Park Heights, Baltimore

Park Heights is an area of Northwest Baltimore, Maryland that is found mostly in zip code 21215. It is identified by Park Heights Avenue, the main street that runs through the community, and is best known to outsiders as the home of Pimlico Race Track.

Park Heights has two basic subdivisions: Lower Park Heights, which runs from Park Circle to Northern Parkway, which is mostly filled with rowhouses, and Upper Park Heights, the newer section, which runs from Northern Parkway up, and is filled with single-family homes, duplexes, and luxury apartments and condos.

Park Heights is known for its ethnic communities. In Upper Park Heights (Slade Avenue to Northern Parkway), the area is populated with Orthodox Jews, middle-class African Americans, and immigrants from various countries. The Jewish community was larger throughout the first half of the twentieth century, but it has largely moved into nearby Pikesville, Reisterstown and Owings Mills.

Lower Park Heights (Northern Parkway to Park Circle), once a middle-class area, is currently populated mostly with lower and working class African-Americans and immigrants.

Park Heights boosts one of the largest Foreign born Black populations in Baltimore City specifically in the areas surrounding Belvedere Avenue with immigrants from Jamaica, Trinidad, and other Carribean countries.

Public Transportation

The Park Heights area is served by plenty of public transportation, provided by the Maryland Transit Administration.

On all parts of Park Heights Avenue itself, the No. 54 Line provides frequent single-seat service. Bus service is also provides on small portions of Park Heights Avenue by the Nos. 58 and 97 lines. The No. M-2 Line also operates nearby on the parallel Reisterstown Road, and the nos. 27, 33, 44, 60, and 91 lines operate on streets crossing Park Heights Avenue.

The Baltimore Metro Subway has several stations within a close walk of the Park Heights area.

There are also many shuttles provided for senior citizens by various apartments and non-profit organizations.

Crime

During the past few decades, the Lower Park Heights area has long battled with high rates of crime, and is ranked by the Baltimore Police Department as one of the highest per capita crime areas of the city.

Over the years, various city officials have attempted to take steps to reduce crime in the area and improve safety for residents. These measures have included improved police presence, surveillance cameras, and redevelopment or remodelling of abandoned structures.

Crime in Upper Park Heights has been reduced since 1981 by the Northwest Citizens Patrol, a volunteer organization that works with the police department to improve public safety.