Landover, Maryland

History

Landover was named for the town of Llandovery, Wales.

Geography

Landover is located at 38.924°N 76.888°W / 38.924; -76.888. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it has an area of 4.07 square miles (10.55 km²), of which 0.004 square miles (0.01 km²), or 0.13%, is water.

Though small, Landover houses many neighborhoods, which include Glenarden, Brightseat, Ardmore, Palmer Park, Kentland, Dodge Park,Cheverly, Columbia Park, Willow Hills (Hill Road), Belle Haven, Lansdowne, and Village Green. Metrorail's Orange Line passes through the community. Landover Hills is a separate, incorporated community a few miles away. Landover is the birthplace of the late Len Bias. From 1960 to 1972, Landover was the home of jazz guitarist and educator Steve Rochinski.

For the 2000 census, Landover was delineated by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Greater Landover census-designated place.

Economy

Giant Food has its headquarters in a location in unincorporated Prince George's County near Landover.

Historic places

Beall's Pleasure and Ridgley Methodist Episcopal Church are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Annual events

A Harlem Renaissance Festival occurs at Kentland-Columbia Park Community Center in Landover every year in May.

Sports

FedExField is a football stadium for the Washington Redskins of the NFL in the neighboring CDP of Summerfield. See also Raljon, Maryland.

The Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex is located on approximately 80 acres (320,000 m²) adjacent to FedExField. The Prince George's County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover.

Public education

Landover is a part of the Prince George's County Public Schools system.

Colleges and universities

Landover had career-based colleges, such as Fortis College, that offer programs including bio-technician, medical assisting, and medical coding and billing.

Transportation

Landover is one of the few regions in the Washington, D.C. area that is served directly by two separate Washington Metro rail lines. Landover is served by both the Orange and Blue lines (many DC area suburbs are not served directly by Metrorail at all). The Landover Washington Metro station serves the northern portion of Landover on the Orange Line. The Morgan Boulevard Metro station, constructed in 2004, serves the southern portion of Landover on the Blue Line and is the main rail terminus providing access to FedEx Field, which is home to the Washington Redskins in addition to many other sporting and entertainment events.

In addition, there are many nearby Washington Metro rail stations in neighborhoods that border Landover, including the Addison Road Blue Line station in the bordering town of Seat Pleasant, the Cheverly Orange Line station in the bordering town of Cheverely, the Capital Heights Blue Line station in the bordering town of Capital Heights, the Largo Blue Line station in the bordering unincorporated area of Largo, and the Deanwood Orange Line station in the District of Columbia. Most of the above listed stations are within five Metro stops or less from the National Capital Building's Metro stop (Capital South Metro Station in the District of Columbia).

I-495/95, the Capital Beltway, crosses U.S. Route 50 in Landover. The Beltway also has junctions with Maryland Route 202 (Landover Road) and Brightseat Road, which leads directly to FedEx Field.

Shopping

Landover was the home of Landover Mall, owned and operated by Lerner Enterprises. Built in 1972, it was the first enclosed mall in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to house four high-end retail anchor stores: Garfinkel's, Hecht's (owned by the May company), Woodward and Lothrop (popularly known as Woodies), and Sears. The mall also housed a multiplex movie theater located in the basement of the northeast corridor of the building. Located at the Capital Beltway and Landover Road, the mall neighbored the towns of Palmer Park, Ardmore, Glenarden, and Largo. Palmer Park was the hometown of Olympic boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard. Garfinkel's closed in 1990, Woodies closed in 1995 and was replaced with a short-lived J. C. Penney store that lasted from 1996 to 2001, and Hecht's closed in 2002 with the opening of the Bowie Town Center located in Bowie. The entire mall officially closed in 2003 and was subsequently demolished in 2006. Sears was closed soon after and the entire mall has since been demolished.

With the arrival in 1997 of FedEx Field, the home stadium for the Washington Redskins, the mall's parking lot is used for overflow parking. In 2007, according to the Washington Post, Prince George's County officials were in the midst of developing plans to transform the area where Landover Mall once stood. County officials propose to build luxury townhouses, trendy stores, and office buildings. The goal of the project is to transform the area into a residential and cultural hub that replicates the Bowie Town Center and The Boulevard at the Capital Centre located in Largo. Woodmore Towne Centre, featuring Costco and Wegmans, opened in 2010 in nearby Glenarden.