Towson Town Center
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Towson Town Center is a large indoor shopping mall located in Towson, Maryland. It was the largest indoor shopping mall in Maryland prior to the completion of Arundel Mills in late 2000 in Hanover. The mall consists of two main parts, an older part and a newer part. The older part, which consists of the first two floors, was formerly an open-air mall that was built in the 1960s. The mall was enclosed by the late 1970s. Over the years, stores and attractions were added on to increase traffic in the mall and make it more competitive with other malls in the area. One memorable effort was the introduction of "Gadgets," a theme restaurant with mechanical characters performing periodic shows on stage. It opened and closed in the early 1980s. Some of the original stores survived this era but later closed, including Hess Shoes, Loewmeyer's, and Friendly's.
The third and fourth floors were built in 1992. While the third and fourth floors are directly above each other, access to floors three, two, and one, respectively, are in a downhill pattern, as entire mall property is on a slope.
At opposite ends of the mall are two department stores, Macy's (formerly Hecht's) and Nordstrom. The Macy's is located on the top two floors, while the Nordstrom occupies all four floors (including Nordstrom Rack on the first floor).
The mall also features a food court on the third floor, a Rainforest Cafe on the second floor, and a T.G.I. Friday's on the first floor.
A large parking garage is connected directly to the mall structure. A popular area high school teacher was murdered on one of the garage's upper levels in 2004, leading some to worry that the crime in inner-city Baltimore was gaining a stronger foothold in the suburbs. After the murder, several reports of mugging as well as muggers with guns lead to several security upgrades with many firsts in mall security.[1]
In 2007, Towson Town Center began a $76 million expansion and renovation project that will add 113,500 sq ft (10,540 m²) to the existing structure, its largest expansion since 1992. The project includes renovations to the mall's first and second floors, parking, restaurants, and a "Main Street"-style facade with exterior shopping, which is expected to be completed by October 2008. The project will include a larger Crate & Barrel store, P.F. Chang's, Cheesecake Factory, Stoney River Legendary Steaks, Abercrombie Kids, Martin + Osa, Sephora, Zumiez, Pottery Barn, the Buckle, BCBG, and XXI Forever.[2][3]
[edit] Location
Towson Town Center is located at the intersection of York Road, Dulaney Valley Road, and Joppa Road and is also bordered in the north by Fairmount Avenue. It can be accessed from the Baltimore Beltway by taking exit 27 and heading south.
The mall is very close to Morgan State University, Goucher College, Loyola College, Towson University, the Johns Hopkins University, the Towson Sheraton hotel, and the Towson library.
Public bus service to the mall is available on Routes 3, 8, 11, and 55, operated by the Maryland Transit Administration.
[edit] Anchors
- H & M (19,632 sq ft.)
- Macy's (194,157 sq ft.)
- Nordstrom (213,000 sq ft.)
- Nordstrom Rack (31,000 sq ft.)
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Song, Jason. "Respected teacher at St. Paul's was Towson mall shooting victim" (reprint), The Baltimore Sun, 2005-02-20. Retrieved on 2007-04-24. (English)
- ^ Walker, Andrea. "Malls no more, centers looking to sell lifestyle" (reprint), The Baltimore Sun, 2007-09-13. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. (English)
- ^ "Changes under way" (reprint), The Baltimore Sun, 2007-09-13. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. (English)
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