MYNORTHWEST HISTORY

Bartell Drugs name now gone from downtown Seattle

Dec 16, 2023, 5:47 PM | Updated: Dec 18, 2023, 9:24 am

The final remaining Bartell Drugs location in downtown Seattle at 5th Avenue and Olive Way closed permanently on Thursday. Saturday morning, a crew from National Sign Company was busily removing signage and covering up the “BARTELL DRUGS” name on the exterior of the building; later, they planned to remove a neon sign from the interior wall above the pharmacy.

With the closure of this location, it’s believed the “BARTELL DRUGS” name is gone from the streets of downtown Seattle for the first time since 1890. The Bartell family sold the company to RiteAid in 2020.

Before the closures: Will anything change when Bartell Drugs isn’t local anymore?

Photos by Feliks Banel

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien, read more from him here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks  here.

 

 

 

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