Pikesville, Maryland

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Pikesville is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Pikesville is just northwest of the Baltimore City limits. It is the northwestern suburb closest to Baltimore.

In the 2000 census^GR2, the population of Pikesville was recorded as 29,123. The corridor along Interstate 795 which links Pikesville, Owings Mills and Reisterstown, Maryland to the Baltimore Beltway (Interstate 695) contains one of the larger Jewish populations in Maryland.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Jewish Community
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Pikesville is located at 39°22′45″N, 76°42′18″W (39.379039, -76.705091)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 32.1 km² (12.4 mi²). 32.1 km² (12.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.08% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 29,123 people, 12,747 households, and 8,145 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 906.8/km² (2,348.4/mi²). There were 13,391 housing units at an average density of 417.0/km² (1,079.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.39% White, 8.52% African American, 0.09% Native American, 3.49% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.50% of the population.

There were 12,747 households out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 19.7% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 23.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 86.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $58,598, and the median income for a family was $78,002. Males had a median income of $52,079 versus $37,179 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $41,035. About 5.0% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

In 2000, 19.3% of Pikesville residents identified as being of Russian heritage. This was the highest percentage of Russian Americans of any place in the United States.

[edit] Jewish Community

In the 19th and early 20th centuries Jewish immigrants to the Baltimore area first formed enclaves in East Baltimore not far from Johns Hopkins Hospital. They then moved out of East Baltimore to create new Jewish neighborhoods in northwest Baltimore, around Druid Hill Park, lower Park Heights Avenue, and Forest Park. Just before and after World War II, the Jewish community started to move outside Baltimore City into Pikesville as the next step in their northwesterly migration.

Pikesville is now considered the center of the Baltimore area's Jewish community of 100,000 (referred to by residents as "100,000 Jews in three zip codes"). Many of the region's largest and most established synagogues and Jewish schools are located in or near Pikesville. In the past few decades, the Jewish community has expanded further outside the city of Baltimore to other more distant northwestern suburbs, including Owings Mills and Reisterstown.

[edit] Trivia

Pikesville was named after the American soldier and explorer Zebulon Pike (1779–1813). (There are also places named for Pike in Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota and Ohio.)

One of the September 11 terrorists was pulled over for speeding on I-695 in Pikesville shortly before the attacks.

According to Homicide: Life on the Street, fictional detective John Munch grew up in Pikesville.

In a Season 5 Episode of 24 (TV series), it is revealed that Audrey Raines spent a night in a hotel room with White House aide Walt Cummings in Pikesville before the events of that season.

In April 2005, nine bison knocked down their gate on a nearby farm and roamed free around the Pikesville area until police officers were able to corral them onto the tennis court of a townhouse complex. The owner, Gerald "Buzz" Berg, said that the bison were likely headed for a trip to the slaughterhouse. Police said Berg would face no charges.