The crew at Capitol Hill’s Value Village rang up its final sales Saturday night before turning off the lights, locking the front doors, and walking across the street for some beer and some dusty 11th Ave nostalgia.

Closing time on a Saturday would usually have come at 9 PM. But with many shelves bare and more racks empty, management made the decision to bring things to an early close. That just meant a community party organized by a Pike/Pine neighbor at nearby Vermillion could start earlier.

There was beer. There was a slideshow. There were some Value Village fashions on display.

The Value Village space is now for lease as the development company owned by the Value Village founding family moves forward with plans for a seven-story office building along the block. Built as an investment development for $70,000 in the midst of World War I, the exterior of the “Chicago School style,” concrete frame building with red brick, parapets, and window spandrels is a protected Seattle landmark. It was once home to the Kelly-Springfield Truck Company and, much later, REI.

In the meantime, vintage and thrift shop culture lives on across Capitol Hill.

Earlier Saturday night, just as the store was shutting down for the last time, a woman pushing a wheelchair full of belongings came to Value Village’s front door to ask for a blanket. An employee told the woman that all the blankets were gone but asked if she would like some shoes. The woman left with new — to her — shoes and also a new pair of socks.

After the final customers were served, it was time to celebrate the end. Organizers of the party said Value Village’s Capitol Hill store employed more than 30 people. A spokesperson for the Value Village/Savers company told CHS that all employees were “encouraged to apply for positions” at other locations.

With photos and reporting by Tatiana Gill