Just before noon last Friday, a crowd gathered quietly on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Pike Street, waiting to pay their last respects to the downtown Seattle Nike store before it closed for good.
"I'm heartbroken," said Richard Green, who had come up from Tacoma and who, despite being entirely outfitted in Nike (including, he attested, underwear and socks), was nowhere near done with the brand. "I had big plans for this year," he continued, nodding through the glass at the racks of shoes and other merch.
"Pretty bummed," added Jacob Boaz of West Seattle. Boaz said he shopped the downtown store "every week at a minimum" and was dismayed at the prospect of going all the way to Bellevue Square, where a new Nike store will open sometime this year. "It'll take me over an hour to get there."
