Pikesville, Maryland

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Pikesville, Maryland
Location of Pikesville, Maryland
Location of Pikesville, Maryland
Coordinates: 39°22′45″N 76°42′18″W / 39.37917, -76.705
Country United States
State Maryland
County Baltimore
Area
 - Total 12.4 sq mi (32.1 km²)
 - Land 12.4 sq mi (32.1 km²)
 - Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation 509 ft (155 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 29,123
 - Density 2,348.4/sq mi (906.7/km²)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 21208, 21282
Area code(s) 410
FIPS code 24-61400
GNIS feature ID 0586509

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[1], 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.

Contents

[edit] Geography

The Pikes Theater, one of Pikesville's historic landmarks. Currently, a theater-themed diner occupies the building
The Pikes Theater, one of Pikesville's historic landmarks. Currently, a theater-themed diner occupies the building

Pikesville is located at 39°22′45″N, 76°42′18″W (39.379039, -76.705091)[2].

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

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 29,123 people, 12,747 households, and 8,145 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,348.4 people per square mile (906.8/km²). There were 13,391 housing units at an average density of 1,079.8/sq mi (417.0/km²). 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 in neighborhoods such as Broadway East, Jonestown, Middle East and Oliver. As African Americans moved in, Jews then moved out of East Baltimore into Northwestern Baltimore around Druid Hill Park, Park Heights, and Forest Park. During World War II, the Jewish community started to move outside Baltimore City into Pikesville. Jews still owned many of the neighborhood businesses in their old communities up to the Baltimore riot of 1968. During the Vietnam War, most of the Jewish neighborhoods in Northwestern Baltimore City had became predominantly African American.

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] History

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.) However, it is the only place named Pikesville (Pikeville, KY comes closest.)

[edit] Education

Pikesville is served by several elementary, middle, and high schools:

[edit] Public

  • Wellwood International School (elementary)
  • Fort Garrison Elementary School
  • Summit Park Elementary School
  • Milbrook Elementary
  • Sudbrook Magnet Middle School
  • Pikesville Middle School
  • Pikesville High School
  • Old Court Middle School

[edit] Independent

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Roads

[edit] Reisterstown Road

Main article: Maryland Route 140

Maryland Route 140, better known as Reisterstown Road, is Pikesville's historic "Main Street," holding most of Pikesville's commercial development. Located on Reisterstown Road are the area's historic shops (mostly inside the Baltimore Beltway), and some more modern shopping centers (mostly outside the beltway).

[edit] Old Court Road/Naylors Lane

Main article: Old Court Road

Old Court Road is one of the major cross-county roads in Pikesville, providing direct access to nearby Winands Road in Randallstown and Ruxton. While mostly residential, there is a small amount of commercial development on Old Court Road, plus the Old Court Metro Subway Station.

[edit] Naylors Lane

Naylors Lane is a shortcut to Reistertown Road from traffic on Old Court Road which runs to Pomona in Pikesville Maryland. Naylors Lane also has entrances/exits to several commercial parking lots in the area, enabling traffic in these locations to reach a light for an easier exit.

[edit] Smith Avenue/Slade Avenue/Milford Mill Road

Pikesville's other major cross-county road is known in various sections as Smith Avenue, Slade Avenue, or Milford Mill Road. This road provides access to nearby Milford Mill and Mt. Washington. The road is lined mostly with residential development, but is also home to the Milford Mill Metro Subway Station and passes some of the area's public schools and shopping districts.

[edit] Scotts Level Road

Scotts Level Road is a secondary road that runs from Milford Mill Road to Winands Road in the Pikesville/Randallstown area. The road, which is often used for thru traffic in the area, is the location of several apartments complexes, a nursing home, and an elementary school.

[edit] Park Heights Avenue/Stevenson Road

Main article: Maryland Route 129

Maryland Route 129, better known as Park Heights Avenue, runs parallel to Reisterstown Road, and is used as a back-road alternative to Reisterstown Road by motorists. In the Pikesville area, the road is lined with upscale housing on the east side, and by Suburban Country Club and Druid Ridge Cemetery on the west. At Old Court Road, the parallel Stevenson Road splits off. While westbound access to the Baltimore Beltway is available from Park Heights Avenue, the ramps for eastbound traffic can be found on Stevenson Road. The two roads at this point are also linked by Brooks Robinson Drive (MD-129A), formerly called Radio Tower Drive. The two residential developments bounded by Brooks Robinson Dr. (N); Stevenson Rd. (E); Park Heights Ave. (W); and the intersection of Stevenson, Park Heights, and Old Court Rd. (S) are "Fields of Stevenson" and the older "Sugarville," after developer Gordon Sugar.

[edit] Sudbrook Lane/Road

The historic one-lane bridge on Sudbrook Lane
The historic one-lane bridge on Sudbrook Lane
See also: Sudbrook Park

Sudbrook Lane is a two-lane road that splits off from Old Court Road near Park Heights Avenue, and continues to Milford Mill Road, before it changes identification to Sudbrook Road until its end at Rockridge Road. The most notable feature on this road, which runs through historic Sudbrook Park, is the historic one-lane bridge, which was recently reconstructed.

[edit] Mt. Wilson Lane

Mt. Wilson Lane is a two-lane road off of Reisterstown Road outside the beltway. After an underpass with I-795, it dead ends at the upscale gated neighborhood of Villages at Woodholme which continues to Winands Road with Key Access. Also located on Mt. Wilson Lane are Ner Israel Rabbinical College and Sol Levinson Funeral Home.

[edit] Hooks Lane

Hooks Lane is a street in Pikesville that runs parallel to the Baltimore Beltway on the north side. It runs through the Woodholme area, with entrances to several shopping centers, office complexes, and apartments. The name "Hooks Lane" is used only from Park Heights Avenue to Reistertown Road, but in both directions, the road physically continues. To the south of Reisterstown Road, it is known as "Woodholme Avenue" and it dead-ends at Woodholme Country Club. To the east of Park Heights Avenue, it becomes a side street known as Michelle Way which is short and has a few upscale houses.

[edit] Public Transportation

The Baltimore Metro Subway runs through Pikesville, with two stops in the area, both named for the roads on which they are located. The Milford Mill and Old Court Metro subway stations, which are located away from Reisterstown Road, both offer plenty of parking and bus service to other parts of Pikesville. Maryland Transit Administration bus routes serving Pikesville include nos. M-2 and M-9 on Reisterstown Road and M-3 and M-8 on Milford Mill Road.

[edit] Pikesville in national/international news

Vernon Evans has been a key figure in the battle against lethal injection in Maryland and other states. He is currently on death row for the murders of two clerks at a Pikesville motel in 1983 [1].

One of the September 11 terrorists was pulled over for speeding on I-695 in Pikesville shortly before the attacks [2].

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 by Hooks Lane, several miles away. 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 [3].

[edit] Pikesville in entertainment

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.

Larry Wachs, of The Regular Guys Show in Atlanta, is a 1979 graduate of Pikesville High School.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links