Westlake Center

Infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Westlake Center

---

caption =
location = Seattle, Washington
opening_date = 1988
developer = The Rouse Company
manager = General Growth Properties
owner = General Growth Properties
number_of_stores = 63 [http://www.ggp.com/Properties/Centerinfo.asp?smuid=771]
number_of_anchors = N/A
floor_area = 369,000 ft²
floors = 4
parking = 300
website =

Westlake Center is a four-story shopping center and twenty-five story office tower in downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. The southern terminus of the Seattle Center Monorail, it is located across Pine Street from Westlake Park, between 4th and 5th Avenues. It is named for Westlake Avenue, which now terminates north of the mall but once ran two blocks farther south to Pike Street. Westlake Park is considered Seattle's "town square" [http://cityofseattle.net/parks/projects/downtown/Report.pdf] and celebrities and political figures often make appearances or give speeches from the building's balcony. [http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/speeches/091401.htm] [http://www.wnba.com/storm/news/Storm_Celebrates_in_Style-119935-221.html]

Opened in 1988 by The Rouse Company, since 2004 it has been owned by Real Estate Investment Trust General Growth Properties.

urrounding Area

Surrounding the mall and park, Seattle's main shopping district draws scores of both locals and visitors (the Washington State Convention and Trade Center is located in this district). To the west of Westlake Center is the main store for Macy's Northwest (previously the flagship store and corporate headquarters for The Bon Marché). To the east is the flagship Nordstrom store and corporate headquarters (previously the flagship store of Frederick & Nelson). In the surrounding area are retailers American Apparel, American Eagle Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic (in the remodeled [http://cinematreasures.org/theater/1272/ Coliseum Theater] ), Barneys New York, Benetton, Betsey Johnson, Brooks Brothers, Cartier, Coach, Diesel, Eddie Bauer, GAP, Gucci, Gymboree, Hot Topic, J.Crew, Kenneth Cole, Louis Vuitton, Men's Wearhouse, Nine West, The North Face, Nike Town, Old Navy, Urban Outfitters, Sunglass Hut, and Tiffany & Company are located near Westlake. Also, many upscale restaurants including Cheesecake Factory and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, as well as the first GameWorks and Mobatta Crepes Restaurant, are nearby.

Seattle's version of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is located in this area. Also, many stores were vandalized during the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, during which massive protests occurred in downtown Seattle.

Public Transportation Hub

Westlake Center is a public transportation hub for Seattle serving as a terminus for the Seattle Center Monorail and, beginning in fall 2007, the South Lake Union Streetcar. Beneath the mall, in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, are stops for Metro buses and Sound Transit's Link Light Rail once construction on the light rail system is complete in 2009.

Westlake Center Plaza

Westlake Center Plaza is on the corner of 4th Ave. and Pine St and has a small, one-story plus loft retail pavilion. The plaza is covered in gray pavers and holds several small trees. The retail space is convert|870|sqft|m2|abbr=on. and leased to the Seattle-based company Starbucks. Previous to Starbucks, the space was leased to Seattle's Best Coffee. The space employs about 40 people, and is the second busiest Starbucks in North America. The plaza has several crime-element concerns (that are not any different than the rest of downtown Seattle) and is often monitored by the security contracted by the mall.

ee also

*List of upscale shopping districts

External links

* [http://www.westlakecenter.com Westlake Center]

ource

* http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/sbux07.shtml