Westfield Annapolis is a shopping mall, owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and is located near the junction of U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 97 in Parole, near Annapolis, Maryland. As of 2022, the mall features the traditional tenants Macy's and JCPenney, and prominent specialty stores Free People, Intimissimi, Janie & Jack, and Crate & Barrel. History The site was at one time the location of the Annapolis terminus of the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway, and was known as the "Best Gate" station, which had three single-ended and four double-ended sidings, where rail cars could be shunted on or off of the single-track WB&A east–west railway which ran to the north–south Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad lines. This "Best Gate" station gave the name to the nearby Bestgate Road, which today runs along the northern perimeter of the mall. A free-standing, single-level Montgomery Ward store occupied the site during the 1970s. Following the construction and opening of a single-level mall on the site in 1980, Montgomery Ward became an anchor. Additional anchor stores included Washington, D.C.-based Garfinckel's and Hecht's, both with two levels. The mall was expanded in 1983 with the addition of a single-level JCPenney. Garfinckel's closed in 1990 after the company went bankrupt. The mall was expanded again in 1994 with the addition of a two-level Nordstrom store as well as an expanded food court. In 1998 a two-level Lord & Taylor store opened which was followed by the opening of an 11-screen movie theater. The Montgomery Ward store closed in 2001 and in 2002 was replaced with a Sears store. Hecht's became Macy's in September 2006. Another large addition to the mall was completed in 2007, which included an expansion of the existing JCPenney store. The former Garfinckel's space once housed a two-level Borders Books and Music store which operated during the mid-2000s until its closure in 2011. A two-level Forever 21 store now occupies the space. Nordstrom added on in 1994. The late 2010s saw multiple classic chain anchors retreat from brick and mortar after being disrupted by digital retailers in recent years. In August, 2017 it was announced Lord & Taylor would shutter. Westfield announced its space would be reconstructed into additional stores including The Container Store. In April 2018, Anne Arundel County Public Library opened a temporary branch called "Discoveries: the Library at the Mall", in Westfield Annapolis. It moved to a permanent