The Shops at National Place is a three-level, indoor shopping mall located in downtown Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 in the 16-story National Place Building. It is located on the block bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue

Pennsylvania Avenue

Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. that joins the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street", it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches...

, F Street, between 13th and 14th Streets NW

14th Street Northwest and Southwest (Washington, D.C.)

Fourteenth Street is a street in Northwest and Southwest Washington, D.C., located 1¼ mi. west of the U.S. Capitol. It runs from the 14th Street Bridge north to Eastern Avenue....

, the former site of the Munsey Trust Building

Munsey Trust Building

Munsey Trust Building was a high-rise building located in Washington, D.C., United States, adjacent to the National Theatre . Its construction was completed in 1905. The building rose to containing 13 floors. The building was used as an office building. The building's architect was McKim, Mead &...

. It is located at the Metro Center

Metro Center (Washington Metro)

Metro Center is the central hub station of the Washington Metro rapid transit system in Washington, D.C. Metro Center was one of the original Metro stations, and has been in service since March 27, 1976....

 stop of the Washington Metro

Washington Metro

The 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...

 system. The Shops contains over 75 specialty shops and eateries, including Casual Corner

Casual Corner

Casual Corner was an American retail clothing chain founded in 1950. It operated stores under the names Casual Corner and Petite Sophisticate. The chain operated more than 525 stores at its peak.-History:...

 and Filene's Basement

Filene's Basement

Filene's Basement, also called The Basement, is a Massachusetts-based chain of department stores which was owned by Retail Ventures, Inc. until April 2009 when it was sold to Syms....

. An international food court opened about 2005.

History

The Shops opened in two phases during 1984 and 1985. It was designed as a central piece in revitalizing downtown Washington, D.C.'s traditional downtown shopping core along F Street, NW, west of the Woodward & Lothrop

Woodward & Lothrop

Woodward & Lothrop was a department store chain headquartered in Washington, D.C. Woodward & Lothrop was Washington, D.C.'s first department store, opening in 1887. Woodies, as it was often nicknamed, maintained stores in the Mid-Atlantic United States...

 flagship. The Shops replaced the former flagship stores of Raleigh's and Joseph R. Harris Co.

Joseph R. Harris Co.

-History:The chain was founded in 1916, in Washington, D.C. by Joseph R. Harris. By the time of its sale in 1971, to the retail conglomerate Garfinckel, Brooks Brothers, Miller & Rhoads, Inc., it had grown to nine locations in the Washington, D.C. area, and branches in Atlanta, Georgia and...

The first phase of 53 stores opened on May 14, 1984, and was developed by The Rouse Co.

The Rouse Company

The Rouse Company, founded by James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties Inc...

  The 71000 square feet (6,596.1 m²) retail complex was hailed as "part of a very important renaissance of downtown Washington." The Shops opened concurrently with a new 774-room JW Marriott Hotel

JW Marriott Hotels

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, namesake of John Willard Marriott, Founder, Chairman & CEO of is a luxury hotel chain. Found in major cities as well as vacation destinations world-wide, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts are becoming known in the hospitality industry for their practical approach to luxury...

 (the first in that chain), and refurbished National Theater

National Theatre (Washington, D.C.)

The National Theatre is located in Washington, D.C., and is a venue for a variety of live stage productions with seating for 1,676.Despite its name, it is not a governmentally funded national theatre, but operated by a private, non-profit organization....

 and National Press Club.
Melart Jewelers and Sight and Sound Electronics were part of the first phase located in the JW Marriott lobby.

The 40-store phase two of The Shops opened April 25, 1985. It included August Max, Record Town, and Brooks Fashions among the original tenants. The complex featured a 15-story atrium for the refurbished National Press Club building and 450 spaces of underground parking. At the opening ceremony Mayor Marion Barry

Marion Barry

Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, representing DC's Ward 8. Barry served as the second elected mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991, and again as the fourth mayor from 1995...

proclaimed "Downtown is coming alive . . .!" In 2008, due to many vacancies in the mall, the mall was closed, except for the food court, and the passageway to the JW Marriott. What will be done with the former mall is not known, it may be converted to office space, reopened, converted to a big-box store, or renovated and reopened.