Wilde Lake is a reservoir and also the name of the surrounding neighborhood, or "village", located in Columbia, Maryland, just north and west of the Columbia Town Center.[1] It was the first portion of the "New Town" of Columbia to be built during the late 1960s, and was occupied in 1967.[2] The lake and village are named for Frazar B. Wilde, a past chairman of the board of Connecticut General Life Insurance Company.[3] In 1963, the company agreed to invest in the project 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.[2]
Kimco Realty Corporation, the current owner of the village center, proposed a controversial redevelopment plan in 2008, that would have torn down buildings and built a large number of apartments in a mixed-use project.[4] A Kimco executive declared that plan to be "null and void" at a June 1, 2009 meeting. The vice-president of Acquisitions and Development said: "I have no idea what the concept is [now]." [5]
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Neighborhoods in the Village of Wilde Lake include: Bryant Woods (named for William Cullen Bryant), Faulkner Ridge (named for William Faulkner), Running Brook (where the streets are named for Robert Frost's poems and Aesop's Fables) (The Birches is located within Running Brook).[3]
The village center is located in the Wilde Lake Village Green, and has a small grocery store, various restaurants, and other retail establishments.[6] The Wilde Lake Community Center, called Slayton House, was named for John Slayton, first manager of the Columbia Association.[3]
The Wilde Lake Interfaith Center is located in the village center.[7]
Wilde Lake High School, alma mater of actor (and grandson of Columbia founder James W. Rouse) Edward Norton,[2][8][9] is located in the Village of Wilde Lake. Wilde Lake High School was the first high school to open in Columbia in 1971. It was the "first in the country to use individual study 'learning activities packages' for self-paced learning."[10]
The school has 3 storys with skylights, and open hallways that overlook a central hallway nicknamed "Main Street." It is home to The Jim Rouse Theater, which houses performing arts performances for both the school's programs and for organizations throughout Columbia. The school is well known for its performing arts program.[11][12]
The original high school was demolished in 1996 and a new one constructed.[11] The former design was oval and two stories, with a windowless doughnut layout with classroom clusters,[12] and a media center located in the center and accessible from the second level. Other schools in the Village of Wilde Lake include Bryant Woods, Running Brook, and Faulkner Ridge elementary schools, and Wilde Lake Middle School.[13]
The Columbia Swim Center, which contains three indoor pools and a water slide called "Splashdown," is located in the village center.[14] There are also outdoor pools in each neighborhood.[15]
The walking path around the 22-acre (89,000 m2) lake is 1.46 miles (2.35 km) long.[16]
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