The Mall at Prince Georges

"Prince George's Plaza" redirects here. For the Washington Metro station, see Prince George's Plaza (WMATA station).
The Mall at Prince Georges

The logo of The Mall at Prince Georges, used since November 2004.
Location 3500 East West Highway, Hyattsville, Maryland, U.S.
Opening date 1959 (Prince Georges Plaza); 2004 (The Mall at Prince Georges)
Management Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust
No. of stores and services 60
No. of anchor tenants 7
Total retail floor area 910,352 square feet (84,574.5 m2)[1]
No. of floors 1 (Macy's is 3; JC Penney is 2; Ross and Marshalls are on lower level of Target extension)
Website www.mallatprincegeorges.com

The Mall at Prince Georges is an enclosed regional shopping mall located in Hyattsville, Maryland, at the intersection of Belcrest Road and East-West Highway (Maryland Route 410). It is served by a Washington Metro station, Prince George's Plaza, which shares the mall's former name. This station is on the Green Line. Located across Belcrest Road from the Mall is the University Town Center mixed-use development. It is currently owned and managed by PREIT.

The Mall at Prince Georges is anchored by Macy's, JC Penney, and Target, with minor anchors Old Navy, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross Dress for Less. The mall features a mix of local and national retailers, including The Children's Place, Victoria's Secret, Foot Locker, Lane Bryant, and Bath & Body Works. A 20,000-square-foot H&M opened in 2016. A forthcoming remerchandising effort will be highlighted by DSW and ULTA, both slated to open in 2018. Dining options include a busy food court and Outback Steakhouse and Olive Garden, both located in outparcels.

History

The mall opened as an open-air shopping center in 1959, known as the Prince George's Plaza (PGP). It was expanded several times and was enclosed in the late-1970s. It was known as Prince Georges Plaza until November 14, 2004, when it was renamed to its current name of The Mall at Prince Georges following an extensive renovation.

Hecht Company

Food court at The Mall at Prince Georges

The opening of the Plaza's Hecht Company store on November 2, 1958, signaled the opening of Prince George's Plaza.[2] It was the fourth D.C.-area store in the rapidly growing chain. An estimated 3,000 persons attended the opening for ceremonial speeches and the ribbon-cutting. The principal speaker was Maryland Gov. Theodore R. McKeldin. The governor purchased a six-foot aluminum ladder from the Hecht Company, which he said he would use in his recently purchased home in Baltimore. At the opening, Hecht's occupied nearly one-third of the 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) of business space, and developers anticipated 60 other stores. There was parking for some 4,000 cars.

In September 2006, the store was converted into a Macy's, following the disbandment of Hecht's.

Grand Union

The following month another anchor, Grand Union supermarket, opened its doors.[3] On December 17, 1958, Santa Claus cut the red ribbon at 9 a.m. at the grand opening of the Grand Union store. He arrived by helicopter to ceremonially open the new 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m2) store.

The store also featured a "food-o-matic display" that housed the canned and packaged goods. It also included a gourmet foods department featuring one of the largest varieties of the world's finest cheeses to be found anywhere in the metropolitan area. The store also featured a rotisserie for barbecued chicken, a service bakery, and fully automated check-out booths.

Food-a-rama, a local Baltimore chain, bought the Prince George's Plaza Grand Union store along with other Grand Union and Basics stores in Maryland and D.C. in 1984.[4] The Hyattsville store was converted to a high-volume store. After the supermarket closed, Kids "R" Us occupied the space for several years, followed by Office Depot, which closed in March 2009 and which was replaced by Kids 4 Less, which in turn closed in 2013 to make way for TJ Maxx.

Raleigh's

View of the mall from the parking lot

In December 1965, Raleigh Haberdasher announced plans to lease 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) in the Prince George's Plaza shopping center for its fifth store in the Washington area. The store opened in the spring of 1966.[5] After Raleigh's closed the location in 1991, it was broken up into a variety of retail spaces. The entire Raleigh Haberdasher chain closed by the end of 1992. The former Raleigh's space was eventually demolished and rebuilt as Target (which opened late 2004), with Marshalls and Ross Dress for Less opening on the lower level of the new space shortly thereafter.

Woodward & Lothrop

Another local department store, Woodward & Lothrop, expanded at Prince George's Plaza in August 1966.[6] While building the Woodies store, two boys were killed when digging in a cave on a fragile hillside.[7] After the demise of the Woodies chain in 1995, the space was occupied by JC Penney.

References

  1. ↑ "The Mall at Prince Georges Fact Sheet" (PDF). PREIT. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  2. ↑ "3000 See Opening of Hecht's Store at Prince Georges Shopping Center," by Hal Willard, The Washington Post and Times Herald, Nov 4, 1958, p. A16
  3. ↑ "Whirly Bird Brings St. Nick to Opening," by Elinor Lee, The Washington Post and Times Herald, Dec 18, 1958, p. C21
  4. ↑ Food-A-Rama History website (accessed Aug. 15, 2008).
  5. ↑ "Raleigh Plans Store," Washington Post and Times-Herald, Dec 8, 1964, p. D5.
  6. ↑ "Woodies Maps Expansion Plans," The Washington Post, Times-Herald, Oct 27, 1964, p. B6.
  7. ↑ "Tragedy in Prince George's: Two Boys Digging Cave in Cliff Are Crushed to Death by Landslide," The Washington Post, Times-Herald, Apr 8, 1966, p. A1.
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Coordinates: 38°58′05″N 76°57′22″W / 38.96806°N 76.95611°W / 38.96806; -76.95611

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