Ellsworth Place

Ellsworth Place is a six-story enclosed shopping and entertainment center in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, at the intersection of Fenton Street and Colesville Road, also designated U.S. Route 29. The property opened on April 2, 1992, under the name City Place Mall. It occupies approximately 350,000 square feet and is notable for its vertical, urban format rather than the broad horizontal layout typical of suburban regional malls. The center was built around and expanded from a former Hecht Company department-store building. Hecht's opened the original Silver Spring location in 1947 as the department-store chain's first suburban Washington, D.C., branch. That store closed in 1987 after Hecht's opened a location at Wheaton Plaza, while the building was subsequently adapted and enlarged for the City Place Mall project. From its opening, the mall emphasized value-oriented and off-price retail. Early tenants included Nordstrom Rack and Ross Dress for Less, positioning the center as an accessible alternative to traditional full-price department stores. The property also contained an AMC movie theater on its fifth floor, although that cinema closed after a much larger Consolidated Theatres complex opened directly across Ellsworth Drive; the cinema operator is now associated with the Regal brand. A redevelopment during the early 2000s added street-level shops and restaurants, integrating the property more closely with downtown Silver Spring's pedestrian-oriented commercial district. Examples of street-facing tenants included PNC Bank, MOD Pizza, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Ben & Jerry's. This evolution reflected wider changes in Silver Spring, where redevelopment and densification from roughly 2005 through 2020 strengthened the area as a retail, dining, and entertainment hub within the Washington metropolitan region. The property was later renamed Ellsworth Place. Its tenant mix has included a two-story Burlington Coat Factory, Nordstrom Rack, Dave & Buster's, DSW, Five Below, Marshalls, Michaels, and Ross Dress for Less. Dave & Buster's opened at the center in November 2016, adding a major games-and-dining attraction. DSW was identified as a tenant in August 2022. The combination of discount apparel, specialty retail, crafts, footwear, restaurants, and entertainment gives Ellsworth Place a practical, high-frequency local shopping role rather than a luxury or destination-fashion identity. Ellsworth Place is therefore best understood as an urban retail property and shopping-center brand whose identity has changed from City Place Mall to Ellsworth Place while retaining its central Silver Spring location and mixed retail-entertainment function.

Ellsworth Place occupies a building with roots in Silver Spring's postwar retail development. In 1947, the Hecht Company opened a department store at the site, its first suburban Washington, D.C., branch. The store served the growing suburban population around the capital and helped establish Silver Spring as an important commercial center outside central Washington. Hecht's downtown Silver Spring operation closed in 1987 after the company opened a store at Wheaton Plaza. The former department-store structure was later expanded and adapted into a multi-level enclosed shopping center. City Place Mall opened on April 2, 1992. Its six-story configuration and approximately 350,000-square-foot footprint reflected the constraints and opportunities of a dense downtown site. Rather than functioning as a conventional low-rise suburban mall, the project used a vertical arrangement to combine retail, food, services, and entertainment within an existing urban district. The initial tenant strategy leaned toward off-price and value retail. Nordstrom Rack and Ross Dress for Less were among the original tenants, while other retailers helped give the center a broad everyday-shopping orientation. An AMC cinema operated on the fifth floor for a period, but it closed after a 20-screen Consolidated Theatres complex opened across Ellsworth Drive. That competing cinema development changed the local entertainment landscape and reduced the role of the mall's own theater. During the early 2000s, the property underwent redevelopment that added a row of street-level shops. These additions included PNC Bank, MOD Pizza, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Ben & Jerry's. The street-level component helped connect the enclosed mall with downtown Silver Spring's sidewalks and surrounding commercial activity, making the property less dependent on an inward-facing mall format. In 2005, the center hosted a free performance by the then-emerging singer Rihanna. The concert was sponsored by the radio station Hot 99.5 and supported her debut album, Music of the Sun. Proceeds were donated to victims of Hurricane Katrina. The event used a temporary stage constructed over the center-court fountain and represented the property's role as a community and promotional venue as well as a place for shopping. The mall was subsequently known as Ellsworth Place. Silver Spring itself underwent substantial renovation and densification from approximately 2005 to 2020, with new residential, retail, dining, and entertainment activity reinforcing downtown's position within the Washington metropolitan area. Ellsworth Place benefited from this environment by maintaining a tenant mix combining national off-price retailers, specialty stores, restaurants, and entertainment. Dave & Buster's opened at the property in November 2016, adding a large-scale games-and-dining use. By August 2022, the listed tenant mix included a two-story Burlington Coat Factory, Nordstrom Rack, Dave & Buster's, DSW, Five Below, Marshalls, Michaels, and Ross Dress for Less. Together, these occupants show the center's continuing emphasis on accessible merchandise and high-frequency services, supplemented by dining and recreation. The available reference material does not identify a specific founding individual, current owner, corporate parent, or executive team.

• 2022

  DSW included in tenant mix

  [1]Ellsworth Placeen.wikipedia.org

  DSW was listed among the center's tenants as of August 2022.

• 2016

  Dave & Buster's opens

  [1]Ellsworth Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Dave & Buster's opened at Ellsworth Place in November, strengthening the center's entertainment and dining offer.

• 2005

  Rihanna performs at the mall

  [1]Ellsworth Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Rihanna performed a free promotional concert at the center in support of her debut album, with proceeds directed to Hurricane Katrina victims.

• 1992

  City Place Mall opens

  [1]Ellsworth Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The expanded and adapted property opened as City Place Mall on April 2, 1992.

• 1987

  Downtown Silver Spring Hecht's closes

  [1]Ellsworth Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The Hecht's store closed after the chain opened a location at Wheaton Plaza, leaving the building available for later redevelopment.

• 1947

  Hecht Company opens at the site

  [1]Ellsworth Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The Hecht Company opened the first suburban Washington, D.C., branch of its department-store chain in Silver Spring at the location later associated with Ellsworth Place.

An urban, value-oriented shopping and entertainment destination serving downtown Silver Spring and the wider Washington metropolitan area.

• Shopping center · 1992

  Ellsworth Place shopping center

  The core offering is a six-story, enclosed urban shopping center of approximately 350,000 square feet. It combines national value retailers, specialty stores, restaurants, services, and entertainment in downtown Silver Spring. Its vertical design reflects the site's established urban setting and distinguishes it from large, horizontally planned suburban malls.

• Retail · 1992

  Off-price retail mix

  Ellsworth Place has historically emphasized accessible, discount-oriented merchandise. Nordstrom Rack and Ross Dress for Less were original tenants, while later listed occupants included Burlington Coat Factory, Marshalls, Five Below, Michaels, and DSW. The assortment spans apparel, footwear, home-related goods, crafts, and other everyday purchases.

• Entertainment and food service · 2016

  Entertainment and dining

  The center's entertainment and dining offer has developed over time. An AMC theater once operated on the fifth floor before closing after a larger cinema opened nearby. Dave & Buster's later opened in November 2016, while street-level redevelopment added food and beverage tenants such as MOD Pizza, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Ben & Jerry's.

• 2005Rihanna free concert

  Silver Spring, Maryland · Washington metropolitan area

  Ellsworth Place hosted a free concert by Rihanna on a temporary stage built over the center-court fountain. Radio station Hot 99.5 sponsored the event, which promoted Rihanna's debut album Music of the Sun and supported fundraising for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

  Outcome. The event positioned the mall as a promotional and community gathering venue in addition to a retail property. A specific attendance figure is not provided in the reference material.

  Source

• 2016

  Dave & Buster's joins the propertyProduct launch

  Background

  Ellsworth Place sought to maintain a combined retail, dining, and entertainment role in a densifying downtown district.

  Action taken

  Dave & Buster's opened at the center in November 2016.

  Aftermath

  The venue added a major games-and-dining attraction to the property's existing retail offer.

  Source

• 2000

  Redevelopment adds street-level retailStrategy

  Background

  The original enclosed mall format was adapted during an early-2000s redevelopment as downtown Silver Spring evolved toward a more integrated pedestrian retail and entertainment district.

  Action taken

  A row of street-level shops was added, including PNC Bank, MOD Pizza, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Ben & Jerry's.

  Aftermath

  The additions connected the property more closely with surrounding downtown activity and broadened its mix beyond enclosed-mall retail.

  Source

1. 1Ellsworth Placeen.wikipedia.org