The Mall at Prince Georges facts for kids
The logo of The Mall at Prince Georges, used since November 2004.
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| Location | 3500 East West Highway, Hyattsville, Maryland, U.S. |
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| Opening date | 1959 (Prince Georges Plaza); 2004 (The Mall at Prince Georges) |
| Developer | Eastern Shopping Centers |
| Management | Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust |
| No. of stores and services | 60 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 7 (6 open, 1 vacant by around October 2020) |
| Total retail floor area | 910,352 square feet (84,574.5 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 with partial lower level (2 plus basement offices in JCPenney, 3 in Macy's, Ross Dress For Less and Marshalls are on lower level of Target extension) |
| Public transit access |  Washington Metro:  at Prince George's Plaza TheBus: 13, 14, 18 Metrobus: 86, C4, F4, F6, F8, R4 Shuttle-UM: 113 |
The Mall at Prince Georges is a large shopping mall located in Hyattsville, Maryland. You can find it where Belcrest Road and East-West Highway (Maryland Route 410) meet. It's easy to get to, as there's a Washington Metro station nearby called Prince George's Plaza. This station shares the mall's old name and is on the Green Line. Right across the street is the University Town Center, which has different kinds of buildings. The company PREIT currently owns and manages the mall.
The Mall at Prince Georges has several main stores, called "anchors." These include Five Below, TJ Maxx, Ross Dress For Less, Marshalls, Macy's, JCPenney, and Target.
The Mall's History
The mall first opened in 1959. Back then, it was an outdoor shopping area called Prince George's Plaza (PGP). Over the years, it grew bigger and was eventually covered up in the late 1970s. It kept the name Prince George's Plaza until November 14, 2004. After a big makeover, it was renamed The Mall at Prince Georges, which is its name today.
Early Stores and Changes
One of the first big stores to open was the Hecht Company on November 2, 1958. This event marked the official opening of Prince George's Plaza. About 3,000 people came for the opening speeches and ribbon-cutting. Maryland's Governor, Theodore R. McKeldin, was the main speaker. He even bought a ladder from the store! Hecht's took up a large part of the mall's space, which was about 600,000 square feet. Developers expected 60 other stores to open, and there was parking for about 4,000 cars.
In September 2006, the Hecht's store changed into a Macy's store. This happened after the Hecht's company closed down.
Another important store that opened early was the Grand Union supermarket. On December 17, 1958, Santa Claus himself arrived by helicopter to open the new store! This supermarket was very modern for its time. It had a special "food-o-matic display" for canned goods and a gourmet food section with many different cheeses. It also offered barbecued chicken and a bakery.
Later, in 1984, a local chain called Food-a-rama bought the Grand Union store. After the supermarket closed, a store called Kids "R" Us moved into the space. Then, Office Depot took over, but it closed in 2009. After that, Kids 4 Less was there for a few years, until TJ Maxx opened in that spot.
More Stores Join In
In December 1965, a clothing store called Raleigh Haberdasher decided to open its fifth store in the Washington area at Prince George's Plaza. It opened in the spring of 1966. However, Raleigh's closed this location in 1991, and the whole Raleigh Haberdasher chain closed by the end of 1992. The old Raleigh's space was later torn down and rebuilt. A new Target store opened there in late 2004. Soon after, Marshalls and Ross Dress For Less opened on the lower level of this new building.
Another local department store, Woodward & Lothrop (often called Woodies), opened at Prince George's Plaza in August 1966. After the Woodies chain closed in 1995, JCPenney took over that space.
On June 23, 2020, JCPenney announced that its store at the mall would close around October 2020. This was part of a plan to close 13 stores across the country.
Images for kids
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The Food Court at The Mall at Prince Georges
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The Macy's store at The Mall of Prince Georges in 2019
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View of the mall from the parking lot
