Washington Hill, Baltimore

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Washington Hill is a neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is north of Fells Point, south of Johns Hopkins Hospital, east of Jonestown and west of Butchers Hill. It is bounded by Fayette Street, Washington Street, Lombard Street, and Central Avenue. The neighborhood is named for the now-defunct Washington Medical College.

Most of Washington Hill's development dates to the years just following the Civil War. Jewish immigrants from Germany and Russia built homes along with Appalachian migrants, Irish Americans and Polish Americans. While some of the neighborhood did meet the wrecking ball, parts of Washington Hill were saved from 70s era urban renewal projects by citizen protest. It contains many large homes lining Broadway that once housed some of Baltimore's wealthiest residents. Today the community is more economically diverse, with the Douglass and Perkins Homes public housing projects at its north and south ends, and a number of luxury apartments and condominiums. Racially, there is a mix of African Americans, an increasing number of White Americans, and a growing Hispanic community. Mexican American day laborers congregate in the neighborhood and in Upper Fells Point.^{[citation needed]}

City Springs School, a charter school for the Baltimore Curriculum Project, is located in Washington Hill. City Springs was the second school in Baltimore City history to be removed from the state's "recon list" of failing schools. Also nearby is City Springs Park, which contains recreational facilities.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,925 people residing in the neighborhood. The racial makeup of Washington Hill was 26.2% White, 65.4% African American, 1.3% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 3.1% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.5% of the population. 34.0% of occupied housing units were owner-occuped. 10.0% of housing units were vacant.

60.0% of the population were employed, 7.7% were unemployed, and 31.9% were not in the labor force. The median household income was $36,138. About 16.3% of families and 23.8% of the population were below the poverty line.