Columbia, Maryland

Columbia is a census-designated place and planned community located in Howard County, Maryland. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Creator and developer James W. Rouse saw the new community in terms of human values, not just in terms of economics and engineering. Opened in 1967, Columbia was designed to not only eliminate the inconveniences of then-current subdivision design, but also eliminate racial, religious, and income segregation.

Columbia Today

Education

As of the 2004-05 school year, Howard County has 37 elementary, 18 middle and 11 high schools http://www.hcpss.org (with a 12th high school opening in 2005), Howard Community College, and several graduate degree programs. Eight of the County's high schools -- Atholtonhttp://www.atholton.net/, Centennialhttp://www.centennialonline.org/, Hammondhttp://www.hammondhs.org/, Howardhttp://www.howardhighschool.net/, Long Reachhttp://www.howard.k12.md.us/lrhs/home.html, Oakland Millshttp://www.howard.k12.md.us/omhs/, River Hillhttp://www.howard.k12.md.us/rhhs/, and Wilde Lakehttp://www.wildelake.com/ -- serve the students of Columbia.

Related Topics:
Howard County - 2005 - Howard Community College - Wilde Lake

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There are also six public library branches, two of which -- the Central Library in Town Center and the East Columbia Branch in Owen Brown -- are located in Columbia http://www.howa.lib.md.us/.

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Health

Medical care is available in the recently renovated Howard County General Hospital, affiliated with Baltimore's famous Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Columbia Medical Plan was the city's largest health maintenance organization (HMO). In more recent years, however, this plan has divided into separate medical groups that simply share the Twin Knolls buildings.

Related Topics:
Howard County General Hospital - Johns Hopkins Hospital

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Shopping

The Mall in Columbia is a large regional shopping mall with five anchor department stores (Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, Sears, Hecht's , and JCPenney) and over 200 stores and restaurants. Also containing a 14-screen AMC movie theater, the mall is a societal center for the community and is located in Town Center. There are several other major shopping centers in the Columbia area, including Snowden Square, Columbia Crossing I and II, Dobbin Center, and Ellicott City, Maryland's Long Gate Shopping Center). The nine village centers provide residents with nearby shopping as well, often including grocery stores, gas stations, liquor stores, dry cleaners, restaurants, and drugstores.

Related Topics:
Mall in Columbia - Shopping mall - Department store - Nordstrom - Lord & Taylor - Sears - Hecht's - Macy's - 2006 - JCPenney - Movie theater - Ellicott City, Maryland - Grocery store - Gas station - Liquor - Dry cleaners - Restaurant - Drugstore

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Work

Jim Rouse conceived of a city, not a suburban bedroom community, and Columbia is today an edge city in the terminology of Joel Garreau. There are 15 office, industrial and research parks in Columbia. Most are at the eastern and southern edges, but a number of office and residential high-rise buildings are located in Town Center. Although many residents commute to nearby Baltimore and Washington D.C., the business complexes in and around Columbia have grown drastically in recent years in responce to increased population in the town as well as expansion of the Washington/Baltimore corridor. Many residents work for the government and nearby Department of Defense facilities.

Related Topics:
Jim Rouse - Edge city - Joel Garreau

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Recreation

Merriweather Post Pavilion, a well-known outdoor concert venue, attracts many prominent performers. Recreation has always been an important part of the Columbia concept. The homeowners association, the Columbia Association, known to Columbians as "CA," builds, operates and maintains most of these facilities. CA operates a variety of recreational facilities, including twenty-three outdoor swimming pools, six indoor pools, two water slides, ice and roller skating rinks, an equestrian center, a sports park with miniature golf, a skateboard park, batting cages, picnic pavilions, clubhouse and playground, three athletic clubs including the 24/7 Supreme Sports Club, numerous indoor and outdoor tennis, basketball, volleyball, squash and racquetball courts, and running tracks. There are three lakes (Lake Kittamaqundi, Lake Elkhorn, and Wilde Lake) surrounded by parkland for sailing, fishing, and boating; 80 miles of paths for jogging, strolling and biking; and 148 tot lots and play areas. Nine village centers, 15 neighborhood centers, and four senior centers provide space for a large variety of community activities. There are a variety of fairs and celebrations throughout the year, including entertainment on the lakefront of Lake Kittamaqundi during the summer and the Columbia Festival of the Arts.

Related Topics:
Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia Association - Swimming pool - Water slide - Ice - Roller skating - Equestrian - Miniature golf - Batting cage - Picnic - Clubhouse - Athletic club - Tennis - Basketball - Volleyball - Squash - Racquetball - Running - Wilde Lake - Park - Sailing - Fishing - Boating - Jogging - Biking - Tot lot - Play areas - Senior center - Columbia Festival of the Arts

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Entertainment/Performing Arts

While possessing no true nightclubs or nightspots for local performing arts to flourish, Columbia does have a unique independant music scene of teens-to-early 20's residents. These residents perform in local independant bands. Bands such as Moment of Youth or (M.O.Y.) , The Squints and Hobis all hail from Columbia.

Related Topics:
Moment of Youth - The Squints - Hobis

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Transportation

Columbia's initial plan called for a minibus system connecting the village centers on a distinct right-of-way. This was never constructed, though minibuses were operated by the Columbia Association under the name ColumBus. These were eventually taken over by Howard County. Eight Howard Transit bus routes now serve Columbia and connect it with its own "suburban" areas, while several Maryland Mass Transit Administration (MTA) routes provide access to and from both Washington and Baltimore. In addition, proximity to Washington Metro stations in Montgomery and Prince George's counties provides public transportation to Washington D.C., while the Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) rail -- which services both Baltimore and Washington -- and easy access to Interstate 95 puts both cities within easy reach.

Related Topics:
Minibus system - Maryland Mass Transit Administration - Washington Metro - Montgomery - Prince George's - Maryland Rail Commuter - Interstate 95

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