Westfield Annapolis

Westfield Annapolis is a shopping mall, owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and is located near the junction of U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 97 in Parole, near Annapolis, Maryland. As of 2022, the mall features Macy's and JCPenney.

Westfield Annapolis
Outside of the Forever 21
LocationAnnapolis, Maryland
Coordinates38.989736°N 76.545138°W / 38.989736; -76.545138
Address2002 Annapolis Mall
Opening date1980[1]
DeveloperMay Centers, Inc.
ManagementUnibail-Rodamco-Westfield
OwnerUnibail-Rodamco-Westfield
No. of stores and servicesover 240[2]
No. of anchor tenants2[2]
Total retail floor area1,416,774 sq ft (131,622.6 m2).
No. of floors1 (2 in Macy's, Forever 21, and Crate & Barrel, small mezzanine level next to movie theater)[3]
Parking4,376 spots, including three 3-floor Parking Garages, and rooftop parking.
Public transit accessBus transport MTA Maryland bus: 210, 215
Bus transport Annapolis Transit bus: Red, Yellow, Green, Gold, Brown, Purple-North, Purple-South
Websitewww.westfield.com/united-states/annapolis

History

The site was at one time the location of the Annapolis terminus of the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway, and was known as the "Best Gate" station, which had three single-ended and four double-ended sidings, where rail cars could be shunted on or off of the single-track WB&A east–west railway which ran to the north–south Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad lines.[4] This "Best Gate" station gave the name to the nearby Bestgate Road, which today runs along the northern perimeter of the mall.

A free-standing, single-level Montgomery Ward store occupied the site during the 1970s. Following the construction and opening of a single-level mall on the site in 1980, Montgomery Ward became an anchor. Additional anchor stores included Washington, D.C.-based Garfinckel's and Hecht's, both with two levels. The mall was expanded in 1983 with the addition of a single-level JCPenney. Garfinckel's closed in 1990 after the company went bankrupt. The mall was expanded again in 1994 with the addition of a two-level Nordstrom store as well as an expanded food court. In 1998 a two-level Lord & Taylor store opened which was followed by the opening of an 11-screen movie theater. The Montgomery Ward store closed in 2001 and in 2002 was replaced with a Sears store. Hecht's became Macy's in September 2006. Another large addition to the mall was completed in 2007, which included an expansion of the existing JCPenney store.

The former Garfinckel's space once housed a two-level Borders Books and Music store which operated during the mid-2000s until its closure in 2011. A two-level Forever 21 store now occupies the space. Nordstrom added on in 1994.[5]

Lord & Taylor announced in August 2017 that they would close. Westfield announced its space would be reconstructed into additional stores including The Container Store.[6][7][8][9]

Inside of the mall

In April 2018, Anne Arundel County Public Library opened a temporary branch called "Discoveries: the Library at the Mall", in Westfield Annapolis.[10] It moved to a permanent location in the former American Eagle and Charlotte Russe stores in February 2020.[11] Since July 2021, the library includes a Community Pantry where staff distribute diapers, baby supplies, hygiene items and menstrual supplies weekly.[12]

In May 2020, Nordstrom, which maintains several additional outposts, announced it would shutter during a wave of secondary store closures.[13][14]

The SPCA of Anne Arundel County, which opened an animal shelter called "Paws at the Mall" at Westfield Annapolis in September 2020, says it is the only such shelter in the U.S. that is located within a mall.[15]

In April 2022, AMC Theatres announced the acquisition of seven Bow Tie Cinemas locations, including their location at Westfield Annapolis.[16] The theater reopened as AMC Annapolis Mall 11 on the weekend of April 21, 2022.

2006 shooting

On Saturday, November 18, 2006, an off-duty United States Secret Service agent was at the mall when he witnessed a fight in progress in the food court. During the attempt to break up the fight, one of the combatants pulled a gun and fired at the agent, wounding him. The agent returned fire, hitting the shooter twice. A third person was wounded in the altercation.[17][18] A midshipman from the U.S. Naval Academy ran toward the sound of gunshots and provided first aid for the Secret Service agent. That midshipman later received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.[19] The mall was closed shortly after the incident, with all patrons asked to leave over the public address system.[17] The associated trial ended in December 2007 and the shooter was sentenced to 65 years in prison.[20]

Current anchors

Former anchors

References
  1. McCaffrey, Raymond (May 22, 2008). "Annapolis Eyes Funds for Main Street". The Washington Post. p. AA03. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  2. "Westfield – Annapolis". westfield.com. Westfield Group. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  3. "Find it" (PDF). westfield.com. Westfield Group. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  4. American Electric Railway Association (1906). Proceedings of the American Electric Railway Association.
  5. Dresser, Michael (July 1, 1992). "Annapolis Nordstrom in '93 unlikely". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  6. Sharrow, Ryan (November 16, 2017). "Lord & Taylor closing Annapolis store". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  7. "Westfield Annapolis To Transform Former Lord & Taylor Building Into New Retail District". 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  8. Price, Lilly (June 20, 2020). "Macy's plans to lay off 234 employees at Annapolis, Columbia malls". Capital Gazette. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  9. Baumgart, Jacob (March 8, 2021). "Container Store Coming To Annapolis Mall: Report". Patch. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  10. Cook, Chase (May 16, 2019). "Inside Discoveries, Anne Arundel's mall library experiment could go permanent". Capital Gazette. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  11. "New Anne Arundel County Public Library opens in Annapolis Mall". WBAL. February 25, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  12. Conaway, Donovan (July 17, 2021). "Community Pantry opens at Discoveries: The Library at the Mall in Annapolis". Capital Gazette. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  13. Moin, David (May 7, 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: Where Nordstrom Has Closed Stores for Good". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  14. Farnsworth, Beth (May 7, 2020). "Nordstrom Santa Barbara Paseo Nuevo to close by August". keyt.com. NPG of California. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  15. "Have you visited Paws at the Mall?". SPCA of Anne Arundel County. January 12, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  16. D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 12, 2022). "AMC Increases Footprint In Connecticut, NY & Maryland With Acquisition Of Seven Bow Tie Cinemas". Deadline. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  17. "Secret Service agent wounded in mall shooting". NBC News. Microsoft. Associated Press. November 19, 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  18. "Teen Gets 65 Years In Annapolis Mall Shooting". WBAL-TV. The Associated Press. December 21, 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  19. Valcourt, Derek (January 18, 2007). "Midshipman Honored As Hero In Md. Mall Shooting". WJZ TV. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  20. Fuller, Nicole (December 22, 2007). "Teen gets 65 years for mall shooting". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
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