Hamilton Hills, Baltimore

Neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Hamilton Hills is a mixed use suburban neighborhood located in the northeastern corner of Baltimore City, Maryland. Hamilton Hills represents a section of Hamilton, a larger historic area that includes other neighborhoods in Northeast Baltimore. The neighborhood's borders are Old Harford Road and Harford Road to the east, Echodale Avenue to the south, Perring Parkway to the west and the Baltimore County line to the north. The main thoroughfare in Hamilton Hills is Harford Road, which has been an integral part of the area's history. The larger Hamilton area was sparsely populated until the late 18th century, the period when Harford Road was built. Hamilton began as a small, rural village surrounded by farmland during the 19th century. The land that became Hamilton Hills was a part of Baltimore County until 1918, when Baltimore City annexed it. Real estate developers arrived in the 20th century to build houses, and entrepreneurs formed a main street corridor on Harford Road. The Hamilton area was described throughout the 20th century as a desirable, family oriented suburb in Baltimore City. The community has experienced White flight and been challenged by urban decay since the end of World War II. Residents in the 21st century have attempted to revive and protect Harford Road's main street economy as well as the reputation of the Hamilton area. Hamilton Hills was formalized in 2003 when the neighborhood association renamed the neighborhood. Hamilton Hills' population in the 21st century has remained relatively stable compared to Baltimore's overall population decline. As of 2020, Hamilton Hills was the 5th largest neighborhood in the city by total population. Compared to Baltimore as a whole, median household incomes among Hamilton Hills residents in the 2010s were higher, life expectancy was longer, crime was lower, and voter participation was higher. Hamilton Hills residents have been more likely to graduate high school than all Baltimoreans but less likely to complete college. Hamilton Hills is represented within the Baltimore City Council's 3rd District. Elementary and middle school students are zoned into three public schools, and the neighborhood is served by three post offices and a public library branch. It has two urban green spaces, one park, and a variety of cultural amenities.

The Susquehannock people controlled the area that became Baltimore City and Baltimore County as late as the 1640s. They used the hilly, rugged terrain as hunting and trapping grounds, living instead to the north in the lower valley of the Susquehanna River. These settlers gradually drove the Susquehannocks from the land, and they prevented other peoples such as the Iroquois and the Algonquians from claiming it. The area that became Northeast Baltimore was sparsely populated in the 18th century. In 1734, the Principio Iron Company of England began acquiring land in the area for pig iron production, much of which they exported to England. At the peak of their operations, the company owned 4,900 acres of land in Northeast Baltimore. They used Herring Run to transport some of their goods on barges, and they likely stripped natural resources from the area that became Hamilton. In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, the Maryland General Assembly passed an act to confiscate all British property in the state. This included Principio's land in Northeast Baltimore. Over time, wealthy merchants from Baltimore Town built large estates on some of it, and truck farmers arrived to supply food for the region on other lots. Harford Road was built as early as 1791 in part to provide these merchants and farmers with a trade route into Baltimore Town. After the City of Baltimore was incorporated in 1797, most of the Harford Road area remained in Baltimore County until the 20th century.

Travelers complained in the early 19th century that potholes made Harford Road almost impassable with a horse and carriage. In 1819, the road was privatized as a toll road in exchange for its maintenance. A few connecting streets were built over the next few decades, and villages flourished around some popular crossroads. One such village became Hamilton's sister neighborhood of Lauraville. During the mid and late 19th century, another village emerged on Harford Road between the intersections of Old Harford Road and Tames Lane. This is the village that later became Hamilton, though it was called North Lauraville in its earliest years. In exchange, Tames Lane was renamed Hamilton Lane and later Hamilton Avenue in his honor. As more residents moved to Hamilton during the early 20th century, they expanded the area's economic and communal activities. Retailers in various trades, from drug stores to dressmaking, opened along Harford Road and Hamilton Avenue. The two story Hamilton Hall building was constructed at the southeast corner of Harford Road and Hamilton Avenue to serve as a prominent gathering place. Between 1900 and 1930, a dozen Christian churches were founded on or near Harford Road, and six held their first meetings in Hamilton Hall. Two neighborhood associations, the Hamilton Improvement Association and the Hamilton Women's Club, were formed to advocate for social and structural improvements in the area. and Hamilton's rail service on Harford Road was discontinued on June 19, 1956. The conversion of Harford Road exclusively to automobiles impacted Hamilton's main street economy. Over time, retailers relocated elsewhere to accommodate shoppers at strip malls and later at shopping malls. Hamilton's characteristics changed during the latter half of the 20th century. The area became more of a pass through community than a destination as its main street economy declined. White residents began migrating away from Baltimore and from Hamilton as suburban communities emerged in surrounding counties. Following the racial desegregation of Baltimore's public schools in the 1950s and 1960s, the majority of public school students in the city and in the Hamilton area shifted from White to Black. Generally speaking, Hamilton evolved into a more mixed race area after Baltimore's population peaked in the 1950s.

To combat urban decay in the Hamilton Lauraville area, local advocates targeted the Harford Road corridor for revitalization during the 1990s and 2000s. Hamilton Lauraville Main Street, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded with the support of the Baltimore Main Streets program. The organization's mission is to provide "quality of life experiences that retain residents and attract new neighbors, and to create opportunities for local businesses". In 2003, the association renamed the neighborhood Hamilton Hills, the name by which it is known today. Hamilton, and Hamilton Hills by association, has been awarded in recent years for its desirability. In 2014, The Baltimore Sun ranked Hamilton 3rd in its top ten up and coming places to live in the Baltimore region. In 2019, the real estate website Redfin ranked Hamilton 4th in its top ten hottest affordable neighborhoods in the United States.

Hamilton Hills' borders have changed over time and, like many urban neighborhoods, have not always been clearly defined. The current borders are Old Harford Road and Harford Road to the east, Echodale Avenue to the south, Perring Parkway to the west and the Baltimore County line to the north. Some city agencies and local research organizations continue to include Hamilton Hills in their data for Harford Echodale Perring Parkway (HEPP), a neighborhood cluster that includes Hamilton Hills and the neighborhoods of North Harford Road, Overlea, Taylor Heights, and the section of Westfield west of Harford Road. The terrain in Hamilton Hills includes gently rolling hills that are characteristic of the Piedmont, a plateau region of the Eastern United States. Hamilton Hills' elevation ranges from 250 feet (76 m) above sea level at Herring Run near Echodale Avenue to 365 feet (111 m) near the intersection of Old Harford Road and Moore Avenue. Soils in the neighborhood are generally clay like and moderately fertile. Hamilton Hills has a total area of As of 2017, the total land area in HEPP covered by tree canopy was 29.6%, ranking 19th out of 55 neighborhood clusters in Baltimore. Neighborhoods that are adjacent to Hamilton Hills include the community formerly known as Glenham Belhar, Lauraville, Loch Raven, North Harford Road, Waltherson, and Westfield. By 2020, Hamilton Hills had an estimated 9,649 residents. Data published in 2020 showed that Hamilton was the 5th largest of Baltimore's neighborhoods by total population. By comparison, about 72.2% (6,962) of residents were Black or African American alone in 2020, 19.8% (1,914) were White alone, 3.4% (332) were some other race alone, and 4.2% (406) were from two or more races. About 55.4% (5,225) of Hamilton Hills residents were female as of 2019 and 44.6% (4,199) were male. This was similar to the estimated median age of 35.4 years for all Baltimoreans as of the same year. About 6.6% (620) of residents were under 5 years old, This was higher than the estimated median household income of $50,400 for all of Baltimore. compared to 25.0% citywide. Hamilton Hills had fewer vacant housing units and more homeowners in 2020 than Baltimore as a whole. The neighborhood had an estimated 4,463 housing units as of that year, 6.3% (280) of which were vacant. By comparison, about 51.0% of Baltimoreans lived in owner occupied housing and 49.0% were renters.

Between 2011 and 2015, the life expectancy of residents born in HEPP was 75.7 years compared to 73.6 years for all Baltimoreans. The leading causes of death in HEPP during that period were heart disease (25.8% of deaths) and cancer (23.5%).

The Baltimore Police Department serves Hamilton Hills in its Northeastern District. The district's headquarters is located at 1900 Argonne Drive next to the campus of Morgan State University. Between 2014 and 2019, the total annual crimes reported in the neighborhood decreased by 14.5%, from 578 to 494, mostly because of a decrease in reported property crimes. Engine Company 56, the closest fire station to most of the neighborhood, is located at 6512 Harford Road in Westfield. The neighborhood features several murals through the support of the Baltimore Mural Program. Many of Hamilton Hills' restaurants also feature live music. In addition, several of Hamilton Hills' establishments foster arts and entertainment, including Chapterhouse Tattoo, the Hamilton Arts Collective, Hamiltone Music, the Mid Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts, and the Strand Theater. The Hamilton Lauraville Main Street organization has hosted cultural events for the Hamilton Lauraville area throughout the 21st century. In 2010, they began sponsoring the Downhill Derby, an annual soap box derby in Hamilton Hills. The quality of the restaurants along the Harford Road corridor has been recognized in food media since the late 20th century. In 2019, a dining reporter for The Baltimore Sun described the Hamilton Lauraville area as "Baltimore's low key foodie neighborhood". Clementine, a farm to table restaurant that closed in 2017, was featured on an episode of the Food Network series Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. Excluding apartments, most housing units in Hamilton Hills are single family detached houses or semi detached houses with front porches and large yards.

The Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks manages the majority of parks and recreational facilities in Baltimore. The agency manages Hamilton Hills' North Harford Park, which provides athletic fields and other recreational facilities at 6800 Hamlet Avenue. Hamilton Hills also has two urban green spaces: HEPP Park, a four acre (0.02 km2) woodland area located at 2399 Pinewood Avenue; and the section of Herring Run that flows south into Herring Run Park.

Voter registration and voting in general elections have been more frequent in Hamilton Hills compared to all of Baltimore. As of 2018, 85.7% of adults 18 years or older in HEPP were registered to vote. This was higher than the 81.3% of adults who were registered across all of Baltimore. This was also higher than the percentage for all of Baltimore, as an average of 45.1% of the city's adults voted in general elections during the same period.

Baltimore is legislated by its City Council, which has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at large. Hamilton Hills is represented within the 3rd council district. who was elected to his first four year term in 2016 and re elected in 2020. The Maryland General Assembly, which is the state legislature of Maryland, is divided into the Maryland Senate and the Maryland House of Delegates. Hamilton Hills is represented within the 43rd district and the 45th district of the Senate, as well as the 43rd district and the 45th district of the House of Delegates. In the U. S. House of Representatives, Hamilton Hills is represented north of Northern Parkway within Maryland's 3rd congressional district and south of Northern Parkway within Maryland's 7th congressional district. Kweisi Mfume previously represented the 7th district from 1987 to 1996. He was re elected in May 2020 following the death of Elijah Cummings in October 2019. College completion rates were lower among Hamilton Hills residents. About 5.9% (407) of adults 25 years of age or older had associate degrees as of 2019, 15.4% (1,069) had bachelor's degrees, and 12.5% (870) had graduate or professional degrees. Elementary students generally enroll in the schools zoned by area but can apply to the city's charter schools. These are operated by Baltimore City Public Schools, the city's public school district. A total of 865 students were enrolled at this school in 2019. Of these, 78.6% (680) were Black, 7.1% (61) were Hispanic or Latino, and 9.7% (84) were White. Woodhome Elementary/Middle School is located at 7300 Moyer Avenue in the North Harford Road neighborhood. The school enrolls students in pre kindergarten through 8th grade. Elementary and middle school students near Old Harford Road north of Northern Parkway attend this school. Yorkwood Elementary School is located at 5931 Yorkwood Road in Loch Raven. The school enrolls students in pre kindergarten through 5th grade. Elementary students north of Northern Parkway and near Perring Parkway attend this school. Two public high schools are also located in Hamilton Hills. Reginald F. Lewis High School is located at 6401 Pioneer Drive. The school enrolls students in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment is subject to a choice lottery, meaning if more students select the school than it can serve, students are selected by lottery. Success Academy is an alternative placement high school located at 2201 Pinewood Avenue. The school enrolls students in grades 9 through 12 with special needs.

The Enoch Pratt Free Library system operates the Hamilton Branch Library at 5910 Harford Road. The Hamilton area was previously served by the Old Hamilton Library, which opened at Hamilton and Richard Avenues in December 1920. This was lower than the estimated average of 27.8% across Baltimore's neighborhoods for the same year. They operate three post offices that serve the neighborhood:
The Hamilton Post Office is located at 4901 Harford Road. The changes were part of a $400,000 Hamilton Business District Streetscape project that reduced the number of traffic lanes for cars from four to three. They also represented Baltimore's testing of the Complete Streets urban design model, the placement of Harford Road on a "road diet", and an expansion of the city's cycling infrastructure. These routes travel east and west along Northern Parkway and northeast to southwest along Harford Road. The agency also operates its MobilityLink service in the neighborhood, providing paratransit for riders who are unable to use Baltimore's buses or trains. Rail service for passengers has not been present in Hamilton Hills since June 16, 1956, when Harford Road's electric rail service was converted to bus service. As of October 2020, the MTA had no plans to include Hamilton in their future rail services. The Green Line, which the MTA proposed in 2002 as part of a broader Baltimore Region Rail System Plan, would have included a stop in Hamilton Hills.

Harford Road, or Maryland Route 147, has been an integral part of the neighborhood's history. It is a state highway that runs 18.8 mile (30 km) from North Avenue in Baltimore to Bel Air, the county seat of Harford County. The section of Harford Road that runs through Hamilton Hills forms part of the neighborhood's eastern border and is 0.5 mile (1 km) long. Harford Road also connects drivers to Interstate 695 via a junction in Parkville. It runs 6.8 mile (11 km) and begins at Harford Road in the Coldstream Homestead Montebello neighborhood as Hillen Road. Water and sewer services are provided by the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW). Hamilton Hills receives water as a part of the DPW's Eastern Third Zone. The DPW pumps water from several sources to the neighborhood via its Ashburton and Lake Montebello filtration plants. The agency also fulfills a variety of neighborhood cleaning and greening requests through Baltimore's 3 1 1 municipal service system.