McKeldin Mall is the nation’s largest college mall, according to the university’s Conferences & Visitor Services.

McKeldin Mall in the morning is foggy and peaceful, dew clinging to its grass. Everything is quiet. The sun rises over the east side of the campus, opposite the Testudo statue and the library, cresting over the administration building. 

McKeldin Mall in the late afternoon is glorious. For those fresh out of class, it becomes a spot to unwind. During the first warm days of spring, the mall is crowded, filled with people playing volleyball, Frisbee and Quidditch.

McKeldin Mall at night becomes a hiding place for the weary, the worried and the waiting, a place for shenanigans and studying and everything in between, masked by its trees and shadowy side paths. 

McKeldin Mall at noon is hot — it was sweltering on one of the warmest Wednesdays in September — yet people still clustered in the shadows, just out of the sun’s reach. It was 93 degrees. Humidity clung to every side path and corner; loungers scrambled for shade on the edges of the mall among its trees. It hadn’t rained since school began; patches of grass had darkened, torched golden-yellow by the sun.

McKeldin Mall is the nation’s largest college mall, according to the university’s Conferences & Visitor Services, and it originally continued west to Anne Arundel Hall. Named after Theodore McKeldin, a former state governor, it stretches about 16.28 acres. The Point of Failure — the spot between LeFrak Hall and Shoemaker Hall that’s said to be bad luck if stepped on — was once the center of the campus before the university expanded and the mall was constructed. 

On Wednesday, a cardboard swing, adorned with red tape and a smiley face, hung from the branches of a tree close to the “stage” occupied on Fridays by improvisational comedy group Erasable Inc. Not many noticed it — most were in front of the library watching Thomas Oehler, a world champion trial bicyclist, jump over people while on his bike. 

Monica Perretta, a junior dietetics major, had a break in classes and relaxed on the side of the McKeldin stage. She said the mall helps her de-stress, especially when classes get overwhelming. 

Greg Szwarcman, a freshman enrolled in letters and sciences said that though he’s only starting his second semester, he’s already seen the impact of McKeldin Mall. 

“It’s like the spiritual center of the campus,” Szwarcman said. “It’s the center of all activity.” 

“It’s kind of a microcosm of the university as a whole,” he added. 

The multiple events that rotate around McKeldin Mall provide a testament to this university’s diversity.

“It’s exactly like the campus,” said Vivien Buvawala, a junior nutrition and food sciences major. “It’s clean; it’s social; it’s pretty.” 

The next afternoon, thunder rumbled in the distance and a breeze finally crossed over the mall. The cardboard smiley face swing was gone, tossed in a corner by the steps. A foreboding murky gray took over the sky. The big tree near the McKeldin stage rustled in the wind; leaves danced. People continued to lounge before they were sent away by the thunder. 

At 2:08 p.m., the sun peeked out of the cloud cover before rain softly pattered on the mall and then poured, giving it a much-needed drenching.