The Mall at Prince Georges

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, and is served by a Washington Metro station that still goes by the name Prince George's Plaza. This station is on the Green Line. Located across Belcrest Road from the Mall is the rapidly expanding University Town Center development.

History

The mall opened in 1958, as Prince George's Plaza, an open-air shopping center, and was expanded several times. It was enclosed in the late-1970's. It was called Prince Georges Plaza until November 14, 2004, when it was renamed The Mall at Prince Georges.

Hecht Company

The opening of the plaza's Hecht Company store on November 2, 1958, signaled the opening of Prince George's Plaza. 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's 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 at 103 Goodale rd. in Baltimore. At the opening, Hecht's occupied nearly one-third of the 600,000 square feet of business space and developers anticipated 60 other stores. There was parking for some 4,000 cars. Other speakers at the opening included Samuel H. Hecht, board chairman, and Robert H. Levi, company president. Other guests at the opening included County commissioner President Herbert W. Reichely, C. Van Ness Wood, of the Eastern Shopping Center which built the Plaza, and Lansing P. Shield, president of the Grand Union Co. with which Eastern is affiliated, and Mrs. Alexander Hecht, widow of the cofounder of the Hecht Company in the Washington area.

In 2006, the store was converted to Macy's.

Grand Union

The following month another original anchor, Grand Union (stores) supermarket opened its store. On December 17, 1958, Santa Claus cut the red ribbon at 9 a.m. at the grand opening of the Prince George's Plaza, Grand Union store. He arrived by helicopter to ceremonally open the new 45,000 square foot store. The store included 15 aisles of non-food items; everything from table tennis sets to Christmas trees and baby pants.

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 automatic 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 DC in 1984. The Hyattsville store was converted to a SUPER-SUPER high volume store. For some years, Kids "Я" Us occupied the space. An Office Depot store currently occupies the former supermarket location.

Raleigh's

In December 1965, Raleigh Haberdasher announced plans to lease 20,000 square feet in the Prince George's Plaza shopping center for its fifth store in the Washington area. The store opened in the Spring of 1966. After Raleigh's closed its stores in about 1993, the Prince George's Plaza store was broken up into a variety of retail spaces.

Woodward & Lothrop

Another local department store, Woodward & Lothrop, expanded at Prince George's Plaza in August 1966. The first manager was Joseph J. Wells, who had been with Woodward & Lothrop since 1955. While building the Woodies store, two boys were killed when digging in a cave on a fragile hillside After the demise of the Woodies chain in 1995, the space was occupied by JC Penney.

The Mall at Prince Georges

The Mall at Prince Georges is currently anchored by Macy's, JC Penney, and Target, with minor anchors Office Depot, Old Navy, Marshalls, and Ross Dress for Less. The mall features a mix of local and national retailers, including The Gap, The Children's Place, Victoria's Secret, Foot Locker, and Bath & Body Works. Dining options include Outback Steakhouse and Olive Garden.

Anchors and major retailers

• JC Penney (148,788 sq ft.)
• Macy's (195,655 sq ft.)
• Marshalls (35,045 sq ft.)
• Office Depot (20,149 sq ft.)
• Old Navy (24,818 sq ft.)
• Ross Dress for Less (34,031 sq ft.)
• Target (136,010 sq ft.)

Former anchors

• Bally's Health Fitness
• G.C. Murphy - Original anchor; torn down for Target
• Grand Union - Original anchor; later Kids "Я" Us, Office Depot
• Hecht's - Original anchor; now Macy's
• Hot Shoppes Restaurant
• Kids "Я" Us - now Office Depot
• Raleigh Haberdasher - now mall space
• Woodward & Lothrop - now JCPenney

References

External links

• The Mall at Prince Georges - Official Website
• Photographs from May 29, 1959 in the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division - Available through the DCGrocery MSN Group
• Mall Hall of Fame Blogspot --- includes original mall layout and photographs (accessed Aug 20, 2008)
• DC Grocery MSN Discussion List