The city first proposed a pedestrian mall in 1959 between Pike and Stewart Streets. The southernmost block of Westlake Avenue (between Pike and Pine) was closed to traffic in the early 1960s to construct the original southern terminus of the Monorail. This arrangement continued from the time the Monorail opened in 1962 (in conjunction with the
Century 21 Exposition) until the construction of the current mall and park. The current park and mall were proposed by the Central Association (now Downtown Seattle Association) in 1968; they took 20 years to come to fruition. Multiple lawsuits were filed throughout this time and continued after the park's opening in October 1988. that resulted in cracked granite pavers along Pine Street and into the intersection with Fourth Avenue. The city sued the designer and won an out-of-court settlement of $515,000, enough to cover the $472,000 repair and nearly equal to the cost of the original installation. After the pavers were repaired and the
Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel was completed in 1990, Seattle City Council decided to keep Pine Street closed to through traffic, In the mid-1990s Westlake Park was the site of a string of guerrilla art pranks led by
Jason Sprinkle and the Fabricators of the Attachment, culminating in an infamous bomb scare incident that closed off several downtown blocks. Adjacent to the southernmost portion of the park is the Seaboard Building, another designated Seattle landmark. This 1909 headquarters of the
Northern Bank & Trust Co. was one of the first major commercial buildings this far north in the downtown area. The ground floor is commercial space, Floors 2 through 6 are offices, and Floors 7 through the 11th floor penthouse are now
Condominium apartments. Diagonally across from the park at 4th and Pine, until its closure in February 2020, was a
Macy's department store—another designated landmark building, having once been the flagship store of
The Bon Marché chain. Westlake Park was closed in October 2025 to undergo a significant renovation that is planned to rebuild sections of the park in time for the
2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to begin in June. The project includes the removal of the fountain and arch, installation of
traffic bollards and other protection against vehicular crashes, and new landscaping. ==References==