GROUNDBREAKING REMARKS, HITTMAN BUILDING 233

pens to hold it. I realize this, and therefore it is with sincere humility
that I shall direct my brief remarks to this august and distinguished
audience, a majority of whom have played vital roles and been deeply
involved in the realization of this day.

As Governor of the State of Maryland, I am honored and proud to
represent the citizens of our State on this occasion. As an individual,
who happens to be the Governor of Maryland at this time, I am deeply
grateful for this opportunity to be, even in a small way, directly in-
volved in the creation of a city — to participate in the realization of
this phenomenon we call Columbia.

For, as an individual, I have followed the development of Columbia
almost since its inception, over four years ago, with an interest which
I believe typified that of the average citizen; a fascination which com-
bined deep admiration for Mr. Rouse's aspiration with a ruthlessly
pragmatic curiosity to see if such an awesome project could ever pro-
gress off the drawing boards! I was perhaps more informed than the
casual spectator, as I watched Mr. Rouse's first encounter with the
officials of Howard County — due to experience as a member of the
Board of Appeals, Baltimore County's zoning authority and what was
then my vantage point as Baltimore County Executive.

Consequently, the cooperation which followed the initial, and quite
natural, combat was regarded by me as nothing short of phenomenal.
The ability of the public and private sectors to work efficiently and
effectively together to assure that zoning and land use would be di-
rected toward the realization of a comprehensive, planned community
demands special recognition. For if either partner had faltered or
failed in the complete and unresolved disposition of its obligations,
the totality and the purity of this project could have been destroyed.

The scope of Columbia is at once so extensive and yet so compre-
hensive that one can only marvel at the sensitive coalition of details
that have been balanced to create this community. Columbia exempli-
fies the generosity, the imagination and the ability of private enter-
prise, which has planned extensive accommodations to fulfill a diver-
sified spectrum of human needs and still has taken the interest and
care to preserve fifty acres of woodlands so as not to disrupt the court-
ship of racoons.

Columbia shall be the culmination of one man's confidence that
private enterprise can plan and construct a total city from a blueprint
of "how people ought to live if you could do it all over again" —
and do it at a profit; a city which offers homes and employment and