Landover is an
unincorporated communityIn law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in
Prince George's County, MarylandPrince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, within the
census-designated placeA census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
of
Greater LandoverGreater Landover is a census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 22,900 at the 2000 census...
. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover. Though small, Landover houses many neighborhoods which include: Glenarden, Brightseat, Ardmore, Palmer Park, Kentland, Dodge Park, Columbia Park, Willow Hills(Hill Rd), Belle Haven, Lansdowne, and Village Green.
MetrorailMetrorail may refer to:* Metrorail , a commuter rail system operator in South Africa** Metrorail Eastern Cape, commuter rail lines serving Port Elizabeth and East London...
's
Orange LineThe Orange Line of the Washington Metro consists of 26 rapid transit stations from Vienna to New Carrollton. It has stations in Fairfax County and Arlington, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Prince George's County, Maryland. Half of the line's stations are shared with the Blue Line, and over...
passes through the community.
Landover HillsLandover Hills is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,534 at the 2000 census.It has a neighborhood named Defense Heights.-Bordering areas:* Woodlawn * Greater Landover...
is a separate, incorporated community a few miles away. Landover is the birthplace of the late
Len BiasLeonard Kevin "Len" Bias was a first team All-American college basketball player at the University of Maryland. He was selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft on June 17, but died two days later from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose...
.
Transportation
The
LandoverLandover is an island platformed Washington Metro station in Landover, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on November 20, 1978, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority . Providing service for the Orange Line, the station is in a residential area of...
Washington MetroThe Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
station serves the area on the
Orange LineThe Orange Line of the Washington Metro consists of 26 rapid transit stations from Vienna to New Carrollton. It has stations in Fairfax County and Arlington, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Prince George's County, Maryland. Half of the line's stations are shared with the Blue Line, and over...
.
I-495/95, the
Capital BeltwayInterstate 495 is a Interstate Highway that surrounds the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear...
, crosses U.S. Highway 50 in Landover. The Beltway also has junctions with
Maryland Route 202Maryland Route 202 is a north–south state highway in Prince George's County within the U.S. state of Maryland. MD 202 travels through many communities in central Prince George's County, and is known as Maryland Route 202 (MD 202) is a north–south state highway in Prince George's...
(Landover Road) and Brightseat Road, which leads directly to
FedExFieldFedExField is a football stadium located in an unincorporated area near the Capital Beltway in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, near the site of the old Capital Centre . FedExField is the home of the Washington Redskins football team...
.
Education
Landover is a part of the
Prince George's County Public SchoolsThe Prince George's County Public Schools system is a large school district administered by the government of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States and is overseen by the Maryland State Department of Education...
system.
Landover also had career based colleges such as Fortis College that offers programs as a bio-technician, medical assisting and medical coding and billing.
Economy
Giant FoodGiant Food as a supermarket chain may refer to:* Giant-Carlisle or Giant Food Stores LLC, a subsidiary of Ahold* Giant-Landover or Giant Food LLC, also an Ahold subsidiary* Giant Food Markets of Broome County, New York...
has its headquarters in a location in
unincorporatedIn law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Prince George's CountyPrince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
,
MarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, near Landover.
Sports
FedExFieldFedExField is a football stadium located in an unincorporated area near the Capital Beltway in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, near the site of the old Capital Centre . FedExField is the home of the Washington Redskins football team...
is a
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
stadiumA modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
for the
Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. See
Raljon, MarylandRaljon, Maryland was a place name used from 1997 to 1999 for the area of Landover, Maryland, around Jack Kent Cooke Stadium , where the Washington Redskins play....
.
The
Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex is located on approximately 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) adjacent to FedEx Field.
Shopping And Crime
Landover was the home of
Landover MallLandover Mall was a large shopping mall located in Landover, Maryland directly across from FedEx Field, off MD 202 and Interstates 95 and 495. The mall was owned by Lerner Enterprises, and opened in 1972. Like its neighbor Capital Plaza Mall, it was a major attraction through its opening years in...
, owned and operated by
Lerner EnterprisesLerner Enterprises is a real estate business founded by Ted Lerner in North Bethesda, Maryland, United States, and operates primarily throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolis...
. Built in 1972, it was the first enclosed mall in the Washington, DC metropolitan area to house 4 high-end retail anchor stores that included Garfinkel's,
Hecht'sHecht's, also known as Hecht Brothers, Hecht Bros. and the Hecht Company, was a large chain of department stores located mainly in the mid-Atlantic and southern region of the United States....
(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 north east corridor of the building. Located at the Capital Beltway and Landover Road, the mall neighbored the towns of
Palmer ParkPalmer Park may be a reference to:*Palmer Park , a public park in Chicago, Illinois, United States*Palmer Park, Colorado Springs, a public park in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States...
, Ardmore, Glenarden, and
Largo-Music:* Largo, a very slow tempo, or a musical piece or movement in such a tempo* Handel's Largo or "Ombra mai fù", an aria from the opera Serse* Hugo Largo, American band from the 1980s* Strong and stately...
. Palmer Park, MD was the hometown of legendary Olympic boxing champion
Sugar Ray LeonardSugar Ray Leonard is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles...
.
In the late 1980s, crime began to rise in the surrounding areas and frightened shoppers and eventually helped fuel the mall's rapid decline. The movie theater was the first to close, followed by three of the mall's anchor stores in the 1990s. Garfinkles closed in 1990, Woodies closed in 1995 and was replaced with a short lived J.C. Penneys store that lasted from 1996 to 2001, and Hecht's closed in 2002 with the opening of the
Bowie Town Center-History:Shopping center developer Simon Property Group of Indianapolis broke ground on the retail portion of the project — a lifestyle center called Bowie Town Center in October 2000. The Town Center project was a by-product of improvements that were made years ago to Route 50...
located in Bowie, MD. The entire mall officially closed in 2003 and was subsequently demolished in 2006. Sears remains as the only free standing store.
With arrival of
FedExFieldFedExField is a football stadium located in an unincorporated area near the Capital Beltway in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, near the site of the old Capital Centre . FedExField is the home of the Washington Redskins football team...
, the home stadium for the
Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in 1997, the mall's parking lot is used for overflow parking. In 2007, according to the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/08/AR2007070801048.html, Prince George's County officials were in the throes 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-History:Shopping center developer Simon Property Group of Indianapolis broke ground on the retail portion of the project — a lifestyle center called Bowie Town Center in October 2000. The Town Center project was a by-product of improvements that were made years ago to Route 50...
located in
BowieBowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 54,727 at the 2010 census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the state of...
and the Boulevard at the Capital Centre located in
LargoLargo is an unincorporated area and census designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, in the United States. The population was 8,408 at the 2000 census....
. Woodmore Towne Centre, featuring
CostcoCostco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
and Wegmans opened in 2010 in nearby
GlenardenGlenarden is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,000 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Glenarden is located at ....
.
In popular culture
The documentary short cult classic
Heavy Metal Parking LotHeavy Metal Parking Lot is a video documentary short produced by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn in 1986.-Plot:Heavy Metal Parking Lot documents heavy metal music fans tailgating in the parking lot outside the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, on May 31, 1986, before a Judas Priest concert...
(1986) was filmed in Landover in the parking lot of the now-demolished
Capital CentreThe Capital Centre was an indoor arena located in Landover, Maryland, unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland; a suburb of Washington, D.C. Completed in 1973, the arena sat 18,756 for basketball and 18,130 for hockey....
prior to a
Judas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
and
DokkenDokken is an American heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 1978. They split up in 1989 but reformed four years later. The group accumulated numerous charting singles and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide...
concert.
Landover was mentioned in a
NCISNCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
series episode.
Events
A Harlem Renaissance Festival Occurs At Kentland-Columbia Park Community Center In Landover every year in may