The History of Bellevue Square’s Land
The Freeman Family's Legacy of Dedicated Stewardship
For 75 years, the Freeman family has strived to be a good steward of Bellevue and the Eastside community, creating business opportunities and community connections, as well as bringing visibility to the region through their creation of The Bellevue Collection, the Northwest’s premier multi-use development, including hotel, office, residential, and shopping and dining district. What started out years ago as a 16-store shopping center, then-known as the Bellevue Shopping Square, has grown into a vibrant retail, dining, entertainment and tourist destination, and is also home to the offices of many of the world’s leading companies.
As with any large entity with a strong foundation in the community, there is speculation as to the origin and purchase of the land which it sits. Kemper Development Company performed a comprehensive investigation into the progression of land purchases of the parcels which constitute the current property footprint of Bellevue Square. The maps below show the parcel owners and sales, beginning in 1989, demonstrating the origin of Bellevue Square’s land purchase.
Summary of Farm & Land Parcels
This map represents the location of family farms and ownership in Bellevue prior to 1942 created by Habitrek for Eastside Heritage Center (formerly Bellevue Historical Society). To view farm locations, family ownership and current day location of The Bellevue Collection (added in blue), scroll through the maps.
The land on which Bellevue Square currently sits was owned by L.B. Sharp, and between February 19, 1889, and June 8, 1920, he divided his property into parcels and sold them to the purchasers below (scroll through maps to see divided parcels):
| Owner | Purchaser |
|---|---|
| L. B. Sharp | F. W. Bass |
| L. B. Sharp | Margaret Warren |
| L. B. Sharp | Charles T. Gordon |
| L. B. Sharp | Robert E. and Emma T. Pretlow |
| L. B. Sharp | Martha E. Johnson |
| L. B. Sharp | Andrew August Peterson |
| L. B. Sharp | John E. Johnson |
| L. B. Sharp | Louis P. Smith |
| L. B. Sharp | Frank M. Gass |
| L. B. Sharp | George D. Gass |
| L. B. Sharp | John R. Gass |
| L. B. Sharp | Eleanor Clarke |
| L. B. Sharp | M. Fisher and Laura Fisher |
From June 9, 1920, to September 15, 1938, these parcels continued to be bought and sold. No transactions occurring in 1939. Scroll through maps to view land ownership purchase and sale.
| Owner | Purchaser |
|---|---|
| Margaret Warren | J.C & Rebecca R. Dolley |
| John E. Johnson | Hilmer Benson, Charles A. Johnson, Louis E. Benson |
| Louis P. Smith | Robert L. Smith, William M. Smith |
| M. Fisher & Laura Fisher | Henry Fisher |
| Robert L .Smith, William M. Smith | William M. Smith |
| Hilmer Benson, Charles A. Johnson, Louis E. Benson | Hilmer Benson, Louis E. Benson |
| Margaret Warren | Elizabeth W. Burrows |
| Robert E. & Emma T. Pretlow | Emma T. Pretlow |
| J.C & Rebecca R. Dolley | Arthur and Clara Owenby |
| Emma T. Pretlow | Sarah Isabella Pretlow |
| Charles T. Gordon | Mary E. Gordon |
| Eleanor Clarke | Dorothy A. Stewart |
| Margaret Warren | James S. Ditty |
| Hilmer Benson, Louis E. Benson | James S. Ditty |
| Andrew August Peterson | Jennie T. Peterson |
| Martha E. Johnson | Mae Johnson, Kittie Bechtel, Maude Warren, Charles A. Johnson |
| Mary E. Gordon | J.B. Gordon, Blanche Gordon Wilkinson, Elizabeth Gordon |
| Dorothy A. Tewart | Rowland G. Burrows |
| Arthur & Clara Owenby | Arthur & Clara Owenby, E.V. & Berna Ulrich |
| Mae Johnson, Kittie Bechtel, Maude Warren, Charles A. Johnson | Mae Johnson, Maude Warren, Charles A. Johnson |
| Frank M. Gass, George D. Gass, John R. Gass | David M. Gass |
| Frank M. Gass, George D. Gass, John R. Gass | George D. Gass |
| George D. Gass | John R. Gass |
| John R. Gass | George D. Gass |
| George D. Gass | Adriana Huse |
| Mae Johnson, Maude Warren, Charles A. Johnson | Harvey W. Lee |
| John R. Gass | William R. Crooker |
See the land ownership of the early 40s below. In 1945 F. Kemper Freeman, Sr. purchased the 10-acre tract of land where the current Bellevue Square sits, fronting on 104th Avenue N.E. just south of N.E. 8th Street, from James Ditty, who had originally acquired the land in the late 1920s. F. Kemper Freeman Sr. developed and opened Bellevue Shopping Square in 1946 and the additional properties were purchased under the company name Bellevue Properties. The table and maps show the purchase and sale of the land.
| Owner | Purchaser |
|---|---|
| Jennie T. Peterson | Wade A. Peterson, Ella R. Stennett, Clara G. Wegner, Burton Peterson, Mildred Bruner, May Mellinger and Anna Pospesil |
| Blance Gordon and Marshall Wilkinson | George Kislo and Rose Kislo |
| William Smith and Audrey Smith | Pacific Transport, Inc. |
| Clive and Miriam McDonald | Arthur E. Bonn and Marjorie F. Bonn |
| Sarah Isabella Pretlow | E. H. Fretheim |
| David and Margaret Gass | Frank M. Gass |
| E.H. and Dorothy Fretheim | Eugene K. Haugen and Dixie E. Haugen |
| Arthur Owenbey and Berna Ulrich | W. A. Chamness |
| W.A. Chamness | E. V. Ulrich |
| William Smith and Audrey Smith | Robert B. & E. Louise Sheets |
| FW Bass | Ward D. Stream |
| Ward D Stream | Ray J. Green |
| Arthur & Marjorie F. Bonn | Clive McDonald and Miriam McDonald |
| George and Rose Kislow | William E. Green and Merle Estella Green |
| Clive McDonald and Miriam McDonald | Chester M. Green and Agnes E. M. Green |
| Eugene K. Haugen and Dixie E. Haugen | C. L. Umphlette and Alice L. Umphlette |
| E. V. Ulrich | Paul Larsen and Juanita Larsen |
| E. V. Ulrich | Herod Boston and Olga Boston |
| Ward D Stream | James E. Lovejoy and Lilian V. Lovejoy |
| William M. and Audrey E. Smith | Robert B. Sheets and E. Louise Sheets |
| James and Helen Ditty | F. Kemper Freeman Sr. |
| Adriana Huse | F. Kemper Freeman Sr. and Miller Freeman co-partners dba Bellevue Properties |
| Margaret Zaloudek | F. Kemper Freeman Sr. and Miller Freeman co-partners dba Bellevue Properties |
| Ray J Green | Harry W. Green, a bachelor |
| Elizabeth Burrows | F. Kemper Freeman Sr. and Miller Freeman co-partners dba Bellevue Properties |
| Margaret Zaloudek | F. Kemper Freeman Sr. and Miller Freeman co-partners dba Bellevue Properties |
| Harvey W. Lee/Ethel Lee Smith | Al K. Richards and Doris O. Richards |
| Chester Agness Green | Leonard C. Morgan and Doris L. Morgan/J. E. Rex Taylor and Lucia M. Taylor |
| Rowland G. Burrows | F. Kemper Freeman Sr. and Miller Freeman co-partners dba Bellevue Properties |
| Eugene K. Haugen and Dixie Haugen | C.L. and Alice L. Umphlette |
| Al K. Richards and Doris O. Richards | J. Terry Owen and Norma H. Owen |
| Chester Agness Green | Green Funeral Home, Inc., a Washington corporation |
| Ray J Green | Charles R. Zener and Frances V. Zener, husband and wife |
| William E. Merle Estella Green | Miller & Bessie Bogle Freeman |
| F. Kemper Freeman Sr. | Bellevue Properties, Inc. |
| F. Kemper Freeman Sr. | Bellevue Properties, Inc. |
| F. Kemper Freeman Sr. | Bellevue Properties, Inc. |
| F. Kemper Freeman Sr. | Bellevue Properties, Inc. |
| L and D Morgan | Raymond E. Blaustein and Sybil Blaustein, Joseph H. Blaustein and Lena Blaustein |
| CR and FV Zener | Robert and Irene Zener |
As Bellevue continued to grow as a town in 1950s, Bellevue Properties continued to purchase additional parcels. In 1953, Bellevue was incorporated as a city.
| Owner | Purchaser |
|---|---|
| Robert and Louise Sheets | Isaach and Dorothy Morse |
| Harold and Olga Boston | P and H Pilla |
| JE Lucia M Taylor | Bellevue Realty Company |
| Wade A. Peterson, Ella R. Stennett, Clara G. Wegner, Burton Peterson, Mildred Bruner, May Mellinger and Anna Pospesil | Bellevue Properties LP |
| Bellevue Properties Inc. | Bellevue Properties LP |
| C.L. and Alice L Umplette | Bellevue Properties LP |
| Paul and Juanita Larsen | P and H Pilla |
| J. Terry and Norma H. Owen | S.S. Dorthea I. Munro |
| Robert and Louise Sheets | Ronald J and Ruth S Cobb |
| Robert G and Irene J. Zener | Raymond A and H. Charlene Kardong |
| S.S. Dorthea I. Munro | Bellevue Properties LP |
| Isaac H. Dorothy Mae Morse | Robert and Louise Sheets |
| Margaret Zaloudek | Bellevue Properties LP |
| Leonard and Doris Morgan | CM and Agness Green |
| P and H Pilla | John G. and Josephine Molz |
| R E & S J Blaustein | Blaustein |
| Isaac H. Dorothy Mae Morse | Safeway Stores Inc. |
| William R and Mary Crooker | Seattle First National Bank |
| James E Ditty | James S and Helen W. Ditty |
| James E and Lilian V. Lovejoy | Seattle First National Bank |
| Seattle First National Bank | Bellevue Properties LP |
| R A and H C Kardon | Ernest E and Jennie T Smith |
| Frank Gass | Bellevue Properties LP |
| Robert B and E Louise Sheets | Frederick H and Mildred W. Francis |
| Ronald J and Ruth Cobb | F H and M W Francis |
By 1960, Bellevue Square had grown to 45 stores. Nordstrom Best, the largest independent shoe chain in the United States, opened in Bellevue Square in 1967. Bellevue Properties, LP sold property to a trust and leased back to Bellevue Square Managers, Inc.
| Owner | Purchaser |
|---|---|
| Pacific Transport/Emma A Hanson | Frederick H and Mildred W. Francis |
| Bellevue Realty Co/Wilcox Hanson | H H Kem and H E Smith |
| Safeway Stores Inc | Lloyd and Harriette Raab |
| Lloyd and Harriette Raab | Bellevue Properties LP |
| Frederick H and Mildred W. Francis | Bellevue Properties LP |
| Ernest and Jennie Smith | Bellevue Properties LP |
| Bellevue Properties | Brice Trust and Margaret Brice Vorwick Trust |
| Seafirst National Bank | Bellevue Properties LP |
| Blaustein | H H Kem and H E Smith |
Decades of Change
The ensuing decades marked significant enhancements for the property, including a greatly expanded Bellevue Square; the region’s first true mixed-use development, Bellevue Place; the development of Lincoln Square a significant renovation of Bellevue Square; and the opening of Lincoln Square South.
Today, these developments all live under the umbrella name of The Bellevue Collection, covering over 5.5 million square feet. Through conscientious stewardship of the land and a bold vision for Bellevue’s future, the Freeman family has created a dynamic and ever-evolving epicenter for the booming Eastside. View a full historical timeline of KDC development.