…of Washington Mutual Bank’s sale to JPMorgan Chase, another local end-of-an-era moment has received less attention. It’s the closure of the Rite Aid Pharmacy at Fourth and Pike in downtown Seattle, on the ground floor of the Joshua Green Building.

The store first opened in 1947 as the original location of Pay ‘n Save Drugs, founded by local businessman/philanthropist Monte Bean. Pay ‘n Save eventually grew to some 150 stores in five states; while the Bean family’s “Family of Stores” grew to encompass Ernst Hardware, Lamonts Apparel, Schuck’s Auto Supply and more.

Pay ‘n Save Corp. was taken over by New York investors in 1984. Nine years and two buyouts later, the remaining Pay ‘n Save locations became Payless Drug branches. Five years after that, Rite Aid acquired them.

Through all these changes, and while downtown’s fortunes ebbed and flowed, the Fourth and Pike store survived and thrived.

This summer, the Green Building’s owners announced a massive remodeling. The changes included the displacement of its other street-level tenant, Carroll’s Jewelers.

Rite Aid management still hoped to get a lease renewal. The store received its requisite stock of Halloween candy and costumes.

But the building’s owners decided in mid-September to divide the space into several smaller storefronts. Rite Aid’s pharmacy counter immediately closed Sept. 16; prescriptions were transferred to its Belltown store. The store’s other merchandise is being liquidated through October or until it’s all gone.