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Westfield Montgomery

Westfield Montgomery
The mall on Black Friday, 2021
Map
LocationBethesda, Maryland, United States
Address7101 Democracy Boulevard
Opening dateMarch 6, 1968; 56 years ago (1968-03-06)
Developer
[1]
ManagementUnibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE[2]
OwnerUnibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE
No. of stores and services200[3]
No. of anchor tenants4
Total retail floor area1,223,475 sq ft (113,664.5 m2)[3]
No. of floors3[4]
Public transit accessBus transport Ride On bus: 6, 26, 42, 47, 96
Bus transport Metrobus: J1, J2
Websitewww.westfield.com/united-states/montgomery

Westfield Montgomery (formerly, Montgomery Mall) is a shopping mall in Bethesda, Maryland. Major tenants include Macy's, Macy's Home, and Nordstrom, as well as specialty brands such as Fabletics, Madewell, Vineyard Vines, and Untuckit.

History

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Montgomery Mall in 1973

The mall opened in March 1968 with three anchor stores and 58 smaller shops. It was built as a joint venture between The May Department Stores Company and Strouse, Greenberg & Co., based on the design of John Graham, Jr. and Ward and Hall.[5][6][1] The original anchors were Hecht's, Garfinckel's, and Sears. Smaller shops included a Bond Stores outlet. The old mall logo was an owl-shaped "M".[7]

A mid-1970s expansion added a US$4.5 million, 155,000-square-foot (14,400 m2) Woodward & Lothrop store and 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) of additional retail space for 40 stores.[8][9]

On March 1. 1976, longtime fugitive William Bradford Bishop bought a ball peen hammer and gas can at the mall to allegedly kill and burn his family.

A renovation completed in October 1991 replaced the floors, added brass railings and a glass elevator (the latter removed in 2013), and removed all the fountains to allow for more kiosk and seating space.[citation needed] The grand re-opening featured a concert by Tony Bennett. An expansion wing featured the first Nordstrom in Maryland[10] and the third in the Washington, D.C.. metropolitan area, and Crate & Barrel.

The Boulevard Cafes food court is located on the second level.

After the 2005 acquisition of May Department Stores by Federated Department Stores, the Hecht’s at Montgomery was renamed Macy’s in 2006.[11]

Expansion

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A plan to expand the mall by 360,000 square feet (33,000 m2) was approved by Montgomery County in September 2007. With the expansion, Westfield Montgomery has more than 1,500,000 square feet (140,000 m2), the fourth-largest mall in the Washington area behind Tysons Corner Center, Westfield Wheaton, and Fair Oaks Mall.[12]

Exterior view

In 2014, a 16-screen Arclight Cinemas opened at the mall. It closed in April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic;[13] in February 2022, AMC Theatres acquired the lease to the cinema and announced that it would reopen the following month.[14]

2016 shooting

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Main article: Eulalio Tordil shootings

On May 6, 2016, former federal police officer Eulalio Tordil shot three people in the parking lot. One victim died.[15][16]

In June 2018, Westfield announced Sears would close and transform into additional stores and an open-air mixed-use center.[17][18]

Anchors

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Current anchors

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Former anchors

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References

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  1. ^ a b Frey, David (September 15, 2014). "Mall of the Future: As many malls around the country close, Westfield Montgomery is reinventing itself with an $89-million makeover". Bethesda Magazine. Bethesda, Maryland. Retrieved February 1, 2019. Owned in a joint venture of the May Department Store Co., based in St. Louis, and Strouse, Greenberg & Co., based in Philadelphia...
  2. ^ "Westfield History". Westfield.URW.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019. In June 2018, Unibail-Rodamco merged with Westfield Corporation in the biggest M&A transaction in Australian corporate history.
  3. ^ a b "Westfield Montgomery". Westfield Group. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  4. ^ "Westfield Montgomery – Center Map". Westfield.com/Montgomery. Retrieved February 1, 2019. Nordstrom Level 3.
  5. ^ "Westfield Montgomery Shopping Mall History - Westfield Montgomery". Westfield.com. April 21, 2009. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  6. ^ "Mall Hall of Fame". Mall-Hall-of-Fame.Blogspot.com. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  7. ^ "DC Grocery - Montgomery Mall". Dcgrocery.Multiply.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  8. ^ "Montgomery Mall Expansion Planned for Fall 1973 Opening," The Washington Post, May 2, 1971, p. 149.
  9. ^ "Store in Montgomery Mall Jammed on Opening Day," The Washington Post, Mar 26, 1976, p. D10.
  10. ^ "Annapolis Nordstrom in '93 unlikely". The Baltimore Sun. July 1, 1992. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  11. ^ Washington Post, September 9, 2006
  12. ^ Killian, Eric (September 21, 2007). "Montgomery Planning board approves expansion of Westfield shopping mall". Washington Business Journal.
  13. ^ "ArcLight Cinemas will not reopen at Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda". Bethesda Magazine. 13 April 2021.
  14. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (2022-02-08). "AMC Entertainment In Lease Deals For Former ArcLight Theaters In San Diego, D.C. Markets". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  15. ^ "UPDATED: Police Monitored Shooting Suspect As He Ate Lunch in Aspen Hill Shopping Center". Retrieved 2017-08-10.
  16. ^ Zimmerman, Joe (April 20, 2017). "Westfield Montgomery Mall Shooter Expected To Plead Guilty: Eulalio Tordil is charged with killing two and injuring two others in Montgomery County". Bethesda Magazine. Bethesda, Maryland. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  17. ^ "Sears in Westfield Montgomery Mall set to close next year". 22 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Sears to shut 40 more stores early next year". CNBC. 8 November 2018.
  19. ^ Washington Post, March 21, 1999
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Westfield Montgomery.

39°01′27″N 77°08′50″W / 39.024278°N 77.147194°W / 39.024278; -77.147194