Westfield Wheaton, formerly known as Wheaton Plaza, is a 1.7 million square-foot, two-level indoor

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 ref ...

in Wheaton,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, north of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It is owned by

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE (previously Unibail-Rodamco SE) is a French commercial real estate company headquartered in Paris, France. Its history originates with the formation of two separate shopping centre operators, Unibail (founded in Fra ...

and Its anchor stores include Macy’s,

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, ...

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 ...

Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized as "DICK'S Sporting Goods") is an American sporting goods retail company, based in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The company was established by Richard "Dick" Stack in 1948, and has approximately 854 stores an ...

, and

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco ...

History

On March 23, 1954, real estate developer Simon Sherman announced he had bought 80 acres 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, and another 40 acres 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 ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

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 a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

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 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 ...

(now JCPenney) and

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

(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 research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

. 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 commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...

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, 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 Sterling Jewelers, Inc. is an American specialty jewelry company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company was founded in 1910 by Henry Shaw (the father of Jerry Shaw, the chairman emeritus of Sterling today), from LeRoy's Jewelers in Lorain, Oh ...

, 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 Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 cens ...

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 President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four t ...

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 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 ...

, was built in 1987.

replaced Montgomery Ward after the latter chain ceased operations. In 2005, the service tunnel beneath the mall was converted to retail space.

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 ...

opened a new store, shortly before Macy's owner

Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (originally Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American conglomerate holding company. Upon its establishment, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus, Filene's, and Shill ...

purchased Hecht's owner

May Department Stores The May Department Stores Company was an American department store holding company, formerly headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado, by David May in 1877, moving to St. Louis in 1905. After many ch ...

. 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

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

- Opened in 2013 sharing the upper floors of the Costco building *

- Opened in 1996 in the former anchor building of

- Opened in 2006 *

- Opened in 2002 in the former anchor building of

References

External links

* {{Coord, 39.036, -77.054, format=dms, type:landmark_region:US-MD, display=title 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