Lakefront

After a long discussion of whether problems at Columbia's downtown lakefront were related to alcohol consumption or to a reflection of a "teen problem," the Columbia Council in 1980 voted to continue to permit public drinking on Columbia Association property at Lake Kittamaqundi. The council did vote to increase security guards on weekend nights from one to two and to increase the hours of private security coverage from midnight to 2 a.m. every night in July and August. The council asked county police to pay "special attention" to the lakefront area between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Police had asked that the consumption of alcoholic beverages be prohibited, or banned after 11 p.m., outside licensed premises in Town Center.

After working out of a picturesque, rented lakefront building for 13 years, the Columbia Association is considering constructing its headquarters in Town Center. The lease on the association's office space -- which it rents from General Growth Properties for $556,000 a year -- expires in August 2007, leading the association to look into building a headquarters on property it owns near Merriweather Post Pavilion. A study the association commissioned by KLNB examined the financial impact of the association leasing or constructing a building, said Karen Hawkins, an association spokeswoman.

THE QUESTION: What's that tall sculpture on Columbia's downtown lakefront that looks like a big dandelion? THE ANSWER: That would be the People Tree, Columbia's symbol. The 14-foot sculpture with 66 gilded people as branches was designed by Baltimore artist Pierre duFayet. It represents James W. Rouse's idea of Columbia being a "garden for growing people."

John Crisman chipped off stucco from arches on the front porch of his house in Baltimore's Hanlon neighborhood on a recent warm Sunday afternoon. The three story, six-bedroom English Tudor home has high ceilings, hardwood floors and ornate molding. It faces Lake Ashburton, a 29-acre city reservoir. "I'm going to have this house forever," said Crisman, 53, who moved from Washington in April after buying the house for $119,700 and expects to spend $100,000 on renovations. "I plan on dying in this house."

The Columbia Lakefront Summer Festival is continuing its 32-year tradition of free entertainment in the fresh air this summer, offering 63 evenings of movies and musical acts on the shores of Lake Kittamaqundi. Among the Columbia Association's goals are "to have a lively downtown, to bring people together, to have ways to recreate and to expose [residents] to different kinds of music," said Michelle Miller, the association's director of community services. The festival - which started with a few movies in a field when there was only one building at the lakefront - is intended to offer all of that.

Owners and lovers of vintage Jensen cars are participating in an international convention organized by the Greater Chesapeake Area Jensen Enthusiasts at the Columbia lakefront this week. Participants, driving the handcrafted cars made in the 1960s and '70s by the British coach-maker Jensen, will explore Columbia, Savage Mill and other historic sites in a caravan today, and they will hold a barbecue at Lake Elkhorn in the evening. From 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow, 12 drivers will compete in "Funkhana," a test of driving skills, on the parking lot adjacent to the Columbia Sheraton Hotel.

More than 40 years ago, James W. Rouse dreamed the dream that became Columbia and then made that dream come true. But in recent years, there has been no public memorial to Rouse in the city he created. But tomorrow, people walking along Lake Kittamaqundi in Town Center will get the chance to see again Columbia's most important citizen. A bronze sculpture of the visionary developer, who died in 1996, will be unveiled during Columbia's International Day celebration on the lakefront. A statue of his older brother, Willard G. Rouse, who was executive vice president of the Rouse Co., will stand nearby.

More than 40 years ago, James W. Rouse dreamed the dream that became Columbia and then made that dream come true. But in recent years, there has been no public memorial to Rouse in the city he created. Tomorrow, people walking along Lake Kittamaqundi in Town Center will get the chance to see again Columbia's most important citizen. A bronze sculpture of the visionary developer, who died in 1996, will be unveiled during Columbia's International Day celebration in a prominent location on the lakefront.

For about a year, the 14 Wharf Tower bells on Columbia's Lakefront Plaza have been silent. The bells had pealed on the hour for more than 20 years, but few noticed the loss immediately, not even Alton J. Scavo, Rouse Co. general manager for Columbia. Columbia Association President Maggie J. Brown looked into having the bells repaired; the estimate was $65,000. She thought she could propose the repair for the Columbia Association's fiscal year 2004 budget, but then Scavo called about a month ago and asked about the carillon.