Tysons Corner Center

Tysons Corner Center

The new entrance to Tysons Corner Center leading from the Washington Metro Silver Line mezzanine.
Location	Tysons Corner, Virginia, USA
Opening date	1968
Developer	Lerner Enterprises
Owner	Macerich
No. of stores and services	300+
No. of anchor tenants	5
Total retail floor area	2.4 million ft²
No. of floors	3
Parking	Surfaced lots as well as 5 parking terraces
Website	http://www.shoptysons.com

Tysons Corner Center, located in the Tysons Corner unincorporated area in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States (between McLean and Vienna, Virginia), opened to the public in 1968, becoming one of the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping malls in the Washington metropolitan area.

It is the largest shopping mall in the state and in the Baltimore-Washington area. Tysons Corner Center is located 12.5 miles (20.1 kilometers) from the Central Business District of Washington D.C. and neighbors the more upscale Tysons Galleria mall across Chain Bridge Road.

History

Tysons Corner Center was one of the first super-regional malls in the country, drawing customers from a multi-state area. As of 2014, the mall's four department store anchors are Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, Macy's; and a recent expansion (opened 2005) off the former JCPenney structure is anchored by a 16-screen AMC multiplex movie theater, a Barnes & Noble bookstore, and an Old Navy. Tysons Corner Center is the largest mall in the metropolitan area and the 13th largest in the United States. A second, more upscale mall, called Tysons Galleria, operates across the street from Tysons Corner Center within the Tysons II office development (with many people referring to the mall itself as "Tysons II"); it opened in 1988. To distinguish, many call the original mall "Tysons I."

The mall was built as a follow-on partnership by Isadore Guldesky and Theodore Lerner's Wheaton Plaza which opened in 1960. On May 31, 1962 the $20 million project was awarded to Lerner-Gudelsky by a 4-2 vote against James Rouse's Rouse Company with a controversial vote by William H Moss, a County supervisor who also worked for Gudelsky's District Title Insurance Company. A lawsuit involving an exchange of a lease for Lansburgh's in exchange for favorable zoning for the location delayed the opening until 1969. The Mall originally had 5 courts which were the Umbrella Court in front of Lansburgh's, Fashion Court, Fountain Court in front of Hechts, Aviary Court and the Clock Court located near the Woodie's entrance. The fashion court stage and flight cage in the aviary court were replaced with fountains when the lower level was added, causing these areas to be mistakenly called "fountain courts" while the original fountains were removed from the Hecht's entrance. One of the few remaining pieces of the original infrastructure of the 1968 mall visible to patrons are the escalators between the second and third floor of Bloomingdale's, which are the original Lansburgh's escalators.

From its opening until the 1990s, the mall contained a wide and diverse retail mix. Discount chain Woolworth's operated a store in the mall until the entire chain went under in 1997. Hot Shoppes cafeteria also occupied space in the mall until 1998. These types of stores shared space with higher-end tenants such as Liz Claiborne and A/X Armani Exchange. In the 2000s, under the ownership of Wilmorite Properties, the mall re-tenanted with more upscale stores, reflecting the demographics of the surrounding area, and has served as the primary launchpad location for a number of successful retail chains. LL Bean opened its first full line department store outside of its Freeport, Maine headquarters in 2000. Apple opened the first of its retail stores at Tysons in 2001. Martin + Osa and Cusp by Neiman Marcus opened in 2006. MNG By Mango made their U.S. debut at Tysons in 2006 as well. In 2007, Canadian-based clothing retailer Garage opened its first U.S. store at Tysons. Many retailers have flagship stores at the mall, including Pottery Barn and Victoria's Secret.

Soon after Tysons Corner Center was constructed, the land surrounding the area — previously consisting of farms and rural residences — became prime real estate, prompting the construction of hotels, office buildings, and apartment complexes. Major retailers near Tysons Corner Center include Crate & Barrel, Tiffany & Co., Hermes Paris, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci, some of which are located in Fairfax Square.

The first Apple Store opened in Tysons Corner Center.

Originally, the mall consisted of 1.2 million square feet (110,000 m²) on one level, three department stores (Hecht's, Lansburgh's, and Woodward & Lothrop), and 100 specialty stores, including Jelleff's. In 1988, the mall was expanded to add a bottom floor, at which time Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom opened; this was the first Nordstrom east of the Mississippi River. Today, the mall has 2.1 million square feet (195,000 m²) of retail space on three levels, 16 movie screens, and nearly 300 stores. As part of the upcoming "Tysons Future" renovation and expansion plans, a glass elevator has been added to the Fashion Court (where the Nordstrom wing meets the main mall hallway), which opened on November 28, 2008.

File:Tysons Mall.jpg

Inside Tysons Corner Center in the expansion wing.

Notable openings

• First Nordstrom outside of the West Coast (1988)
• First L.L. Bean outside of original Freeport, Maine store (2000)
• First Apple Store in the world (2001)
• First American Girl in the Washington, D.C. area (2011)
• First Microsoft Store in the Northeast (2011)

Plans

The Washington Metro subway (Silver Line) has expanded westward to Tysons Corner, and eventually will be extended to Dulles Airport and beyond. The Tysons Corner station on the Silver Line is on the north side of the shopping center where Tysons Boulevard crosses State Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road). There are four stations in the Tysons Corner area. Utility relocation for the project began in 2008. The Silver Line opened July 26, 2014.

The Macerich Company, who acquired owner Wilmorite Properties in 2005, is developing Tysons Corner Center into a community location. There will be expansions for residential and commercial buildings, along with a hotel. There will also be slight expansions to the mall. The project will be completed in four stages and it is expected to be finished in 10 to 15 years, adding 3,500,000 sq ft (325,160 m²) of office, residential, and retail space.

Anchors

• AMC Theatres (105,122 sq ft., 16 screens) — opened 2005
• Bloomingdale's (255,888 sq ft. on 4 floors) — opened 1969 as Lansburgh's, closed in 1972/1973. Reopened as Lit Brothers in 1973, Closed in 1975. Renovated/Reopened as Bloomingdale's (the first store in the Washington, D.C. area) in 1976. Lower level added in 1988-1990
• Lord & Taylor (119,500 sq ft. on 2 floors) — opened 1990
• L.L. Bean (75,778 sq ft. on 2 floors) — opened 2000
• Macy's (237,076 sq ft. on 3 floors) — opened 1968 as Hecht's, Converted to Macy's in September 2006
• Nordstrom (200,000 sq ft. on 3 floors) — opened 1988

Former anchors

• Lansburgh's — opened October 19, 1969. Closed 1973 and replaced by Lit Brothers
• Lit Brothers — opened 1973. Closed 1975, and replaced by Bloomingdale's
• Hecht's — Opened 1968. Closed 2006, and replaced by Macy's
• Woodward & Lothrop — opened 1968. Closed 1995, and replaced by JCPenney
• JCPenney — opened 1995. Closed 2003, and renovated into a 3-level mall space anchored by AMC Theatres and Barnes & Noble

See also

• Tysons Galleria — an upscale shopping mall located directly north of Tysons Corner Center
• Fairfax Square — an upscale mixed-use development located directly south of Tysons Corner Center
• List of the world's largest shopping malls
• List of largest shopping malls in the United States

External links

• Official site
• Tysons Corner expansion site