Westfield Wheaton, formerly known as Wheaton Plaza, is a , two-level indoor

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...

in Wheaton,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, north of Washington, D.C. It is owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Its anchor stores include Macy’s, Target,

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...

, Dick's Sporting Goods, and

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Cos ...

History

On March 23, 1954, real estate developer Simon Sherman announced he had bought 80 acres (32 hectares) of land in Wheaton from Charles Heitmuller for $800,000.Heitmuller Tract Sold To Sherman: Wheaton Dealer Pays $800,000; Mum On Plans
. ''The Washington Post''. March 24, 1954. p. 17. Heitmuller was a farmer who sold fruit wholesale. At the time Sherman announced the purchase, Sherman would not disclose the plans for the site. Sherman later successfully petitioned to have the zoning for a portion of the land changed from residential to commercial zoning.Stern, Laurence.
$20 Million Shop Center For Wheaton: Regional Project Reported to Be Largest in Area
. ''The Washington Post''. February 10, 1955. p. 1. Simon Sherman announced plans for a shopping mall in Wheaton on February 9, 1955. The planned shopping mall would include 50 stores in eight buildings on 15 acres (6 hectares), and another 40 acres (10 hectares) of parking and access roads. The Wheaton Plaza's official groundbreaking was held on January 21, 1956. Giant Foods became the first store to open on the site on September 17, 1956. A

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

service station opened on Veirs Mills Road in August 1957.Plaza Suits Everyone's Taste
. ''The Washington Post''. March 30, 1960. p. C4. The developer applied for a zoning exception in order to allow a parking lot to be built on the land that had been zoned for residential use.Area Residents Oppose Wheaton Parking Area
. ''The Washington Post''. March 23, 1956. p. 42. The surrounding neighborhood advocated against the zoning exception, saying that the proposed five-foot fence surrounding the parking lot would be insufficient. Montgomery County approved the zoning exception on the condition that the developer only constructed entrances and exits on Veirs Mill Road and Kensington-Wheaton Road. Isadore M. Gudelsky and Theodore N. Lerner took over as the developers at the end of 1957. On the day before it opened, the Woodward & Lothrop store was picketed because the tea room in its location in

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

refused service to African Americans.NAACP Pickets New Store in Wheaton Plaza
. ''The Washington Post''. February 6, 1960. p. D2. Wheaton Plaza officially opened on February 5, 1960,Anderson, J.W.
Largest Shopping Center in Washington Area Opens at Wheaton Plaza: Third County Store
. ''The Washington Post''. February 6, 1960. p. C18. as a single-level, open-air mall, with Woodward & Lothrop (now JCPenney) and Montgomery Ward (now Target) as anchors. Thirteen other stores also opened on the same date.First Section of $25 Million Wheaton Plaza Opens Feb. 5
. ''The Washington Post''. January 29, 1960. p. C5. Wheaton Plaza's grand opening celebration was held on March 31, 1960.Stone, Victoria.
Plaza Will Open on Thursday
. ''The Washington Post''. p. C2. Wheaton Plaza was built in a modified Georgian architectural style with bubbles, globes, and hemispheres as part of the exterior design. It was decorated with Italian marble, exotic woods, and Florentine glass mosaic panels. There was a marble-tiled fountain that was sculpted by Barbara Chase-Riboud, art instructor from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. The center pathway was an open-air plaza, lined with boxed evergreen trees. At the time of its opening, Wheaton Plaza was the largest shopping center in the

Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

and the sixth largest in the United States. 411,000 people visited Wheaton Plaza during its first week.Goodman, S. Oliver.
First Week:411,000 Visit Wheaton Plaza
. ''The Washington Post''. February 14, 1960. p. C8. By March 1960, stores at Wheaton Plaza included Strosnider's Hardware, Dieners Carpets, Bank of Silver Spring, Lamp & Shade Center, Raleigh's Haberdasher, Baker Shoes, E. D. Edwards Shoe Store, Embassy Men's Wear, Hanover Shoes, Peoples Drug Store, Dolls and Dames, Miles Shoes, Happy Time Togs, Hahn Shoes, Variety Records, Fannie May Candy Store, Lerner Shops, National Shirt Shops, Vincent & Vincent, Webster Clothes, Winthrop Jewelers, Kay Jewelers, and Hot Shoppes. Unconventionally, the developers decided where tenants' stores needed to be located, rather than allow tenants to choose. Rents were relatively high. Store owners in downtown Silver Spring considered Wheaton Plaza to be an economic threat.Gudelsky, Lerner Built Center; Had a 'Feeling for Real Estate': Developer By Chance
. ''The Washington Post''. March 30, 1960. p. C13. Developer Theodore N. Lerner said Wheaton Plaza "is the way the future's going to be—a suburban 'downtown' with a mall and free parking." In May 1960, John F. Kennedy visited Wheaton Plaza during his presidential campaign.

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

spoke at a campaign rally for Kennedy in November 1960. In 1962, construction started on Wheaton Plaza's second office building.Montgomery's Largest Office Started
. ''The Washington Post''. September 15, 1962. p. B9. At ten stories high, it was the largest office building in Montgomery County. Hechinger opened a store at Wheaton Plaza on December 13, 1963. In 1964, the nation's first self-service post office opened in Wheaton Plaza.Eagle, George.
Self-Service Post Office Set to Open
. ''The Washington Post''. October 10, 1964. p. B1. The post office had vending machines for stamps and envelopes, and scales for customers to use. It was located in a plywood shelter in the parking lot. Wheaton Plaza remained the largest shopping center in the area until the Lerner-Gudelsky development Tysons Corner Center opened in 1968. Wheaton Plaza was the site of the 1975 disappearance of the Lyon Sisters. Their case was not solved until 2015. In 1974, a plan to enclose the mall was initiated. The seven-year delay to enclose the mall and anchor expansion by business partner Lerner, who also had interests in nearby White Flint Mall, caused a $30 million lawsuit between partners. A new wing, anchored by Hecht's, was built in 1987. Target replaced Montgomery Ward after the latter chain ceased operations. In 2005, the service tunnel beneath the mall was converted to retail space. Macy's opened a new store, shortly before Macy's owner

Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (previously Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus (departm ...

purchased Hecht's owner May Department Stores. The Hecht's store was closed after the May-Federated merger. Temporary anchor IFL Furniture took over the Hecht's location in 2006, and closed in March 2008. DSW Shoe Warehouse opened in the mall in November 2008. In 2010,

announced that it would build a new store on the site of the vacant Hecht's; Costco opened in April 2013, in a new building that also contains a Dick's Sporting Goods. In April 2025, it was revealed that the mall’s owner, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, had defaulted on a $235 million loan connected to the mall. The mall is currently one of URW’s last remaining “regional malls” in the United States.

Anchors

The mall has five anchor stores:Westfield Wheaton map
Page accessed July 24, 2015 *

- Opened in 2013 in a newly constructed building on the former site of Hecht's * Dick's Sporting Goods - Opened in 2013 sharing the upper floors of the Costco building *

- Opened in 1996 in the former anchor building of Woodward & Lothrop * Macy's - Opened in 2006 * Target - Opened in 2002 in the former anchor building of Montgomery Ward

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheaton, Westfield Wheaton Wheaton, Westfield Buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Maryland Shopping malls established in 1960 1960 establishments in Maryland Shopping malls in the Washington metropolitan area Wheaton, Maryland

History

Anchors

References

Further reading

External links