Twenty-five years ago, when Nordstrom opened a new flagship store in downtown Seattle, it created and sealed a time capsule to be opened Aug. 21, 2023. The retailer marked the store’s anniversary Monday by opening the capsule and displaying its contents to visitors and company executives.
Two people opened the 350-pound, 3-by-5-foot, rectangle-shaped capsule that had been sealed in a wall near the glass doors of the store at 500 Pine St. Flagship store manager Dan Jones then pulled a golden-colored box with several compartments from the silver capsule and showed attendees what was inside.
The array of memorabilia included a water bottle, size 6 Stuart Weitzman heels with Seattle skyline embellishments and a CD of the “Titanic” movie soundtrack. It also included mementos of Washington’s past, such as a copy of Gov. Gary Locke’s inaugural address in 1997 signed by him, a Gov. Locke pen and a Seattle Sonics “bring on the noise” banner.
“When we opened on Aug. 21, 1998, over 10,000 customers were waiting outside,” said Jones, who has been the store manager for 14 months and has worked with Nordstrom for 32 years.
Among the dozens of people in the crowd were members of the Nordstrom family, including CEO Erik Nordstrom, president Pete Nordstrom, and family patriarch and former CEO Bruce Nordstrom, 89. He became the retailer’s president in 1963 and retired as chairman of the board in 2006. Family members did not speak at the event.
Jones recalled hot trends from 1998, such as the atomic blue eye shadow and the Spice Girls playing on the radio. He also mentioned the “average price of gas was $1.06.” That year, Nordstrom’s website launched.
Besides the Sonics memorabilia, sports mementos included a Mariners baseball and a Seahawks button pin. The compartments also had a Frank Sinatra record and a Nordstrom-branded bag of coffee beans. The company added a copy of its flagship store plans.
Before moving to the flagship at 500 Pine St., Nordstrom was on Fifth Avenue between Pike and Pine streets.
“Our business has evolved over the last 25 years, and we’ve been doing business in downtown Seattle for over 120 years,” Jones said.
The Seattle-based retailer was founded in 1901 by John Nordstrom. Since then, it has grown to a $3 billion company with more than 350 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Rack stores.
