The Collection is a mixed-use development and retail center in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

. The center is located along

Wisconsin Avenue Wisconsin Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Washington, D.C., and its Maryland suburbs. The southern terminus begins in Georgetown just north of the Potomac River, at an intersection with K Street under the elevated Whitehurst Freeway. Wisco ...

near the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

-Maryland border and is a part of the

Friendship Heights Friendship Heights is an urban commercial and residential neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C., and southern Montgomery County, Maryland. Though its borders are not clearly defined, Friendship Heights consists roughly of the neighborhoods ...

commercial district. The shopping center, whose first store opened in 2005, was developed by the Chevy Chase Land Company, a privately owned development corporation that has owned the land for more than a century.

History

The Chevy Chase Land Company was founded in 1890 by U.S. Senator Francis G. Newlands, who acquired a great deal of property in the D.C. area. In 1906, the parcel where The Collection now sits was sold to a white straw buyer for a group of African American investors. When the Company and the sellers learned that the group intended to sell plots to other African Americans, they maneuvered to block the land transfer and erase the planned development of Belmont from the property books of

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

. The shopping area now called The Collection was built in the 1950s, one of the two first strip shopping centers in suburban Maryland. For some three decades, the land was a parking lot. It took a decade for the Chevy Chase Land Company to bring The Collection project to fruition, due to community opposition and county zoning requirements. Set on of land, it incorporates a park. The first stores began opening in the $165 million complex in the latter part of 2005, and the center held a grand opening celebration on May 4, 2006. Model

Petra Němcová Petra Němcová (; born 24 June 1979) is a Czech model, television host, and philanthropist who founded the ''Happy Hearts Fund''. In 2017, the ''Happy Hearts Fund'' merged with All Hands Volunteers to create All Hands And Hearts - Smart Respon ...

and

Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...

were among the featured guests at the opening party. The original tenants included

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...

, Barneys CO-OP,

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australi ...

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

, Piazza Sempione,

BVLGARI Bulgari (, ; stylized as BVLGARI) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1884 and known for its jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories, and leather goods. Headquartered in Rome, the company was acquired by the French conglomerate ...

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...

Jimmy Choo Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat (born 15 November 1948) is a Malaysian fashion designer based in the United Kingdom. He co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd, which became known for its handmade women's shoes. Early life Choo was born in 1948 in the Crown Colony ...

, and Tiffany & Co. Piazza Sempione closed in April 2011 and was replaced by Mexican restaurant Mi Cocina, which closed in November 2014. Barneys CO-OP closed in 2012. Dior, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton closed in 2016. The shopping center was updated between 2017 and June 2019, when it shifted its focus from luxury retail establishments to more neighborhood restaurants and stores. The Collection and its section of Wisconsin Avenue has been referred to as Washington's version of

Rodeo Drive Rodeo Drive () is a street in Beverly Hills, California, with its southern segment in the City of Los Angeles, known as one of the most expensive streets in the world. Its southern terminus is at Beverwil Drive, and its northern terminus is a ...

.Solomon, Mary Jane
Insiders' Guide to Washington, D.C.
p. 147 (7th ed. 2007)(ISBN 978-0762744107) For years, the surrounding shopping area had several high-end department stores, but while

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain founded in 1867 by Andrew Saks. The first store opened in the F Street and 7th Street shopping districts, F Street shopping distric ...

still operates a block to the north and

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

nearby,

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...

closed in 2020.

References

External links

The Collection at Chevy Chase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collection At Chevy Chase, The Buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Maryland Friendship Village, Maryland Tourist attractions in Montgomery County, Maryland Shopping malls in the Washington metropolitan area Shopping malls established in 2005 2005 establishments in Maryland Chevy Chase, Maryland