HARUNDALE MALL
Governor Ritchie Highway and Aquahart Road
Anne Arundel County (Glen Burnie), Maryland
Noteworthy as the first fully-enclosed, climate-controlled shopping center east of the Mississippi, HARUNDALE MALL was developed on a 33-acre tract, located 9 miles south of downtown Baltimore. The site was situated in a section of unincorporated Anne Arundel County known as Glen Burnie. The shopping complex was a component of Harundale, a 1,200 home, post-war housing development. The name
Harundale was derived from an old Anglo-Saxon phrase "dale of the swallows."
Designed by the the firm of Rogers, Taliaferro & Lamb, the 10 million dollar complex was the first built under the auspices of Community Research & Development, a subsidiary of the James W. Rouse Company. The "Anne Arundel Shopping Center" project was a joint venture of Mr. Rouse and Baltimore's Jack Meyerhoff and Charles Steffey.
HARUNDALE MALL held its official grand opening on October 1, 1958, with a great deal of fanfare. John F. Kennedy, then a junior US Senator from Massachusetts, was on hand to cut the ceremonial ribbon. Anchoring the 317,800 square foot retail venue was a 2-level (102,300 square foot), Baltimore-based Hochschild-Kohn department store.
There were also a (39,000 square foot) G.C. Murphy 5 & 10, (22,000 square foot) S.S. Kresge 5 & 10, (24,000 square foot) Food Fair supermarket and (10,600 square foot) Read's Drug. HARUNDALE MALL housed a total of thirty-two store spaces and eight "on the mall" kiosks. A freestanding strip center, which had been built in 1950, encompassed 21,300 square feet. It housed nine stores and services, including Eddie's Market, Allen Drug and the White Coffee Pot Cafe.
The mall structure was centered on two court areas. The Palm Court was in the northern part of the complex. It featured a large rock, which was the centerpiece of a tropical planter, fountain and 35-foot-high bird aviary. Hochschild-Kohn's Severn Room terrace restaurant overlooked this area. A Community Room and mall office were part of a second level that was accessed from a Palm Court stairway that wrapped around two sides of the fountain.
As a footnote, an urban legend circulated a few years after the opening of the mall. It told of mynah birds in the aviary that had been taught several off-color words by local teenagers. The "cursing mynahs," and their cage, were eventually removed.
The Garden Court, in the south end of the mall, was flanked by the G.C. Murphy, S.S. Kresge, Oppenheim-Collins and Sherwin-Williams stores and included a sunken Sidewalk Cafe.
The General Cinema Corporation Cinema at Harundale Mall showed its first feature on July 16, 1964. The venue was built on a pad located across Aquahart Road, which was northwest of the shopping center. The theater was twinned in the spring of 1973 and shuttered in May 1989.
HARUNDALE was the premier shopping destination in the southern environs of Greater Baltimore for several years. The opening of GLEN BURNIE MALL (1964) {2.5 miles north, in Anne Arundel County} did not result in any measurable loss of business.
Nonetheless, HARUNDALE was renovated on one occasion. A quarter of a million dollar face lift was done between July and November of 1980. During the project, new tile floors were installed, surfaces painted and the South Court remodeled. Stores in business during this time frame included Docktor Pet Center, Buddy's men's wear, Hammann Music, Raymond's Formal Wear and Sander's Keepsake Diamond Center.
It would be 23 years before HARUNDALE would face true competition. This began on February 24, 1987, with the completion of MARLEY STATION MALL {.8 mile south, in Anne Arundel County}.
Hochschild-Kohn at HARUNDALE MALL was sold to Baltimore-based Hutzler's in April 1984. This store was rebranded as a Hutzler's in October 1984 and downsized to a Hutzler's Discount Store in September 1988. It closed for good on December 31st of the same year. Richmond, Virginia-based Value City opened in the (53,000 square foot) first floor on July 27, 1989.
By this time, most of the original tenants at HARUNDALE had long since vacated. Food Fair had been converted to a Panty Pride in December 1969. This store was shuttered in August 1981. G.C. Murphy was rebranded as a McCrory's variety store in 1990. The Hochschild-Kohn Severn Room restaurant had become a Horn & Horn Cafeteria. New tenants, circa-1993, included Athletic Express, Afterthoughts Boutique and Dollar Tree.
The Rouse Company put the struggling center up for sale in April 1995. It was acquired by the Columbia, Maryland-based Manekin Corporation in December 1997. They decided to raze the aging -but historic- shopping center. Tenants were given eviction notices, with the final stores closing in May 1999. Demolition was well underway by June. Only the Hochschild-Kohn (Value City) building was left standing. It was expanded by 28,700 square feet and incorporated into a 20 million dollar power center.
Known as HARUNDALE PLAZA, the 217,700 square foot complex was anchored by the aforementioned Value City. Framingham, Massachusetts-based A.J. Wright opened for business November 4, 1999 followed by a Woodlawn, Maryland-based Super Fresh Superstore, which began business on December 3, 1999.
Value city was shuttered in October 2008 and soon re-opened as a Burlington Coat Factory. A.J. Wright closed, along with the entire chain, in February 2011. The HARUNDALE PLAZA store re-opened as HomeGoods in May 2011. The Super Fresh store shut down in July 2011. It was replaced by Regency Furniture on November 15, 2014. In the 2020s, HARUNDALE PLAZA is owned and operated by Beachwood, Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty, who acquired the facility in February 2007.
Sources:
The Baltimore Sun
The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland)
Barbara S. and Jan B., past and present Maryland residents
"1,190,000 of Participations in Partnership Interests in Harundale Mall Associates" prospectus, February 18, 1960
https://www.cinematreasures.org
http://www.city-data.com / Baltimore Forum
http://www.ddr.com / Developers Diversified Realty
"Hochschild-Kohn" and "Hutzler's" articles on Wikipedia
