The Landmark Mall, or Landmark Regional Shopping Center, is located in a triangle formed by Duke Street (Virginia State Route 236), Shirley Highway (I-395), and Van Dorn Street (Virginia State Route 401) in Alexandria, Virginia.
The mall opened in 1965, and was the first mall in the Washington D.C. area to feature three anchor department stores; the Hecht Company (now Macy's) (163,000 sq ft), Sears and Roebuck (236,000 sq ft), and Woodward & Lothrop (later JCPenney, then Lord & Taylor, now vacant) (151,000 sq ft). The mall opening occurred on August 4, 1965, when then Lt. Gov. Mills E. Godwin, Jr. cut the ceremonial ribbon. The mall opened with 32 stores in the 675,000-square-foot (62,700 m2) center including Bond Clothes, Casual Corner, People's Drug Store, Raleigh Haberdasher, Thom McAn, and Waldenbooks. The center also included the second location of S&W Cafeteria in the Washington D.C. suburbs.
Originally an outdoor mall, it was enclosed about 1990. It is currently owned by General Growth Properties.
Plans were announced in 2008 to revitalize the mall by converting it to an open-air "town center" shopping center. Those plans have been put on hold with General Growth's bankruptcy filing in April 2009; the mall itself filed for bankruptcy at the same time.
Lord & Taylor announced on May 29, 2009, that it would be closing its store at the mall.
As of early 2013, whole wings of the mall stand largely unoccupied and only two anchors remain (Sears and Macy's). The old Lord & Taylor spot also remains unoccupied as does its parking garage.
Famous quotes containing the words landmark and/or mall:
“They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
Uncoffined—just as found:
His landmark is a kopje-crest
That breaks the veldt around;”
—Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)
“Finishing schools in the fifties were a good place to store girls for a few years before marrying them off, a satisfactory rest stop between college weekends spent husband hunting. It was a haven for those of us adept at styling each other’s hair, playing canasta, and chain smoking Pall Mall extra-long cigarettes.”
—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)