, and to Frederick & Nelson between Fifth and Sixth avenues. The JCPenney property was given to the Seattle Art Museum and later traded for the museum's present site. The Retail Federation's Krugman says today's successful retailers have an entertainment format -- subtle or blatant. This means mall-like settings, with plenty of food choices, maybe even movie theaters, so that shopping can be a family event. Bookstores with poetry readings, and coffee shops with discussion groups also are attracting people. "With these things, downtown areas can blossom," Krugman says. Casualties in retail battle  Here's a partial list of downtown stores that have closed since 1980. Some had more than one address over the years, moving "uptown" toward Fifth or Sixth avenues and Pine Street, as that area became a prestigious retail hub.                                  A Grand Affair 1992-96 Frank More Shoes</TD> 1960-86 Frederick & Nelson 1890-1992 Friedlander & Sons circa 1913-95 ="Arial, Helvetica">Gucci 1989-94 I. Magnin 1926-93 JCPenney 1931-82 Jeffrey Michael 1980-95 Jordan 1985-95 Joseph Abboud 1993-94 Klopfenstein's 1924-92 Le Petit Bateau 1982-93 Littler 1931-96 Pinos 1980-95 Polo Ralph Lauren 1981-93 Rivkin's Jewelry 1948-98 Woolworth's 1907-94		Saturday, November 22, 1997 Amid the hustle and bustle, there's a neighborhood with feeling Downtown's crime rate has risen slightly in recent years Arts institutions lead downtown uptown (Aug. 20, 1998) First Avenue steps up Downtown now the 'cool place to live' (Aug. 21, 1998) Malls don't have this kind of character (Aug. 20, 1998) Downtown close but not quite the shopping mecca it aspires to be (Aug. 20, 1998) Upcoming 'amazing' era of construction could make Seattle truly sleepless (Aug. 20, 1998) 24 hours in the heart of downtown (Aug. 20, 1998) Competition changed face of retail core (Aug. 20, 1998) Nordstrom: Shiny new flagship invites exploration (Aug. 20, 1998) Nordstrom: Shoe store establishes a foothold for retail dynasty (Aug. 20, 1998) Pacific Place looking up: Up-upscale, that is (Aug. 20, 1998) Flagship fever has caught on at The Bon (Aug. 20, 1998) Jon Hahn: Hours are a grind, but couple see all of life at espresso cart Downtown Seattle by the numbers Nearby communities:     First Hill     International District     Pike Place Market     Pioneer Square     Denny Regrade