September 2021

Merriweather Symphony of Lights

Merriweather Symphony of Lights

 

For more than 25 years, the Symphony of Lights has been a beloved Howard County holiday tradition. This family-friendly spectacle, housed in the historic Merriweather Post Pavilion and featuring over 300,000 lights, is a magnificent display of larger-than-life animated and stationary holiday light sculptures. With the addition of new lighting (as well as a 150-foot screen! ), your time on our updated course will be one to remember.
COLUMBIA, MARYLAND — The 27th annual Symphony of Lights, a Howard County tradition, will be place at Merriweather Post Pavilion this year. This year’s celebration will have specific coronavirus-related measures in place, with more than 300,000 LED lights and larger-than-life animated and immobile holiday light sculptures spanning more than a mile. There will be new lights this year, as well as a laser light show and a 3-D Christmas video projected on a wall that is more than 150 feet tall.
The Christmas celebration begins on November 25 and runs through January 2. It will be open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway is the address for Merriweather Post Pavilion. The cost of a ticket is $20 per vehicle. Thursdays are military nights, which cost $10 with a valid military ID. Guests in vehicles can listen to Christmas music while driving through the exhibit by tuning in to 105.5 FM. The route begins at the crossroads of Broken Land Parkway and Hickory Ridge Road.
This stroller and wagon-friendly event on Nov. 29 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. is a wonderful way for families to get up up and personal with the show. When purchased online, tickets cost $12, and families will be admitted in 10-minute intervals. Children under the age of three are admitted for free.
Dogs can enjoy the festive lights with Tail Lights. There will even be a puppy costume contest and caricatures of puppies. On December 7, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Tail Lights will be held. Tickets are $10 in advance. Admission is free for children under the age of three.
Celebrate New Year’s Eve starting at 5 p.m. with a fireworks display at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m., and 9 p.m. during Midnight on the Hour. Guests are invited to bring their own chairs to sit in while watching the show. Tickets are $15 in advance and must be paid in advance. A pack of four tickets costs $50 for a family of four. Admission is free for children under the age of three.
History Merriweather Symphony of Lights
The park, festival site, event parking, and site of the annual Symphony of Lights Christmas light displays occupied the most of the forested and open field acreage surrounding Symphony Woods and Merriweather. The owner, Howard Hughes Corp, rezoned the land for a project called the “Crescent,” which would transform the region into 2,100 houses and 1,125,000 square feet of general and medical office space in 20-story buildings as part of the rehabilitation initiative. The Crescent project takes its name from the shape of the work area surrounding the pavilion, as well as Rouse’s (Howard Hughes) collaboration with Crescent Real Estate Equities on the Woodlands development.
After a Mad Decent event in August 2014, two patrons died and 20 others were hospitalised after drug overdoses, making the site national news. Following the event, venues around the country enacted stronger drug enforcement restrictions.
Merriweather Post attracts a regional audience, with 90% of concertgoers coming from outside of Howard County.
Brian Spencer, a registered lobbyist and project manager for Howard Hughes, submitted a proposal to the Howard County Planning Board in 2015. Jamie Pett (JP2 architects) designed the $8.4 million refurbishment, which includes new snack stalls around the 9:32 club and replacement of the condemned facilities.
The Howard Hughes Corporation gave the Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission, led by “Save Merriweather” co-founder Ian Kennedy, ownership of Merriweather Post Pavilion and Symphony Woods on November 30, 2016. Kennedy shaved his beard, which he had been growing for 13 years, since the beginning of the campaign in 2003, at the ceremonial ceremony.
Merriweather Post Pavilion celebrated its 50th season in 2017, with I.M.P. securing a new 40-year contract to keep Merriweather open until 2057. The party continued with the completion of $55 million in renovations, which included 15,000 square feet of dressing rooms and backstage areas, as well as a swimming pool and dining room. The improvements also include the extension of the stage house in preparation for raising the pavilion’s famous roof, the installation of a turntable inset in the stage, additional patron facilities and concessions, and a new VIP rooftop bar.
On January 13, 2018, early in the morning, the roof overhanging the reserved seating at the arena collapsed completely. It was nearing the end of a five-month process to raise the structure 20 feet in order to improve viewing lines for lawn visitors. The theater’s management promptly issued a statement stating that the roof will be fixed and that the venue would reopen for the 2018 concert season as planned.

 
Merriweather Symphony of Lights Location
Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, MD 20144. The line for the drive through starts on the intersection of Broken Land Parkway and Hickory Ridge Road. Follow instructions from the Howard County police and/or our employees directing traffic.

10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, MD 21044, United States

http://www.merriweatherlights.com/

No phone
Driving Directions From Ellicott City Maryland, USA

Get on US-29 S 5 min (2.0 mi)
Head southwest on Old Columbia Pike toward Roussey Lane 1.5 mi
Turn right onto MD-103 W 0.1 mi
Use any lane to turn left to merge onto US-29 S toward Washington 0.4 mi
Follow US-29 S to S Entrance Rd in Columbia. Take the S Ent Rd exit from US-29 S 4 min (3.5 mi)
Continue on S Entrance Rd to your destination 3 min (0.8 mi)
Merriweather Symphony of Lights

Driving Directions From Baltimore Maryland, USA

Take E Fayette St, Hopkins Plaza and S Sharp St to I-395 S 6 min (0.8 mi)
Head west on E Fayette St toward N Calvert St 0.2 mi
Use any lane to turn slightly left onto W Fayette St 0.1 mi
Turn left onto N Liberty St 390 ft
Continue onto Hopkins Plaza 0.2 mi
Continue onto S Sharp St 0.2 mi
Turn right onto W Conway St 394 ft
Take I-95 S, MD-100 W and US-29 S to S Entrance Rd in Columbia. Take the S Ent Rd exit from US-29 S 20 min (19.8 mi)
Continue on S Entrance Rd to your destination 3 min (0.8 mi)
Merriweather Symphony of Lights

Merriweather Symphony of Lights

Next Location
Symphony Woods Park
More information
Click: Columbia

Click: Ability Mortgage Group: Mortgage broker – Columbia Maryland

 

Source:

https://www.merriweatherlights.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merriweather_Post_Pavilion

 

Image Source: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipMKwaIlAftvBy61DaXBPkob1UhlSSAreGnapIZ0

ShadowLand Laser Adventures

ShadowLand Laser Adventures

 

ShadowLand is a popular place for families looking for high-quality entertainment in Maryland and Virginia.

For area families, youth groups, sports teams, and corporations, ShadowLand’s unique laser adventures provide wonderful “whole group” activities. Put on a light-weight, high-tech suit and enter the massive multi-level stadium for an unforgettable sensory experience.
ShadowLand’s arena adventures are viewed as effective team development and corporate training opportunities by business and human resource (HR) professionals. The whole-group exercises create an unstructured, safe, and uninhibited setting in which to emphasise the importance of team skills, which are essential for a successful workplace environment. An visit to Shadowland is also a wonderful opportunity to recognise teams for a job well done or to celebrate recent team triumphs.

Youth groups, churches, scout troops, synagogues, and sports teams all agree that ShadowLand is a great place to visit. When it comes to youth group ideas and outings, group leaders should consider ShadowLand.

 
History ShadowLand Laser Adventures
The United States Army used infrared beams for combat training in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The MILES system works in the same way as laser tag does, with beams being “fired” into receivers that score hits. Several businesses now produce similar systems, which are employed by numerous military forces across the world.

The Star Trek Electronic Phaser Guns, released in 1979 to coincide with the debut of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, were the first known toy to use infrared light and a corresponding sensor.
George Carter III began work on an arena-based system for playing a scored version of the game in 1982, an idea that had first occurred to him in 1977 while viewing the film Star Wars. On March 28, 1984, the first Photon centre opened its doors in Dallas, Texas. On November 17, 2005, Carter was awarded by the International Laser Tag Association for his contributions to the laser tag industry. “Presented to George A. Carter III in honour of being the Inventor and Founder of the Laser Tag Industry,” the award reads.

The first Photon toys were released in 1986, almost concurrently with Worlds of Wonder’s Lazer Tag toys and several other infrared and visible light-based toys. As the craze for video games faded, Worlds of Wonder and Photon closed their doors in 1988 and 1989, respectively. Today, laser tag arenas can be found all over the world under numerous names and brands, as well as a wide range of consumer and professional grade equipment for laser tag arenas and businesses.

According to a 2010 news item, Lee Weinstein invented and opened the first commercial laser tag facility. The ILTA published the findings of a public records request from the City of Houston in June 2011, revealing that Weinstein’s “Star Laser Force” opened on April 16, 1985.

ShadowLand Laser Adventures Location
9179 Red Branch Rd, Columbia, MD 21045, United States

http://www.shadowlandadventures.com/

+14107409100
Driving Directions From Baltimore Maryland, USA

Take E Fayette St, Hopkins Plaza and S Sharp St to I-395 S 6 min (0.8 mi)
Head west on E Fayette St toward N Calvert St 0.2 mi
Use any lane to turn slightly left onto W Fayette St 0.1 mi
Turn left onto N Liberty St 390 ft
Continue onto Hopkins Plaza 0.2 mi
Continue onto S Sharp St 0.2 mi
Turn right onto W Conway St 394 ft
Take I-95 S and MD-100 W to MD-104 W/Waterloo Rd in Ellicott City. Take exit 2 from MD-100 W 14 min (13.9 mi)
Take Old Annapolis Rd to Red Branch Rd in Columbia 4 min (1.5 mi)
ShadowLand Laser Adventures

Driving Directions From Frederick Maryland, USA

Get on I-70 E/US-40 E from W All Saints St and East St 6 min (1.6 mi)
Head west on E Patrick St toward N Market St 482 ft
Turn left at the 2nd cross street onto S Court St 0.2 mi
Turn left onto W All Saints St 0.3 mi
W All Saints St turns right and becomes East St 0.4 mi
At the traffic circle, continue straight to stay on East St 0.2 mi
Continue onto Buckeystown Pike 0.2 mi
Use the left 2 lanes to merge onto I-70 E/US-40 E via the ramp to Baltimore 0.3 mi
Continue on I-70 E to Columbia. Take exit 21A from US-29 S 33 min (37.0 mi)
Continue on MD-108 E. Drive to Red Branch Rd in Columbia 3 min (1.4 mi)
ShadowLand Laser Adventures

 

 
ShadowLand Laser Adventures Map

Next Location
Merriweather Symphony of Lights
More information
Click: Columbia

Click: Ability Mortgage Group: Mortgage broker – Columbia Maryland

 

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_tag

www.shadowlandadventures.com

 

Image Source: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipPIbR_XszU67_nD23qHoBBGQUgWaAZv7lcCqaHA

 

Blandair Regional Park West Playground

Blandair Regional Park West Playground

 

Blandair Park is one of the county’s most popular sporting venues. The park will be 300 acres when the last phase is completed. Three lit synthetic turf multipurpose fields, press boxes, and bleachers, as well as a playground, shade structure, and parking lot, are now available. The park is located one-third of a mile north of the intersection of Old Montgomery Road and Oakland Mills Road on Oakland Mills Road..

 
History Blandair Regional Park West Playground
Susquehannock tribes in the north and Piscataway tribes in the south hunted and camped along the Patuxent, but no permanent sites have been discovered. Conflicts with their major adversaries, the Iroquois, were common on the land. Many Native Americans were forced to leave Maryland in the 1700s, either to join tribes elsewhere or to stay and adapt into the dominant culture.
Puritans, Quakers, and Catholics were among the first European settlers in this area, seeking religious freedom. In 1632, the new English colony of Maryland was established, and in 1649, the Maryland Toleration Act was implemented, making the colony appealing to settlers of diverse theological backgrounds.
In 1714, the Talbots, a Quaker family, received a 1,087-acre property grant that covered the majority of what is now Blandair Park. The Dorsey, Howard, and Weems families came after them.
From before 1800 through 1844, three generations of the Weems family (of Scottish descent) farmed this area. The farm was named “La Grange” by John Crompton Weems, a delegate for Anne Arundel County in the United States Congress from 1826 to 1829. Between 10 and 15 slaves were owned by the Weems family. In his diary, their next-door neighbour and regular visitor, George Cooke, mentioned some of the enslaved inhabitants.

When the area was named “Blandair.”

The Chancellor of Maryland from 1824 to 1846, Heodorick Bland, bought the estate in 1844 as a country retreat, while his principal residence was in Annapolis. He was a lawyer and judge recognised for his “untiring drive” and “excellent industry.” Theo Bland coined the term “Blandair,” which is still in use today. He mentioned that he needed to construct a slave section and a granary in his letter. Both buildings, which date from around 1845, are still standing on the land.
Bland died in 1846, and Blandair was passed down to his daughter, Sarah Bland Mayo, and her husband, Commodore Isaac Mayo, two years later. They also lived in Annapolis, but Blandair remained their country home. Isaac Mayo is listed as the owner of fifteen slaves on the 1850 Federal Slave Schedule for the Howard District of Anne Arundel County, ranging in age from three months to 70 years.
Matilda Neal, an enslaved woman, and her children Rachael, Mary, Emmeline, James, and a baby, Catharine, fled from the Blandair plantation with her husband, Richard Neal, a free man, in the fall of 1849. In 1853, Richard was jailed in Philadelphia for urging slaves to flee, although it is unclear whether Matilda and her children were also apprehended.
When their daughter, Sophia, married a neighbour, Thomas Gaither, in 1857, the Mayos deeded the land, which included eleven slaves, to her for “love, devotion, and one dollar.”
The brick two-story manor home that stands in the park today was built by the young Gaither couple. The house was completed in 1857, according to a news account from the time, with reports that a violent wind blew away part of the roof that Thomas Gaither was constructing. The 1860 Federal Slave Schedule for Howard County District 1 lists 20 slaves ranging in age from one to sixty years old, as well as two slave dwellings. The Gaithers started a family there, but after the Civil War, farming was no longer profitable without unpaid slave labour, so they sold Blandair and moved to Baltimore in 1867.

 
Blandair Regional Park West Playground Location
5750 Oakland Mills Rd, Columbia, MD 21045, United States

https://www.howardcountymd.gov/BlandairPark

+14103134700
Driving Directions From Baltimore Maryland, USA

Take E Fayette St, Hopkins Plaza and S Sharp St to I-395 S 6 min (0.8 mi)
Head west on E Fayette St toward N Calvert St 0.2 mi
Use any lane to turn slightly left onto W Fayette St 0.1 mi
Turn left onto N Liberty St 390 ft
Continue onto Hopkins Plaza 0.2 mi
Continue onto S Sharp St 0.2 mi
Turn right onto W Conway St 394 ft
Take I-95 S to MD-175 W/Rouse Pkwy in Columbia. Take exit 41A-41B from I-95 S 13 min (12.9 mi)
Continue on MD-175 W/Rouse Pkwy to your destination 8 min (3.7 mi)
Blandair Regional Park West Playground

Driving Directions From Ellicott City Maryland, USA

Drive from Old Columbia Pike, US-29 S and MD-175 E/Rouse Pkwy to Columbia 10 min (5.8 mi)
Head southwest on Old Columbia Pike toward Roussey Lane 1.5 mi
Turn right onto MD-103 W 0.1 mi
Use any lane to turn left to merge onto US-29 S toward Washington 2.6 mi
Take exit 20A for MD-175 E toward Jessup 0.3 mi
Continue onto MD-175 E/Rouse Pkwy 1.0 mi
Take the Tamar Dr 3/4/JCT 3 1/2/Jessup 6 ramp 0.1 mi
At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto Oakland Mills Rd 0.2 mi
Drive to your destination 56 s (0.1 mi)
Blandair Regional Park West Playground

 

 
Blandair Regional Park West Playground Map

Next Location
ShadowLand Laser Adventures

More information
Click: Columbia

Click: Ability Mortgage Group: Mortgage broker – Columbia Maryland

 

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blandair

https://www.howardcountymd.gov/recreation-parks/parks#blandair-regional-park-columbia

Image Source: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipM1RVo8iWedXDZMFwWjWU86UPEDFhqPMK-1JEI7

Wilde Lake Park

Wilde Lake Park

 

Wilde Lake is a man-made drainage reservoir in Columbia, Maryland, that was built in 1966 and is named after the neighboring “village” of residences about north and west of Columbia Town Center. On June 21, 1967, James W. Rouse and Frazar B. Wilde formally opened the village, which was the first phase of Columbia’s “New Town” to be created in the late 1960s. Frazar B. Wilde, a former chairman of the board of Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and a previous employer of James Rouse, is honoured by the lake and municipality. The corporation agreed to pay the secret property purchases in exchange for an equity stake in the company in 1963. The Howard Research and Development Corporation, a joint venture formed to create Columbia, was established to formalise this relationship.
Wilde Lake, having a capacity of 48,200,000 gallons, receives storm water runoff from 1140 acres. Mort Hoppenfeld, a Rouse executive, constructed the 27-foot-tall, 200-foot-wide dam that inundated the fields between Oakland Manor and the per-colonial Old Oakland manor across the Patuxent River branch. The dam project was initially planned at $500,000, but by the time it was completed, it had cost $900,000. Engineer George Levine made a quick design improvement that brought the cost down to $250,000. Spiro Agnew announced the entrance of the first Columbia-based scientific enterprise, Hittman Associates, in 1969, who relocated from Howard Research and Development for better lease rates. The EPA then hired Hittman, who recommended that Wilde Lake reuse storm water runoff from the reservoir for Columbia residents’ drinking water in order to save money on development costs.

 
History Wilde Lake Park
Columbia’s developer wanted to enhance the population density of existing land in order to make a profitable regeneration of Columbia’s outdated infrastructure as the planned town reached its design capacity and development options dwindled. In 2008, the current owner of the village centre, Kimco Realty Corporation, proposed a contentious redevelopment proposal that would have demolished buildings and replaced them with a large number of apartments in a mixed-use project. At a meeting on June 1, 2009, a Kimco executive called the scheme “null and worthless.” “I have no notion what the concept is right now,” stated the vice president of Acquisitions and Development. Kimco broke ground on a $17 million project in 2013, which included the demolition of the neighborhood grocery store and the construction of 250 multi-story garage apartments and 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of office space. The project is the company’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) project. On-site storm water management, efficient lighting, native landscaping, and sustainable construction materials are among the LEED characteristics integrated into the design. David’s Natural Market, an organic and whole foods grocery store, decided to open a 24,000 square foot (2,200 m2) store inside the village centre as a result of the makeover. Wood Partners took over the project in 2015, renaming it Alta Wilde Lake and spending $45 million to build 230 units with a 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) commercial component and a predicted 4% rent growth.

Wilde Lake Park Location
10002 Hyla Brook Rd, Columbia, MD 21044, United States

https://www.columbiaassociation.org/venue/wilde-lake-park/

+14107153000
Driving Directions from Ellicott City Maryland, USA

Take Old Columbia Pike and US-29 S to W Running Brook Rd in Columbia 8 min (4.7 mi)
Head southwest on Old Columbia Pike toward Roussey Lane 1.5 mi
Turn right onto MD-103 W 0.1 mi
Use any lane to turn left to merge onto US-29 S toward Washington 2.1 mi
Take exit 20B toward Columbia/Town Center 0.6 mi
Merge onto Little Patuxent Pkwy 0.3 mi
Continue on W Running Brook Rd. Drive to Hyla Brook Rd 30 s (0.1 mi)
Wilde Lake Park

Driving Directions from Washington District of Columbia, USA

Follow 16th St NW, 14th St NW and 16th St NW to Colesville Rd 23 min (6.1 mi)
Head southeast on Scott Cir NW toward Rhode Island Ave NW 394 ft
Exit the traffic circle onto 16th St NW 2.0 mi
Continue straight to stay on 16th St NW 1.1 mi
Turn right onto Colorado Ave NW 0.3 mi
Turn left onto 14th St NW 177 ft
Continue straight to stay on 14th St NW 1.1 mi
Turn left onto Aspen St NW 0.2 mi
Turn right at the 1st cross street onto 16th St NW
Entering Maryland 1.4 mi
Take US-29 N/Columbia Pike to MD-175 W/Rouse Pkwy in Columbia. Take exit 20 from US-29 N/Columbia Pike 32 min (19.6 mi)
Take Little Patuxent Pkwy to Hyla Brook Rd 2 min (1.0 mi)
Wilde Lake Park

 
Wilde Lake Park Map

Next Location
Blandair Regional Park West Playground

More information
Click: Columbia

Click: Ability Mortgage Group: Mortgage broker – Columbia Maryland

 

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilde_Lake,_Columbia,_Maryland

Image Source: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipMJUMXeX5h8K3ysuPL-ehkQzMDM42LDBlQaUcuY

African Art Museum of Maryland (AAMM)

African Art Museum of Maryland (AAMM)

 

The National Museum of African Art is a museum of African art run by the Smithsonian Institution and located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 9,000 items of traditional and modern African art from Sub-Saharan and North Africa, 300,000 pictures, and 50,000 library books are among the museum’s holdings. It was the first museum in the United States dedicated to African art, and it still has the greatest collection. The museum has been dubbed a “mainstay” in the international art scene and the “main forum for modern African art in the United States” by the Washington Post.
The museum was formed in 1964 by a Foreign Service officer and layperson who purchased African art pieces in Germany and a number of houses in the Capitol Hill district to display them. Traditional African art was shown, as well as an educational objective to teach black cultural history. The creator persuaded the national legislature to accept the museum under the Smithsonian’s aegis in order to secure its long-term viability. In 1979, it became a member of the Smithsonian Institution, and two years later, it was renamed the National Museum of African Art. In 1987, a new, mostly underground museum structure was erected near the National Mall and other Smithsonian institutions. It is one of the Smithsonian Institution’s tiniest museums.
Over the next two decades, the African art museum shifted to a more scientific focus, with less social activity. It included important historical writings from the past and present. The exhibitions have ranged from solo artists to comprehensive survey shows, and have included both internal and loaned works. Every year, the museum offers two to three temporary exhibitions as well as 10 special events. The architecture of the National Mall building was critiqued by reviewers, particularly its lack of natural light. As part of the Smithsonian’s future South Mall project, the museum will be renovated.

 
History African Art Museum of Maryland (AAMM)
Warren M. Robbins, an American Foreign Service officer, gathered African figurines, masks, books, and fabrics from German antique shops in the 1950s. In 1960, he returned to Washington, D.C., and bought a mansion on Capitol Hill, where he displayed his collection. Robbins believed that the collection could advance interracial civil rights and improve national recognition for a vital component of black cultural legacy despite his lack of museum, arts, or fundraising experience. He expanded his Capitol Hill house museum into neighboring townhouses, including the former home of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, starting in 1963. Nine townhouses and nearly a dozen more structures near the Supreme Court Building were eventually occupied by the collections.
The Museum of African Art was initially created in 1964, and its debut exhibition featured the collection as well as two outside items. The museum concentrated on traditional African art and its educational goal to teach black cultural history throughout Robbins’ tenure. It also acted as a welcoming gathering place for people interested in American racial politics, in keeping with the Black Arts Movement’s efforts to influence American attitudes about African cultures in the 1960s and 1970s. “An education department with a museum attached,” Robbins described his museum. Robbins had visited Africa for the first time in 1976, when the African art museum had a 20-person staff and a 6,000-object collection.
Robbins persuaded Congress to incorporate his museum into the Smithsonian Institution, a federal network of museums and research institutions, in order to assure the museum’s long-term viability. Representatives John Brademas, Lindy Boggs, Ron Dellums, the Congressional Black Caucus, and former Vice President Hubert Humphrey voted supported this measure in the House of Representatives in 1978. The museum was adopted by the Smithsonian directors the next year, and arrangements were made to move the collection from the townhouses to a proper museum. The National Museum of African Art was renamed the National Museum of African Art in 1981.
Sylvia Williams took over as director of the museum in early 1983. Later same year, on the National Mall, the Smithsonian Institution commenced ground on a new, dedicated structure for the African art museum. When it opened in September 1987, the facility was mostly subterranean and doubled the museum’s exhibition space. The study of traditional things for their workmanship and aesthetic features has transformed perspectives on African art over time, shifting from ethnographic curiosity to the study of traditional objects for their craftsmanship and aesthetic properties. Williams approached the museum with an academic, art historian attitude, pursuing high-risk, high-cost pieces before their final prices were determined. Beyond conventional Sub-Saharan Africa, the collection extended to include contemporary pieces as well as works from Arab North Africa. This trend was opposed by the museum’s founder, who believed that the organization was forsaking its public duty in favor of “esoteric research.”
Following Williams’ death in 1996, curator Roslyn Walker took over as director, serving until her retirement in 2002. Walker followed in the footsteps of her predecessor, adding a modern art gallery and curator. She also established a development office, which secured funds for the museum’s pavilion reconstruction in the early 2000s. Between 2003 through 2008, Sharon Patton, former director of Oberlin College’s Allen Memorial Art Museum, served as director. More shows aimed at children were added under her tenure, as well as a mass resignation of the advisory board against Smithsonian leadership.
In 2009, anthropologist Johnetta Cole, a former president of Spelman and Bennett Colleges, was named director of the museum. Her tenure was linked to a contentious 2015 display including artwork from comedian Bill Cosby’s private collection, which opened shortly as sexual assault allegations against him became public. The government budget sequester in 2013 forced the closure of one of the museum’s permanent shows. Cole stepped down in March 2017 and was replaced in February 2018 by British filmmaker and curator Gus Casely-Hayford.

 
African Art Museum of Maryland (AAMM) Location
8775 Cloudleap Ct Suite 112, Columbia, MD 21045, United States

https://www.africanartmuseum.org/

+14107407411
Driving Directions from Baltimore Maryland, USA

Take Light St and E Conway St to I-395 S 5 min (0.8 mi)
Head west on E Fayette St toward N Calvert St 489 ft
Turn left onto St Paul St 312 ft
Continue onto Light St 0.4 mi
Use the right 2 lanes to turn right onto E Conway St 0.3 mi
Take I-95 S to Snowden River Pkwy in Howard County. Take exit 3 from MD-100 W 13 min (12.7 mi)
Continue on Snowden River Pkwy to your destination in Columbia 5 min (1.4 mi)
African Art Museum of Maryland (AAMM)

Driving Directions from Washington District of Columbia, USA

Get on I-495 E in Silver Spring from 16th St NW 27 min (7.7 mi)
Head southeast on Scott Cir NW toward Rhode Island Ave NW 394 ft
Exit the traffic circle onto 16th St NW 2.0 mi
Continue straight to stay on 16th St NW
Entering Maryland 3.8 mi
At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto 16th St 1.1 mi
Use any lane to turn left onto Georgia Ave 0.4 mi
Turn right to merge onto I-495 E toward Beltway/Baltimore 0.3 mi
Take I-95 N to MD-175 W in Howard County. Take exit 41A-41B from I-95 N 19 min (19.5 mi)
Continue on MD-175 W to your destination in Columbia 8 min (3.3 mi)
African Art Museum of Maryland (AAMM)

 
African Art Museum of Maryland (AAMM) Map

Next Location
Wilde Lake Park

More information
Click: Columbia

Click: Ability Mortgage Group: Mortgage broker – Columbia Maryland

 

Source:

https://africanartmuseum.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_African_Art

Image Source: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipM08UGHDCUnxP0N4Aqec9fQV7QxzvigQmMD42qL

Clark’s Elioak Farm

Clark’s Elioak Farm

 

Clark’s Elioak Property is a historic 540-acre farm located along Maryland Route 108 in Howard County, Maryland. All of the land is protected by county or state farmland protection schemes, which prevents it from being used for non-farm development. Since 1927, the Clark’s have held the Elioak farm, a family with a seven-generation farming legacy in Maryland.
Elioak is the name of a type of silty clay loam found on the slopes and peaks of hills in the Piedmont Plateau’s northern region. Elioak soil is good for apple orchards since it is deep, well-drained, and somewhat permeable. Elioak was also noted as a former Howard County postal community at the turn of the century.
The Elioak Farm has recently been transformed into a petting zoo and a site for the restoration of the historic Enchanted Forest.

 
Clark’s Elioak Farm History
On November 1, 1797, James, John, and David Clark leased two parcels from Charles Carroll, beginning the Clark family’s farming legacy in Maryland. Beginning with Wheatfield Farm in the western part of Howard County in 1850, the family began purchasing their own holdings. James Clark Sr. was born at Fairfield Farm and later moved to Keewaydin Farm on Columbia Road after marrying Alda Clark of White Hall. In 1927, they bought Elioak Farm. The main house burned down in 1900, leaving a two-story tenant house and a stone slave quarters on the 312-acre farm, which was half-wooded. With yearly cattle drives down Route 29 to Wheatfield Farm, James Clark Sr. reared Angus cattle.

After participating in World War II, James Clark Jr., who subsequently became President of the Maryland State Senate, returned to Elioak Farm to continue the family farming legacy. In 1946, he was handed a half-share of his father’s farm, which he subsequently bought out and ran until his death in 2006 at the age of 87. Clark and his new bride moved into the 18th century stone slave quarters in 1946, building a kitchen and bathroom first, then two extra bedrooms and hot water in 1950. He was caught in a horse-drawn drill that ran over his head in 1947. He founded the Clarkland Farms dairy and beef enterprises at Elioak in 1951, and later expanded to the nearby 160-acre Dallas Brown Farm. In the 1960s, his concerns over land development in Howard County inspired both his political and farming careers. He founded Program Open Space to protect Maryland’s undeveloped land and served on the Maryland Environmental Trust and Land Trust Alliance.

Jimmy Carter paid two visits to the farm in 1975, when Clark organised a meeting for Maryland Democratic supporters during Carter’s presidential campaign. Carter returned in 1980 while campaigning for re-election as president. Clark’s family farm’s motto, “Never Sell the Land,” is carved on a monument stone and boldly displays Clark’s commitment.
Clark’s Elioak Farm Location
10500 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21042, United States

https://www.showclix.com/event/clark-s-elioak-farm-2021

+14107304049

 
Driving Directions From Columbia Maryland, USA

Drive along US-29 N and MD-108 W 9 min (6.3 mi)
Head northeast toward US-29 S 0.2 mi
Merge onto US-29 S 0.1 mi
Take exit 18 toward Oakland Mills 0.2 mi
Merge onto Broken Land Pkwy 482 ft
Use the right lane to merge onto US-29 N via the ramp to Baltimore 3.2 mi
Take exit 21B to merge onto MD-108 W/Old Annapolis Rd toward Clarksville
Continue to follow MD-108 W 2.5 mi
Drive to your destination in Ellicott City 31 s (351 ft)
Clark’s Elioak Farm

Driving Directions From Baltimore Maryland, USA

Take Light St and E Conway St to I-395 S 5 min (0.8 mi)
Head west on E Fayette St toward N Calvert St 489 ft
Turn left onto St Paul St 312 ft
Continue onto Light St 0.4 mi
Use the right 2 lanes to turn right onto E Conway St 0.3 mi
Take I-95 S and MD-100 W to MD-108 W/Clarksville Pike in Ellicott City. Take exit 21B from US-29 S 18 min (17.4 mi)
Follow MD-108 W/Clarksville Pike to your destination 4 min (2.0 mi)
Clark’s Elioak Farm

 
Clark’s Elioak Farm Map

Next Location
African Art Museum of Maryland (AAMM)

More information
Click: Columbia

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Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark%27s_Elioak_Farm

Image Source: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipMgW5CXcE6EajOsKhO63x6ye4KsBFf6SDV6Lgrp

Robinson Nature Center

Robinson Nature Center

The James and Anne Robinson Nature Center is an 18-acre park next to the Middle Patuxent Environmental Area that offers nature education. This building is environmentally friendly, with geothermal heating/cooling, porous paving, solar panels, water saving systems, and other elements that have earned it the LEED Certified Platinum award. The Center offers over 450 activities each year, including field trips, public programmes, birthday parties, home schooling, and scouting. For decades, James and Anne Robinson looked after the property and prevented it from being developed, eventually arranging for its transfer to Howard County, Maryland for public use. The James & Anne Robinson Foundation continues to support the Center, which is owned and maintained by the Howard County Department of Recreation & Parks.

Robinson Nature Center History
The Nature Center was built on 18.3 of 22 acres of a 31-acre parcel that had been split from the Simpsonville Mill property by William and Rebecca Simpson and sold to Sophia Stern in 1891; subsequent sales were to Isaac Goldstein and Louis Abram in 1894, Eli Goldstein and family (Russian immigrants) in 1897, David and Agnes Johnson in 1902, Charles and Alice Baldwin in 1911, John Clifford and Martha Wall in 1914 (then 23.75 acres), and Harry and Rachel Saumenig in 1921. The property was purchased by James and Anne Robinson in 1957; it is adjacent to the modern Middle Patuxent Environmental Area and the core properties on Cedar Lane that were assembled to start the Rouse development of Columbia, Maryland. After decades of offers to buy the property for dense development, Anne Robinson approached the county in 2002 about passing the land to them for operation of a nature center. The purchase was settled on February 18, 2005, with funding from $1.7 million in county development excise taxes and $300,000 of Program Open Space money. The James & Anne Robinson Foundation, which Anne and her accountant created in 2003 to hold the property, returned $1 million of the proceeds of the sale as a contribution toward construction of the facility. Anne Robinson did not live to see the opening of the Nature Center; she died in 2005 at the age of 89. Her husband James had died in 1977.

In 2009, capital project funding of $1,010,000 was transferred from Meadowbrook Park, $250,000 from Rockburn Branch Park, $600,000 from Western Regional Park, $300,000 from Patapsco Female Institute, $600,000 from Cedar Lane School, $320,000 from Cedar Lane Athletic Improvements and Park Headquarters to build Robinson Nature Center. A total of $962,000 was budgeted for onsite road construction.

The center had its groundbreaking in 2009, although one Robinson family member expressed the family’s unhappiness about the project. After the groundbreaking, the remains of the Robinson’s mid-to-late 19th-century frame house adjacent to the Simpsonville Mill, in which Anne had lived until 2004 and which had been demolished in February 2005, were dismantled, as was a barn on the property. Wood from the barn was saved and, upon construction of the building, used to create siding and tables for an area in the front lobby dedicated to James & Anne Robinson as the “Legacy Room.” The Nature Center, designed by GWWO Architects and built by Forrester Construction Co and KCI Technologies, opened on September 10, 2011.

The stone stairs that once led to the front porch of the Robinson house still remain on the property in their original location. A covered pavilion was erected in 2014 on the site of the house with the footprint of the original house etched in stonework on the pavilion’s floor. In what was the front yard of the house, Anne Robinson had maintained planted gardens. Plants from these gardens were preserved, and a memorial garden was created around the original landscaping with the addition of native shrubs and trees, benches and a stone pathway.
Robinson Natrure Center Location
6692 Cedar Ln, Columbia, MD 21044, United States

http://www.howardcountymd.gov/recreation-parks/RobinsonNatureCenter

+14103130400
Driving Directions From Baltimore Maryland, USA

Take Light St and E Conway St to I-395 S 5 min (0.8 mi)
Head west on E Fayette St toward N Calvert St 489 ft
Turn left onto St Paul St 312 ft
Continue onto Light St 0.4 mi
Use the right 2 lanes to turn right onto E Conway St 0.3 mi
Take I-95 S and MD-32 W to Cedar Ln in Columbia. Take exit 17 from MD-32 W 19 min (19.3 mi)
Continue on Cedar Ln to your destination 2 min (0.4 mi)
Robinson Nature Center

Driving Directions From Frederick Maryland, USA

Get on I-70 E/US-40 E from W All Saints St and East St 6 min (1.6 mi)
Head west on E Patrick St toward N Market St 482 ft
Turn left at the 2nd cross street onto S Court St 0.2 mi
Turn left onto W All Saints St 0.3 mi
W All Saints St turns right and becomes East St 0.4 mi
At the traffic circle, continue straight to stay on East St 0.2 mi
Continue onto Buckeystown Pike 0.2 mi
Use the left 2 lanes to merge onto I-70 E/US-40 E via the ramp to Baltimore 0.3 mi
Follow I-70 E/US-40 E to MD-32 S in West Friendship. Take exit 80 from I-70 E/US-40 E 22 min (25.6 mi)
Follow MD-32 E to your destination in Columbia 16 min (12.1 mi)
Robinson Nature Center

Robinson Nature Center Map

 
Next Location
Clark’s Elioak Farm

More information
Click: Columbia

Click: Ability Mortgage Group: Mortgage broker – Columbia Maryland

 

Source:

https://www.howardcountymd.gov/recreation-parks/robinson-nature-center

Image Source: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipP5KtTfla0QTu_PIpfCJ3YcPvVTtGK9sI6I4aYc

Lake Elkhorn Park

Lake Elkhorn Park

Lake Elkhorn is a 37-acre (150,000-m2) reservoir in Columbia, Maryland’s Owen Brown neighbourhood. It is the third and largest lake in Columbia. A tiny dam, a park with a picnic pavilion, and a two-mile (3-kilometer) walking path around the lake are the primary attractions. The route, which is bordered by a park and townhouses, was completed in 1982. The Elkhorn branch of the Little Patuxent River is named for the lake, which was established in 1974. In 1969, Spiro Agnew announced the arrival of the first Columbia-based scientific enterprise, Hittman Associates, which relocated from Howard Research and Development for better lease rates. The EPA then hired Hittman to advocate reuse of storm water runoff from all of Columbia’s reservoir systems for residential drinking water to save money on development expenses, using Wilde Lake as an example. The Columbia Association is in charge of the lake. Lake Elkhorn is a 37-acre reservoir in Columbia, Maryland’s Owen Brown neighbourhood. It is the third and largest lake in Columbia. A tiny dam, a park with a picnic pavilion, and a two-mile (3-kilometer) walking path around the lake are the primary attractions. The route was constructed in 1982. It is surrounded by homes and a park. The Elkhorn branch of the Little Patuxent River is named for the lake, which was established in 1974. In 1969, Spiro Agnew announced the arrival of the first Columbia-based scientific enterprise, Hittman Associates, which relocated from Howard Research and Development for better lease rates. The EPA then hired Hittman to advocate reuse of storm water runoff from all of Columbia’s reservoir systems for residential drinking water to save money on development expenses, using Wilde Lake as an example. The Columbia Association is in charge of the lake.

 
Lake Elkhorn Park Location
Parking lot, Patuxent Branch Trail, Columbia, MD 21045, United States

https://www.columbiaassociation.org/explore-columbia/get-outside/lakes/

+14107153000
Driving Directions From Columbia Maryland, USA

Head northeast toward US-29 S 0.2 mi
Merge onto US-29 S 0.1 mi
Take exit 18 toward Oakland Mills 0.2 mi
Merge onto Broken Land Pkwy 1.4 mi
Turn left onto Cradlerock Way 0.3 mi
Turn right onto Dockside Ln 125 ft
Turn left 492 ft
Lake Elkhorn Park

Driving Directions From Ellicott City Maryland, USA

Take Old Columbia Pike, US-29 S and Broken Land Pkwy to Dockside Ln in Columbia 13 min (7.9 mi)
Head southwest on Old Columbia Pike toward Roussey Lane 1.5 mi
Turn right onto MD-103 W 0.1 mi
Use any lane to turn left to merge onto US-29 S toward Washington 4.4 mi
Take exit 18 toward Oakland Mills 0.2 mi
Merge onto Broken Land Pkwy 1.4 mi
Turn left onto Cradlerock Way 0.3 mi
Drive to your destination 2 min (0.1 mi)
Lake Elkhorn Park

 
Lake Elkhorn Park Map

 
Next Location
Robinson Nature Center

More information
Click: Columbia

Click: Ability Mortgage Group: Mortgage broker – Columbia Maryland

 

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Elkhorn

Image Source: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipMBiGh5RMdOha4a8xwAgEwW56RRhbbdfE7AyD4H

 

 

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Centennial Park

Centennial Park

Centennial Park is a public park in Ellicott City, Maryland, managed by the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks. It is a 337-acre park that surrounds Centennial Lake.
A 2.4-mile asphalt trail loop loops around the lake. During certain months of the year, boat rentals are available, as well as a public boat ramp. Hunting, guns, swimming, sailboarding, wind surfing, stand up paddle-boarding, and inner tubing are all illegal in the lake. Except in picnic pavilions, playgrounds, and sports areas, pets are allowed in the park. Pet owners are compelled by Howard County legislation to pick up any and all waste that their pets make. Plastic bag dispensers are strategically placed throughout the park to help maintain it tidy. The leash law in Howard County is strictly enforced.
Centennial Park’s lake, field, forested areas, and wetlands are home to a diverse range of species. A buoy line prevents entry to a Wildlife Region on the lake, which provides a safe spawning area for fish and nesting grounds for birds.
Running, walking, and biking are all permitted on the loop around the lake. There are a number of benches along the loop, as well as pavilions nearby. Water fountains, particularly water fountains for dogs, are also available for public use. As part of the Water Fountain Donation Program, the first water fountain for dogs was just added. The O’Brien family donated the fountain in 2017 in honour of their family dog, Phoenix. In keeping with the program’s goal of reducing the usage of plastic water bottles, the fountain also has a bottle filling station.
Centennial Park History
In 1965, Centennial Park was designed as a flood-control reservoir. The original lake was built as part of the area storm water management system as a flood control strategy.
The park’s design was finalized in 1976, and the primary land parcels were acquired by 1978. The park’s construction began in the 1980s, and it was dedicated on June 13, 1987.
Centennial Park is 325 acres in size, with a 50-acre central lake. There are over four miles of concrete pathways, as well as nine asphalt pavilions, tennis and basketball courts, a boat ramp, and a dock. Large-mouth Bass, Bluegill, and Sunfish are supplied into the lake every year.
The park received the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Merit Award for Innovative Design in 1989. The Waterfront Center awarded it the 1989 Excellence on the Waterfront Award the same year.
The park, which is maintained by the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, is open from dawn to dark and is a popular spot for strolling, walking, cycling, and skating in Howard County. Its recreational facilities are in high demand, and it is a popular destination for picnics and other events all year.
In 1969, the County attempted to buy 64 acres of land in Centennial Park by condemnation from a firm owned by land speculator Joel Kline for $3,180 per acre. During Kline’s tenure, a fire completely destroyed an early 1800s farmhouse on the property. Later, Kline was charged with real estate fraud involving local politicians, including Spiro Agnew, who was forced to resign. In 1975, the County paid nearly twice as much as Kline’s creditors for the Centennial Lake parkland. In 1969, Spiro Agnew announced the arrival of the first Columbia-based scientific enterprise, Hittman Associates, which relocated from Howard Research and Development for better lease rates. The EPA then hired Hittman to advocate the reuse of storm water runoff from Columbia’s reservoir systems for residential drinking water, using Wilde Lake as an example to save money on development expenditures. The lake was briefly blocked on December 1, 2013, after a man drowned. The lake was lowered roughly 10 feet in late Fall 2015 to allow dam riser gate repairs. In January 2016, it was brought back to normal.

 
Centential Park Location
In Howard County, Centennial Park is near Route 108 and Route 29. The Post Oak lies in the north-east corner of the lake, and the park is open from sunrise to night.
10000 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21042; 10

http://www.howardcountymd.gov/centennialpark

+14103137256
Driving Directions From Ellicott City, Maryland

Drive from Old Columbia Pike, US-29 S and MD-108 W/Clarksville Pike to Columbia 8 min (4.2 mi)
Head southwest on Old Columbia Pike toward Roussey Lane 1.5 mi
Turn right onto MD-103 W 0.1 mi
Use any lane to turn left to merge onto US-29 S toward Washington 1.1 mi
Take exit 21B to merge onto MD-108 W/Clarksville Pike toward Clarksville
Centennial Park

Driving Directions From Frederick, Maryland

Maryland, USA
Get on I-70 E/US-40 E from W All Saints St and East St 6 min (1.6 mi)
Head west on E Patrick St toward N Market St 482 ft
Turn left at the 2nd cross street onto S Court St 0.2 mi
Turn left onto W All Saints St 0.3 mi
W All Saints St turns right and becomes East St 0.4 mi
At the traffic circle, continue straight to stay on East St 0.2 mi
Continue onto Buckeystown Pike 0.2 mi
Use the left 2 lanes to merge onto I-70 E/US-40 E via the ramp to Baltimore
Centennial Park

 
Centennial Park Map

 
Next Location
Lake Elkhorn Park

More information
Click: Columbia

Click: Ability Mortgage Group: Mortgage broker – Columbia Maryland

 

Source:

http://www.howardcountyforestryboard.org/index.cfm?objectid=727F3AD0-7A84-11E4-BAE40050560F037A

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Centennial_(Maryland)

Image Source: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipNOQZ8HLIPFQCwSII-zQ6D8ttjWLHOw3f0FAoTJ