Seattle Woolworth's Closing

Woolworth's, a downtown Seattle retailing institution since 1907, will close its store at Third Avenue and Pike Street as part of a massive overhaul of its New York-based parent company.

The F.W. Woolworth Co. said the downtown Seattle store will be closed Jan. 31, 1994, as part of a restructuring plan that calls for the closing or redesign of 970 stores in the United States and Canada.

As many as 13,000 jobs will be lost, including 47 full-time and seven part-time positions in Seattle.

"You hate to see it close, because it's a tradition - the Woolworth store, Kress's (formerly across Third Avenue)," said George Holloway, a customer.

Woolworth's stores in Tacoma and Bremerton also will be closed. The Olympia store will remain open.

The downtown store, the only old-style Woolworth's dime store left in the Seattle area, originally opened on Second Avenue. It moved to Third and Pike in 1940.

As is the case with Frederick & Nelson, which closed at Fifth and Pine Street last year, and I. Magnin's, which closed this year at Sixth Avenue and Pine Street, realty experts see the closure of Woolworth's as another opportunity to transform an important corner. In the meantime, however, it means another vacant building. Woolworth's officials had no word today on the future of the site.

Woolworth's also operates Foot Locker (athletic shoes) and Kinney's Shoes in the Seattle area.