What to See in Columbia - Top Sights and Attractions

Neighborhood in Columbia, Maryland. Wilde Lake is a man-made drainage reservoir dug in 1966 and also named after the surrounding "village" of neighborhoods located in Columbia, Maryland, just north and west of Columbia Town Center. The village was the first part of Columbia's "New Town" to be built in the late 1960s, James W. Rouse and Frazar B. Wilde formally opened the neighborhood on June 21, 1967. The lake and village are named for Frazar B. Wilde, a past chairman of the board of Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and former employer of James Rouse. In 1963, the company agreed to fund the secret land purchases and, in return, acquired an equity participation. This arrangement was subsequently formalized by the creation of The Howard Research and Development Corporation, the joint venture established to develop Columbia.^[1]

Nature preserve in Columbia, Maryland. The James and Anne Robinson Nature Center is a nature education facility situated on 18 acres of park land adjacent to the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area. Geothermal heating/air-conditioning, porous paving, solar panels, water conservation methods and other features make this building environmentally-friendly and have earned it the LEED Certified Platinum designation. Each year, the Center runs over 450 programs including field trips, public programs, birthday parties, home school and scout programs. James and Anne Robinson cared for the property for decades and kept it from being used by developers, ultimately arranging transfer to Howard County, Maryland for enjoyment by the general public. The Center continues to be partially supported by the James & Anne Robinson Foundation and is owned and operated by the Howard County Department of Recreation & Parks.^[3]

Reservoir in Maryland. Lake Kittamaqundi is a man made 27-acre reservoir located in Columbia, Maryland in the vicinity of the Mall in Columbia as well as Merriweather Post Pavilion. It is also adjacent to offices and visible from US-29.

The lake was created by The Rouse Company in 1966 during the development of Columbia. The company and its homeowners association claimed it was named after the first Indian settlement in Howard County and "Kittamaqundi" in the tribe's language translates to "meeting place." Kittamaqundi actually was a 17th-century Piscataway village 40 miles (64 km) south that was named after its ruler, 'Kittamaquund'. "Kittamaqundi" translates to "Great Beaver Place" or "Strong Bear".

The area surrounding the lake is a popular location for various summer festivals and 4th of July fireworks.^[5]

Building. The Christ Church Guilford, historically known as the "Old Brick Church," is an historic Episcopal church located about one mile from Guilford, now part of Columbia, in Howard County, Maryland. The small Georgian church was completed in 1809. It was constructed of handmade brick laid in English garden wall brick bond with unmarked joints.

The oldest artifact used by the church is a bible published in 1701 provided by Queen Anne. The original church was established in 1727 as Queen Caroline Parish Church. Trinity Church (Elkridge, Maryland), grew out of Christ Church. The structure replaced a ca1711 log frame building and is the second church building to be built on the 2-acre (0.81 ha) plot deeded to the parish in 1738 by Caleb Dorsey. It is the oldest church building still in use in Howard County.^[6]

Reservoir in Maryland. Lake Elkhorn is a 37-acre reservoir located in the Owen Brown area of Columbia, Maryland. It is Columbia's third and largest lake. Its main features are a small dam and a park with a picnic pavilion and a two-mile walking path around the lake. The path was built in 1982and is surrounded by a park and townhouses. The lake, which was built in 1974, is named for the Elkhorn branch of the Little Patuxent River. In 1969, Spiro Agnew proclaimed the arrival of the first Columbia based scientific firm, Hittman Associates that relocated for favorable lease rates from Howard Research and Development. Hittman in turn was contracted by the EPA using Wilde Lake as an example to recommend reuse of storm water runoff from all of Columbia's reservoir systems for residential drinking water to save on development costs. The lake is overseen by the Columbia Association. The lake's location behind many townhouses, though considered an attractive feature to homeowners, has raised concern following the drowning of a small child on September 2, 2005. A drowning also occurred in 1980, and a maintenance worker drowned in March of 1991. A movement was started soon after to erect a fence around playground next to the lake, but the community was split over this need, and a consultant concluded a fence was not necessary. The lake remained free of fatal incidents until October 8, 2013, when a body of a 32-year-old was found dead in the lake.^[9]