Westfield Montgomery (formerly Montgomery Mall), is an upscale shopping mall in Bethesda, Maryland. The mall is anchored by Macy's, Macy's Home, and Nordstrom. It has a 16-screen cinema operated by AMC Theatres.

History

Montgomery Mall in 1973

The mall was built in the late 1960s as a joint venture between The May Department Stores Company and Strouse, Greenberg & Co. The building was based on a design by John Graham, Jr. and Ward and Hall.[5][6][1]

It opened in March 1968 with three anchor stores—Hecht's, Garfinckel's, and Sears—and 58 smaller shops, including a Bond Stores outlet. The original 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 retail space for 40 stores.[8][9]

On March 1, 1976, longtime fugitive William Bradford Bishop bought a ball peen hammer and a 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 the fountains to allow more kiosks and seating space.[citation needed] Crate & Barrel moved into an expansion wing, as did Nordstrom, becoming the chain's first store in Maryland[10] and the third in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The grand re-opening included a concert by Tony Bennett.

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]

On May 1, 2016, a new transit center at the mall replaced the old one.[12]

Expansion

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.[13]

Inside of the mall

In 2014, a 16-screen Arclight Cinemas opened at the mall. It closed in April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic;[14] in February 2022, AMC Theatres acquired the lease to the cinema and announced that it would reopen the following month.[15]

In June 2018, Westfield announced that Sears would close and the space used for smaller stores and an open-air mixed-use center.[16][17] Demolition is to start on the former Sears building in 2026.[18]

2016 shooting

On May 6, 2016, former federal police officer Eulalio Tordil shot three people in the parking lot. One victim died.[19][20]

References

  1. 1 2 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. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. 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. 1 2 "Westfield Montgomery". Westfield Group. Archived from the original on February 21, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Westfield Montgomery – Center Map". Westfield.com/Montgomery. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2019. Nordstrom Level 3.
  5. ↑ "Discover the History of Westfield Montgomery Mall!". libertywaterdamagerestoration.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2026. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Mall Hall of Fame". Mall-Hall-of-Fame.Blogspot.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  7. ↑ "DC Grocery - Montgomery Mall". Dcgrocery.Multiply.com. Retrieved January 31, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  8. ↑ Scharfenberg, Kirk (May 2, 1971). "Montgomery Mall Expansion Planned for Fall 1973 Opening". The Washington Post, Times Herald. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  9. ↑ Levy, Claudia (March 26, 1976). "Store in Montgomery Mall Jammed on Opening Day: Woodies Profits Up Nearly 50%". Washington :Post. pp. D10.
  10. ↑ Gunts, Edward; Dresser, Michael (July 1, 1992). "Annapolis Nordstrom in '93 unlikely". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 31, 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ↑ Mui, Ylan Q. (September 9, 2006). "Era Ends With New Beginning". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on October 11, 2025. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  12. ↑ "New Transit Center to Open May 1 at Westfield Montgomery Mall". Bethesda Magazine. March 21, 2016.
  13. ↑ Killian, Eric (September 21, 2007). "Montgomery Planning board approves expansion of Westfield shopping mall". Washington Business Journal.
  14. ↑ Schere, Dan (April 13, 2021). "ArcLight Cinemas will not reopen at Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda". Bethesda Magazine. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  15. ↑ Goldsmith, Jill (February 8, 2022). "AMC Entertainment In Lease Deals For Former ArcLight Theaters In San Diego, D.C. Markets". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  16. ↑ Ortiz, Jennifer (June 22, 2018). "Sears in Westfield Montgomery Mall set to close next year". WTOP.
  17. ↑ Thomas, Lauren; Hirsch, Lauren (November 8, 2018). "Sears to shut 40 more stores early next year". CNBC. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  18. ↑ Halpern, Amy (June 4, 2025). "From Bethesda Magazine: What's happening at Westfield Montgomery mall?". Bethesda Magazine. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  19. ↑ Metcalf, Andrew (May 6, 2016). "UPDATED: Police Monitored Shooting Suspect As He Ate Lunch in Aspen Hill Shopping Center". Bethesda Today. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  20. ↑ 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.

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

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westfield_Montgomery