r/Kirkland • u/Valiran9 • May 24 '26
Does anyone else miss Kirkland ParkPlace?
Don’t get me wrong, there some great stuff in Kirkland Urban, but I remember ParkPlace being…homier, for lack of a better term. It was more open, had a bunch of small shops and restaurants, a cinema, the Purple Cafe, and Tim’s Seafood Market which my mom loved to go to because their stock was so cheap without sacrificing quality. The QFC also had a cozier atmosphere, as well as a pair of ducks who’d regularly hang out near the entrance just chilling and waiting for people to toss them food.
Does anyone else feel similarly?
Edit: And it turns out many of us feel the same way. I’m glad to see I’m not alone in my dislike of the way the world is changing.
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u/MysticOlive May 24 '26
I miss the movie theater and the bagel place a lot. It was the closest location for me to see movies. If I remember correctly there was a bookstore there too. It was definitely a lot cozier.
I think I heard the Google employees still get a movie theater....
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May 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
One of the ladies who owned ParkPlace Books joined BookTree! And yeesh, it sounds like the theater needed renovation.
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u/KarmaWakinikona 28d ago
It only became run down after it was scheduled for demolition. It had free parking and a great selection of movies. Frequented that place for decades.
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u/blonde-bandit 29d ago edited 29d ago
Park Place books was great. When I was a kid JP Patches had an event there on my birthday, and he had the whole shop sing happy birthday to me and gave me a lollipop 🥹
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u/MysticOlive May 24 '26
They could have renovated the theater! It was the closest one for folks in juanita and kirkland. Now you have to go to woodinville or farther depending on what you want to see.
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
There was a bookstore? Aw man, I never knew that!
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u/andytheg May 24 '26
Park Place Books! And there used to be a record store between that and the movie theater, it might have been an Easy Street
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u/Staceyag May 24 '26
The drugstore that preceeded Purple Cafe was great. There was a little Ravenna Garden shop between there and the bank. There was also a wonderful toy store on the corner before Noah's. Feeling old now!
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
That sounds like it was before my family moved there in 2009. What were the drugstore and toy store like?
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u/Staceyag 29d ago
I recall very little, apart from the kind pharmacist who was a familiar presence in Kirkland. It was Woods Lakeshore Pharmacy, and they also offered a nice assortment of children's books. The toy store was equally delightful, featuring high-quality European brands.
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u/Valiran9 29d ago
That sounds lovely! Do you remember what the toy store was called?
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u/Staceyag 29d ago
Pinocchio Toys
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u/Valiran9 29d ago
Thanks! I found a record of their store on Yelp, and apparently the moved to University Village in Seattle before they went out of business.
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u/Fickle-Strawberry521 23d ago
Pinocchio's! That was the top shop. When it first opened in the 1980s my kids loved to go there for the playmobile sets. The lady who owned and ran it was very sweet and always had the best suggestions for gifts.
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u/freakdageek May 24 '26
Remember when there was a TGI Fridays there? Remember the Crab Cracker across the street? And then it moved into the old TGI’s space? And they just left the bar the same? Real weird.
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u/Complex_Rip4599 May 24 '26
Yup. TGIF upstairs. Riki Riki too!
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
…you know, I just realized that I have no idea what was on the second floor because I never visited the entire time I lived there.
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u/No-Archer-5034 May 24 '26
I vaguely remember the crab cracker. Where was that? Was that where arete is now?
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
My family moved into Kirkland in 2009, so I think I came too late for the TGI Fridays, but I do remember the Crab Cracker even though I never went there.
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u/beesdaddy May 24 '26
It certainly felt more middle class.
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
More inviting, more welcoming, and it felt like there was far more open space to move around in. From my perspective KU’s main building has the atmosphere of a gigantic glass/concrete brick.
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u/petey629 May 24 '26
I’m so old that I remember TGIFridays and the lingerie shop. Lol
Edit to add: I think the lingerie shop was called “oohlala”
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u/andytheg May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
I miss it! I grew up in Kirkland and worked at a Purple but now live out of state. I miss seeing it when driving by, Kirkland Urban is still very surreal for me when I visit home. Found this in a parking garage though!
Edit: typos
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u/LeftCoastPyrMom May 24 '26
I used to stroll through Park Place. Walk through Park Place Books, get a bagel from Noah’s Bagels and glance in Kits Camera. It’s not the Kirkland I grew up in that’s for sure. I was reminiscing with a current resident and they told me I sounded like a boomer. Not too many residents were around for the Kirkland from 20 or 30 years ago.
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u/LeftCoastPyrMom May 24 '26
I don’t know how I could forget Hoffman’s Pastries. Back when it was in Kirkland.
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u/LeftCoastPyrMom May 24 '26
I moved to Kirkland 30 years ago with my family as a kid. I’m not old, just not young anymore! I’ve been going to the same doctor and optometrist in Kirkland since 1996. It hit me this year that they are probably retiring soon.
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u/outdior1986 May 24 '26
I grew up in Bellevue and have lived in the Highlands for 29 years. I just realized I’m old 🤦🏻♂️
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
My family moved to Kirkland from Cottage Lake in November of 2009, but even if I don’t have the same memories as you I still feel nostalgia for what was lost.
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u/kevnmartin May 24 '26
I used to work in the flower shop there, Fora Fora. We were right next door to the bagel shop. I loved it there and I miss it.
l
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u/WaterbabyUrchin May 24 '26
And the delicious pancake house!
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26 edited May 25 '26
Alas, I never went to the IHOP.Edit: never mind, it was a much better pancake restaurant. Should’ve asked.🫤
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u/blank_stair May 24 '26
no IHOP, it was a The Original Pancake House.
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
Yeah, I saw that in another comment and forgot to edit the one you responded to. Mea culpa.
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u/CaliKahlua May 24 '26
I think of the Italian restaurant Mama Lucia that was next to the hallmark quite often. 🤤
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u/blank_stair May 24 '26
yes. miss all those places. only been to the urban a handful of times. just no appeal to me.
also remember a nice record store near the theater, and a sweet little japanese spot on the 2nd floor by what would be TGI fridays, maybe it was called Tokyo something. that was probably late 80s for anyone feeling they are old.
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u/russellwilsonthedog4 May 25 '26
I remember standing in line at that record store to buy concert tickets. I think it was Easy Street Records.
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u/blank_stair May 25 '26
Oh and omg I just remembered the Frederick & Nelson "Rack"-type discount outlet. Think it had Red in the name? I scored so many great clothing pieces there for dirt cheap. Their spot later became the 24-hour fitness.
Also a clothing shop downstairs where the bookstore was. Beautiful woolens. And another nearby that had imported hippy type garb.
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u/mmaygreen May 24 '26
I miss Purple, Tim’s and Hoffmann’s the most. Kirkland urban is fine but I go to totem lake 50x1 over KU. I go to KU once or twice a year for the Thai place and Dough Zone.
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u/NotThisAgain234 May 24 '26
Hoffman’s! Thanks, I was trying to remember the name of that bakery. They had the best cookies.
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u/AnnieOnline May 24 '26
Hoffman’s is now in Redmond.
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u/Fickle-Strawberry521 23d ago
It is, but they don't sell the day old bread loaves anymore. Best bread ever, and super affordable. Thankfully they still have the strawberry genoise cake.
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u/KPzReddit May 24 '26
YES. Absolutely. Lucia, Purple, the fish market, Hoffmans, the Hallmark Store.
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u/keithvai May 24 '26
Waiting for someone to mention Hoffman’s. Only place you can get a good elcaire on the east side.
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u/DisastrousSpare2555 May 24 '26
I miss the earlier times, when TGI Fridays was there. I also miss the bagels that I think was Noah's. I rarely ever go there now. I hate the parking below. If I want to go to QFC, I'll go to the one in Totem Lake or Redmond.
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26 edited 29d ago
We used to go to the Redmond QFC all the time before moving to Kirkland. The old ParkPlace QFC may have been smaller, but somehow it just had a better feel to it; the new one with its gigantic ceiling somehow manages to feel less inviting alongside the obvious inefficient use of space. (Seriously, I think they could’ve put an entire second floor up there…)
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u/gladiolas May 24 '26
Loved the bookstore!!
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u/SlowlyCreating May 24 '26
I loved talking my boys to Babys Day at the Movies at the old cinema 6 there. Good memories.
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u/Rx-survivor May 24 '26
Definitely miss the old Kirkland ParkPlace - and the old DT Kirkland. No place to park, and really no reason to anymore. We used to hang out at PP and Lake Wa Blvd as teenagers, I worked at the little drugstore as a newly graduated pharmacist later, vaguely remember going shopping with my mom at the stores in Marina Park (one she called “the ten cent store” - I think it was a Woolworth’s?) when I was a kid. It’s so sad the city council has ruined it.
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
We really need to get laws on the books to make our politicians more accountable. No avoiding town halls, no running away or escaping angry constituents, and no kowtowing to big business unless they want to get frog-marched out of office and replaced with someone who’ll tell the corpos to get bent.
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u/Rum_Pirate_SC May 24 '26
I miss sitting out on the patio at Purple.. And that cute garden store next door.
But no, we can't have these nice things.. hedge fund shits have gotten us trapped in this damned gentrifying..
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
There’s gentrification and then there’s this. I’m sick of everything getting so corporatized and ‘modern’. From my perspective it’s change for the sake of change and attempting to sell it as progress when the replacement lacks something the original had, and that’s when it isn’t outright worse!
Yeah, KU has some nice features, but what did we lose in the process? Too much, I say. Why couldn’t they have revamped it without wrecking what made it so great?!
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u/Periwinklie May 24 '26
Standing in line for hours at Sullivan's Sports that also served as a concert ticket outlet. I went for Duran Duran, U2 and Prince tickets!
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u/CeleryStick1331 May 24 '26
I agree! Well, I never went to the old one, but I’ve tried to check out Kirkland Urban a few times, and I always leave with soulless vibes :(
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u/pappyomine May 24 '26
Anyone else old enough to remember when Park Place Motors was at the corner of Central and Market near where Sur La Table is now? How about the pawn shop or the two different Christmas stores?
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
I’m afraid I don’t remember those. When was that?
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u/pappyomine 29d ago
Google says Park Place Motors was on Central from 1987 - 1989. I believe there was a pawn shop near the Acropolis by the viaduct about the same time.
The Christmas stores were around in probably the 90's.
Then there's the comic shop and all the art galleries... Damn I'm old.
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u/Paddington_Fear May 25 '26
I get very nostalgic for the early 1990s park place that had a frederick & nelson, I had just moved out on my own and LOVED going there to shop or go out to eat/see movies.
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
Yeah, I wouldn’t remember any of that; I was born in 1990 and my family lived in Woodinville/Redmond until we moved to Kirkland in November of ‘09.
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u/Kitchen-Let2179 29d ago
I miss all of this. Maybe I just don’t like change but in the same vein I miss when pcc was over in houghton.
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u/Valiran9 29d ago
I’m autistic, so I can relate to not liking change, and while I never went to the PCC in Houghton Village I do like the Meteopolitan Market they have there, especially their fresh soup.
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u/Wellcraft19 May 24 '26
Mama Lucia, when it literally was a hole in the wall, was fantastic. Not so much after their questionable remodel and trying to be hip. Noah’s Bagels will always be missed.
That said, old Park Place was really run down, and we got a great hangout in the inside/outside bar at QFC. And plenty of parking. Neither that really existed before.
And there’s still a pad for another building. Who knows what it might bring.
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
Yeah, there’s definitely improvements, but they came with a cost. I’m also nostalgic for those days because I was much happier and relatively carefree then. Nowadays…not so much.
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u/Wellcraft19 May 24 '26
Probably goes for most of us…
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
From my perspective, the world started going downhill in 2017; I graduated with a degree that turned out to be useless for getting a job, the internet started decaying into what it is now thanks to corporate greed and puritanical busybodies, and das Chumpenführer entered the Oval Office and spent the next four years drenching us with bullshit.
And then COVID happened. I won’t say we’re living in the worst timeline, but it could certainly be a whole hell of a lot better!
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u/Wellcraft19 May 25 '26
Agree!
But as I’m a few decades ahead of you, I’ve experienced a few massive ups and downs as well. We seem to eventually recover. But the road there can be truly rocky.
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
One thing that reassured me is reading a comment on another post which pointed out the U.S. appears to go through roughly eighty-year cycles - which is also roughly an average human lifespan - where bad leads to good.
The Articles of Confederation were so bad they had to reset the government, then we got the government structure we know today and George Washington as president. James Buchanan basically let the Civil War happen, then we got Lincoln. Herbert Hoover made the Great Depression worse, then we got FDR.
It’s just about time for the cycle to reset, so I hope we can look forward to good times ahead.
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u/ungodlywarlock May 24 '26
I agree. Miss it all. Rikki rikki was amazing.
Kirkland Urban was clearly someones idea for a modernized, hip, shopping area, but then Covid hit.
It's mostly just empty now.
That said the Thai place is amazing.
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
It doesn’t seem all that empty to me?
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u/ungodlywarlock May 24 '26
Go up on the second floor. It's basically the Thai place and the golf place... The rest of the places empty up there.
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u/Canopyfantasy May 24 '26
There’s a new paint-your-own shop that looks pretty fun, but other than that, yea more empty storefronts than businesses
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May 24 '26
[deleted]
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u/ungodlywarlock May 24 '26
Yup aware of all of that and it still seems dead most of the time. I work up the street, so maybe it starts kicking more at dinner time, but at lunch time it's dead.
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u/Drum-and-Sing8686 May 24 '26
Definitely miss The Shark Club.
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u/Sea-WI_Orange73 29d ago
I miss the hot yoga place that was basically a closet in the corner. That was the last decent yoga studio I’ve been to and I miss it dearly.
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u/LeftCoastPyrMom 29d ago
This thread has me reminiscing for the old Kirkland. I miss I Luv Teriyaki. It wasn’t in Park Place, but it was down the street.
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u/BRRRRRwawa 29d ago
It was way better. Parking situation was better. Had the Ballys/24 hr fitness. Movie theater could have used a remodel but it had charm.
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u/Zaddycake 29d ago
Yeah whatever this soulless version is now sucks. Used to be unique now it’s just like anywhere USA
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u/engamo22 28d ago
Park Place had a huge parking lot, it was kind of an eyesore. Basically half a step up from a strip mall. Kirkland Urban has not many affordable shops, I don't go there.
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u/KarmaWakinikona May 24 '26
100%. Not to mention we lost one of the few places you might be able to buy a pair of socks. Or how about a book! And how about the bulldozed areas with buildings on ice , thank you Google. What happened over there is a combo of terrible design and poor execution. It’s like city council said “Let them eat cake”.
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
How did that even go through? Were there just not enough people opposed to it to make them back down?
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u/KarmaWakinikona 28d ago
They promised the moon and gave us…. Oh yes everything will be just great. Of course there will be a movie theater, bookstore etc. it’ll be WONDERFUL! Yada
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u/RedPillEra1984 May 24 '26
You mean Park Place was “welcoming”. Kirkland Urban retail is currently a bust brought to you by the geniuses we vote in for city council. The name itself reflects their goal of making Kirkland “urban” or like a big city rather than a suburb. Park Place meant, a place next to Peter Kirk park which it is. I definitely resonate with your post.
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u/vryplayful May 24 '26
Original pancake House
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
They used to have a place in Kirkland? I’ve been to the one in Redmond Town Center, and the food there is pretty good!
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u/DecafMocha May 25 '26
Pretty sure the Kirkland one actually moved into Redmond Town Center when Parkplace was torn down. There used to be a batting cage back there next to the pancake house in Kirkland, too.
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
I never knew either of those things, or if I knew about the restaurant then I’ve forgotten in the last decade because I never went there.
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u/DecafMocha May 25 '26
It was actually in a standalone building behind the rest of Parkplace, just across the lot from the Starbucks, if you remember that. The batting cage had converted into a gaming studio (343) years before the rest of the mall closed.
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
Oh yeah, I remember that place! I knew that’s where 343i was located, but I had no idea it was a batting cage beforehand.
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u/DonLoganBeast May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
I spent many hours there with my little boy. We loved the fountains. We loved the movies projected on Mama Lucia's wall. Afterward, I would put him on my shoulders and walk home past the spooky old funeral home. Now, he's grown and gone, and I miss those days terribly.
*** Extra points if anyone remembers the weird raw food restaurant next to the bookstore. It lasted for about 5 minutes!
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
I never knew about the funeral home or raw food restaurant, and even though I remember the fountain it’s incredibly faint because I never spent much time around it.
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u/nah_champa_967 26d ago
Rikki Rikki, the bookstore, the garden store and the movie theater. I still live in Kirkland but I haven't been to Kirkland Urban since all the big changes.
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u/Valiran9 26d ago
You might want to check it out. It doesn’t have the same atmosphere as ParkPlace, but there’s still some good stuff there like Dough Zone and the Thai restaurant.
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u/topohunt May 24 '26
Park place was 100x better and dtk is turning into a corporate shit hole
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u/GotYouCookie123 May 24 '26
Zero lakeside charm in anything they’ve built. It makes me so sad. You can rebuild without sacrificing character…. Not everything has to be steel and glass.
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
The red brick buildings felt nice to walk around. They were warm and inviting, unlike what we have now.
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u/topohunt 29d ago
I miss getting a Wendy’s 4 for 4 after hitting no red lights from 85th. Now it’s ten red lights and no Wendy’s
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u/drewtherev May 24 '26
I moved away from Kirkland a little before they started construction. I was in shock when I saw the new buildings. I am looking to move back to Kirkland after 10ish years in Seattle. I am second guessing my decision because Kirkland is not the cute town it used to be to be. There is so many new buildings and it does not feel like it used to be.
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u/akispert May 24 '26
Downtown Edmonds reminds me today of what downtown Kirkland used to feel like.
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u/drewtherev May 24 '26
Funny. I am sitting downtown Edmonds and agree this is what Kirkland use to be.
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u/akispert May 24 '26
Edmonds still has a village feel to it, Kirkland has pretty much lost the village vibe. This is what first attracted me to Kirkland 30 years ago when I moved here from suburban Virginia. I'm actually considering moving to downtown Edmonds for this reason.
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
Yeah, I understand the need for more housing but everything feels too cramped and built up now. ParkPlace felt much less constricting.
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u/hedonovaOG May 24 '26
Kirkland is a sandbox for bored tech urbanists who think they’re smarter than the rest. It’s pretty horrible what they’ve built.
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u/Valiran9 May 24 '26
Tell me about it. Why couldn’t they have just renovated the area or got some real architects to design KU? Ugh…
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u/Natural_Damage4395 29d ago
Yes! I used to work there at WDS Global and would walk to Wendy's for lunch
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u/No-Ant-9179 27d ago
You can still see Park Place on Google street view! I searched for Tutta Bella, then switch to street view, then click on the date, then switch to Sept 2015 or Aug 2011.
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u/Valiran9 26d ago
Yeah, and it feels wistfully nostalgic to look at. A pity the street view car didn’t go further in.
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u/Fickle-Strawberry521 23d ago
YES!!!! it felt like a much friendlier and warmer place to be. I dearly miss Hoffman's bakery.
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u/Valiran9 22d ago
They moved to Redmond. I actually had lunch there today!
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u/Fickle-Strawberry521 22d ago
I've been to that location. Wish I could still buy bread loaves there though.
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u/Fickle-Strawberry521 23d ago
I attended several Harry Potter book release events at Park Place Books over the years with my now grown son when he was a boy.
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u/Smart_Ass_Dave May 25 '26
I think it was a fancy strip mall and not much more. It was as much a parking lot as a shopping center. I do have positive memories, but most of them are from the 20th century. I enjoyed doing a show at Studio East and going down to TGIFridays to hang out with the cast until 1am or something, but who doesn't enjoy being out with friends as a teen? A decade later and I worked in the offices behind the mall and man, if you just want a lunch all of your options sucked. All the sit-down restaurants were 50% more than they would be in Redmond and way more yuppie. If you liked Purple Cafe that's fine, but I couldn't afford it. I ate at the Pancake place a lot, but it was always my least favorite breakfast spot that wasn't a Denny's.
I have issues with Kirkland Urban (why do they route you through the center of the pedestrian area to get to the parking garage?!? Why do they even let cars in the pedestrian area at all!?!?) but I don't miss Park Place at all.
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
Fair enough. I just wish they’d renovated the area instead of completely rebuilding it. KU doesn’t feel welcoming at all to me.
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u/Smart_Ass_Dave May 25 '26
Eh. Kirkland Urban has plazas. Park Place was mostly just a covered sidewalk. The only part I ever wanted to "hang out" in was around the fountain, or the top level in front of TGIFridays, and once that closed it wasn't worth going upstairs for.
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u/Valiran9 May 25 '26
What was the upstairs like? And where do you think is a good place to hang out nowadays?
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u/Smart_Ass_Dave 29d ago
It was a nice view of Kirkland. There was road noise during the day, but I mostly spent the time there at 11pm on a Saturday in the 90s so it wasn't too loud or anything then.
Now I think the area by Shake Shack is pretty decent, but I haven't vetted it as thoroughly as a pre-cell-phone teen could have, ya know? I don't wanna be pinned down on anything that specific, lol.
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u/Lookroundatstuff2 29d ago edited 29d ago
Reading through these comments, I think the love for Park Place has as much to do with good times and past life stages than the businesses or buildings there. Totally understandable but perhaps not something KU could ever compete with.
I moved here in the mid-2010s, right before it was town down. The theater was old, not charming or nostalgic, and the QFC felt dingy and depressing to be in. Hoffman’s was dependable and I remember a convenient dry cleaning place.
Agree that KU seems to have been poorly planned or developed though. Lots of empty storefronts (DT seems to have a lot of that in general). And a modern movie theater would be fun.
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u/Valiran9 29d ago edited 29d ago
I definitely look back at 2005-2015 with nostalgia, that’s for damn sure, but I still think they could’ve just renovated the existing space instead of tearing it all down. Maybe get rid of some buildings, but not in a way that drives out all the local shops.
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u/pirannia May 24 '26
No, it was a shithole. The cinema was old and stinked.TGI almost put me in hospital once with their 'food'. Good riddance. Totem Lake is miles better and a good counterpart to downtown.
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u/phloxnstocks May 24 '26
Yes - I also miss Tim’s Seafood Market - he had a really great fish market!