"It was the day after Thanksgiving -- the start of the holiday shoping season -- and the parking lot at Landover Mall was wide open.

Protesters gathered on the sidewalk outside the mall were quick to say why: There are simply not enough quality goods or services to draw shoppers inside.

Hoisting signs that said 'Enough is Enough' and 'Improve Our Stuff,' about 35 community activists stood near the mall entrance yesterday, waving to drivers and calling on them to demand that the mall's owners invest more time and money in the shopping center.

'Look at it!' said the. Rev. Robert George, co-chairman of the Interfaith Action Communities, a coalition of religious and community groups that organized the protest.

'If this mall were in Northern Virginia or Montgomery County, it would be packed ' George said as he stared out on a sea of empty parking spaces. 'But there's hardly anyone here, because there's hardly anything in there.

This isn't a new rallying cry.

For years, Prince George's residents have complained about the lack of upscale stores in their neighborhoods. Although the county has a few healthy shopping centers, including Laurel Mall, it has nowhere near the offerings that neighboring Northern Virginia and Montgomery County, and even Anne Arundel and Howard counties, have in their upscale malls.

What is new, George said, is as more affluent people begin moving to Prince George's, the louder the demands for better services.

The recent arrival of such stores as Kohl's and Pier I in Bowie and the plan to build Bowie Town Center -- which will bring Old Navy, Barnes & Noble and another Hecht's -- have taken some sting out of the anger toward retailers who have left or stayed away.

County officials and residents are hopeful that the plans for entertainment and retail projects at National Harbor on the Potomac River and at Capital Center in Landover will eventually bring stores like Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom to the county.

But the anger at what some residents have called the redlining of Prince George's still runs deep, especially when it comes to Landover Mall.

Ever since Garfinkel's and Woodward & Lothrop closed their doors, Landover Mall has slowly deteriorated.

The mail still gets by on the strength of two anchor stores, Hecht's and Sears, as well as a few fast-food eateries and a host of boutiques such as Shoe City, Last Stop and The $10 Store. Still, it does far less business than in its heyday, and some storefronts are vacant.

'They could do a lot more with it,' said Silver Spring resident Dorothy Bushnell, who works in Prince Georges and stopped by the mall yesterday. 'There's not too much to select from, and it's too dark inside, not very attractive.'

Landover Mall managers wouldn't talk about the protest, referring all calls to their media agency, Brotman-Winter-Fried Communications in Washington, which could not be reached. Calls to Bethesda-based Lerner Enterprises, owner of the mall, also went unanswered.

Lerner also owns White Flint Mall in Rockville, Annapolis Harbour Center, Dulles Town Center, and other shopping centers in Maryland, Virginia and the District.

Of all of Lerner's properties, said Rita Booker, an organizer of the Interfaith Action protest, Landover is the least desirable. Members of the group said this is why they asked for a meeting with representatives of Lerner.

When company representatives told them that they could not meet until after Christmas, Interfaith Action members planned the protest. 'We just want to know why they won't do something with the place,' Booker said, 'I shouldn't have to go to Montgomery County to shop.'

And she would not have to, had Landover Mall not fallen on hard times. When it opened in the early 1970s, Landover Mall drew shoppers from througout region.

Women loved it because they could buy the finest cocktail dresses at Garfinkel's and Woodies. Businessmen bought suits there. Young people went for the Limited and the Gap.

Over the years, as more elaborate malls opened in the region and some department store chains folded, more Landover Mall stores closed. The JC Penney Outlet, which is in the old Woodies, is the latest store to announce it will shut its doors.

But even with the big, red clearance and going-out-of-business signs and bargain-basement prices, shoppers found ample parking and shoulder room yesterday.

'I remember when this mall first opened,' said Jackie Wade, of Oxon Hill. 'It's a big letdown from what it used to be'" (Tracey A. Reeves, The Washington Post, November 25, 2000).