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 the 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 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 2005, 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 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 was largely completed in October 2008. The project includes a larger Crate & Barrel store, P.F. Chang's, Cheesecake Factory, Abercrombie kids, Martin + Osa, Cinnabon, Lucky Brand Jeans, Sephora, Fossil, Lush cosmetics, Bose, Zumiez, Pottery Barn, the Buckle, BCBG MaxAzria, Swarovski, Bare Escentuals, Panchero's Mexican Grill, Burberry, Lacoste, Louis Vuitton, and XXI Forever. Stoney River Legendary Steaks and Ed Hardy will open in late 2009.[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 Goucher College, Towson 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. The Collegetown Network, a joint venture of many higher-education institutions in and around Baltimore, also operates a shuttle service that transports many students to and from the mall.
[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 (2005-02-20). "Respected teacher at St. Paul's was Towson mall shooting victim" (in English) (reprint). The Baltimore Sun. http://www.jrrobertssecurity.com/security-news/security-crime-news0039.htm. Retrieved on 2007-04-24.
- ^ Walker, Andrea (2007-09-13). "Malls no more, centers looking to sell lifestyle" (in English) (reprint). The Baltimore Sun. http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.malls13sep13,0,6264138,print.story. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Changes under way" (in English) (reprint). The Baltimore Sun. 2007-09-13. http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.malls13bsep13,0,855720,print.story. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
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