The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. The reason given is: The intro does not make clear the focus of the article is the settlement. While the lake is a related it needs to be mentioned more as a feature of rather than focus of the article. (July 2020) |
Wilde Lake | |
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Location | Wilde Lake Columbia |
Coordinates | 39°13′32″N 76°51′59″W / 39.22556°N 76.86639°W |
Type | reservoir |
Catchment area | 1,140 acres (460 ha) |
Basin countries | United States |
Built | 1966 |
Surface area | 22 acres (8.9 ha) |
Water volume | 48,200,000 US gal (182,000 m3) |
Surface elevation | 335 ft (102 m)[1] |
Wilde Lake | |
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Village | |
Country | United States |
State | Maryland |
City | Columbia |
Established | 1967[2] |
Named for | Frazier B. Wilde |
Wilde Lake /waɪld leɪk/ is a human-made drainage reservoir dug in 1966 and the name of 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.[3][4] 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.[5] 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.[4]