The Capital Plaza Mall was a shopping mall located at the intersection of Annapolis Road (Maryland Route 450) and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Landover Hills, Maryland. It was built between 1961 and 1963, as a regional shopping center to serve the Bladensburg and Landover area of suburban Washington, D.C. [1] The opening day festivities on August 7, 1963, were themed by the popular movie Around the World in 80 Days , and featured representatives from a dozen foreign countries, including Miss Universe Ieda Maria Vargas of Brazil. Maryland Gov. J. Millard Tawes officiated at the grand opening. [2] The $11 million, 45 store shopping center originally included branches of S.S. Kresge, Kroger, People's Drug Store, Thom McAn Shoes, Lerner's, and a Hot Shoppes drive in restaurant. The anchor store was a Montgomery Ward. It was later joined by a Bradlees (opened and operated briefly in 1982 as Memco), which became branch of the Washington, D.C. based hardware / home improvement center Hechinger's. Following the opening of nearby Landover Mall in the 1970's, Capital Plaza began a long, slow descent. The former open air shopping center was enclosed in 1985. The plaza grounds also served as the local home of the UniverSoul Circus. [3] [4] In 1999-2000, the parent companies for the two main stores, Hechinger's and Montgomery Ward, both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. With almost all store fronts empty, in 2005, the mall was torn down and replaced with a Wal-Mart. [5] [6] The Wal-Mart opened in March 2007 and is the first and only Wal-Mart located inside of the Capital Beltway. [7]

CAPITAL PLAZA MALL TICKETS EVENT DATE AVAILABILITY Circus Vazquez Tickets 9/4 Sep 04, 2026 Fri, 7:00 PM Circus Vazquez Tickets 9/5 Sep 05, 2026 Sat, 7:00 PM Circus Vazquez Tickets 9/5 Sep 05, 2026 Sat, 4:00 PM Circus Vazquez Tickets 9/5 Sep 05, 2026 Sat, 1:00 PM Circus Vazquez Tickets 9/6 Sep 06, 2026 Sun, 1:00 PM

Former anchors

• Montgomery Ward -- original anchor
• Bradlees -- later Hechinger's

References

1. "$11 Million Shop Center To Include Ward Store," ''The Washington Post, Times Herald'', Sep 12, 1961, p. A20.
2. "Capital Plaza Center Opened by Gov. Tawes," by Donald L. Hymes, ''The Washington Post, Times Herald'', Aug 8, 1963, p. A17.
3. "UniverSoul's Big Top Circus; Alligators and Contortionists And Lots of Notorious F.U.N.," by Esther Iverem,'' The Washington Post'', Jul 4, 1998, p. D1.
4. A Happy Landing For Chinese Aerialists; Troupe Has Joined UniverSoul Circus," by Sarah Gebhardt, ''The Washington Post'', Jun 9, 2005, p. T23.
5. "Capital Plaza Could Have Sheltered the Hurricane Refugees," by Margie Burns, ''The Baltimore Chronicle'', Sept 2, 2005 (accessed Aug 21, 2008).
6. "Wal-Mart to the rescue in Landover Hills: Store to help kickstart town's revitalization," by Matt Castner, ''University of Maryland Diamondback'', Mar 1, 2005.
7. "Without Fanfare, Wal-Mart Opens in Landover Hills," by Ylan Q Mui, ''The Washington Post'', Mar 23, 2007, p. D4.