The Mall at Prince George's, formerly known as (and still often referred to as) Prince George's Plaza, is an enclosed regional

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

located in

Hyattsville, Maryland Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and also a close, urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States Census. History Before Europeans reached the area, the upper An ...

, at the intersection of Belcrest Road and East-West Highway (

Maryland Route 410 Maryland Route 410 (MD 410) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland and known for most of its length as East–West Highway. The highway runs east to west (hence its name) for from MD 355 in Bethesda east to Pennsy ...

). It is served by a

Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview

station, Hyattsville Crossing. This station is on the

Green Line Green Line may refer to: Places Military and political * Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II * Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours ** City Line ( ...

and Yellow Line. Located across Belcrest Road from the Mall is the

University Town Center University Town Center, formerly New Town Center, is located in Hyattsville, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It was a planned urban center designed by Edward Durell Stone and located on a parcel at the intersection of Belcrest Ro ...

mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...

. The Mall at Prince George's is anchored by

Five Below 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awar ...

TJ Maxx TJ Maxx (stylized as T•J•maxx) is an American department store chain, selling at prices generally lower than other major similar stores. It has more than 1,000 stores in the United States, making it one of the largest clothing retailers in ...

Ross Dress For Less Ross Stores, Inc., operating under the brand name Ross Dress for Less, is an American chain of discount department stores headquartered in Dublin, California. It is the largest off-price retailer in the U.S.; as of 2018, Ross operates 1,483 stor ...

Marshalls Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. Mar ...

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

, and

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

. It is currently owned and managed by PREIT.

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 George's following an extensive renovation.

Hecht Company

The Mall At Prince Georges Food Court 2019

The opening of the Plaza's

Hecht Company Hecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores that operated mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States. The firm originated in Baltimore, Maryland. By 20 ...

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 Gov.

Theodore R. McKeldin Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin (November 20, 1900August 10, 1974) was an American politician. He was a member of the Republican Party, served as mayor of Baltimore twice, from 1943 to 1947 and again from 1963 to 1967. McKeldin was the 53rd Govern ...

. 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 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

, following the disbandment of Hecht's. Macys at The Mall Of Prince Georges 2019

Grand Union

The following month another anchor,

Grand Union A grand union is a rail track junction where two double-track railway or tramway lines cross at grade, often in a street intersection or crossroads. A total of sixteen railroad switches (sets of points) allow streetcars (or in rarer installati ...

supermarket, opened its doors. 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 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 Food-A-Rama was a Baltimore, Maryland based-supermarket chain of 48 stores established in 1960. The stores were located in Maryland and Washington, DC. They consisted of Food-a-Rama, Super-Super, Cost-Saver Warehouse, and Basics Food Warehouse store ...

, 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. The Hyattsville store was converted to a high-volume store. After the supermarket closed,

Kids "R" Us Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to: Common meanings * Colloquial term for a child or other young person ** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age * Engage in joking * Young goats * The goat meat of young goats * Kidskin, leath ...

occupied the space for several years, followed by

Office Depot The ODP Corporation is an American office supply holding company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The company has combined annual sales of approximately $11 billion, and employs about 38,000 associates with businesses in the United States. ...

, which closed in March 2009 and which was replaced by Kids 4 Less, which in turn closed in 2013 to make way for

Raleigh's

The Shops at Prince Georges, from the parking lot

In December 1965,

Raleigh Haberdasher Raleigh Haberdasher, more commonly called Raleigh's, was a high end, local men's and women's furnishings store based in Washington, D.C. History The first store opened on February 16, 1911, at 1109 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, in the Raleigh Hotel. M ...

announced plans to lease 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 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 Woodward & Lothrop was a department store chain headquartered in Washington, D.C. that began as the capital's first department store in 1887. Woodies, as it was often nicknamed, maintained stores in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Its flagship s ...

, opened at Prince George's Plaza in August 1966. While building the Woodies store, two boys were killed when digging in a cave on a fragile hillside nearby. After the demise of the Woodies chain in 1995, the space was occupied by

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

. On June 23, 2020, JCPenney announced that it would close in October 2020 as part of a plan to close 13 stores nationwide.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mall at Prince Georges, The Shopping malls in Maryland Shopping malls in the Washington metropolitan area Hyattsville, Maryland Buildings and structures in Prince George's County, Maryland Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust Shopping malls established in 1959 1959 establishments in Maryland Tourist attractions in Prince George's County, Maryland