The first Bartell Drugs store opened in 1890, when George Bartell bought the Lake Washington Pharmacy located in what became the Leschi neighborhood. The Bartell Drug Company incorporated in 1904 and moved to downtown Seattle. It expanded in early 20th century, coming to include a candy factory and photo lab in addition to pharmacy locations. The company remained under Bartell family ownership until 2020, when Rite Aid bought the company. In 2025, CVS Pharmacy bought the remaining Bartell locations and either closed or rebranded the stores.

This aerial view shows the Bartell Drugs building that sat at the junction of Pine Street, Fourth Avenue, and Westlake Avenue. Fourth Avenue stretches from the bottom left corner to the top of the image and its intersection with Pine Street can be seen in the center. Westlake Avenue is obscured but ran to the right of the Bartell building. In addition to a Bartell drugstore, the building also featured a diner on the second floor. The Bartell building and the building behind it, occupied by Chandler's Shoes, were demolished to make way for Westlake Center, which now occupies this site. The large building in the upper left was built in 1929 as the Bon Marche's flagship store, and is still standing as of 2025.

Caption information source: "Bartell Drug Company," by Phil Dougherty, HistoryLink, retrieved from https://historylink.org/File/9302