Pikesville Community Mural Call for Artists: Deadline to apply, January 7, 2024
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A leading voice for arts and culture
1,000 Friends of Pikesville, Inc. is a non-profit citizens group advocating for the revitalization of Pikesville and the renovation of the historic Pikesville Armory as a public center for Arts, Recreation, and Community Engagement.
In our partnership with community stakeholders, the County, and the State, 1kFP serves as the leading voice for arts and culture in Pikesville, by developing public art projects and programming, and promoting a strong presence for the arts at the Armory and in the community.
Our mission
The mission of 1,000 Friends of Pikesville, Inc. is to promote the revitalization of Pikesville as a vibrant community for residents, businesses, and visitors. We are committed to creating a thriving, sustainable local economy and to repurposing the historic Pikesville Armory as a public center for arts, culture, recreation, and community engagement.
IDEA Pledge: 1,000 Friends of Pikesville, Inc. pledges to advance and celebrate Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in our community, our organization, and our programs.
Pikesville Revitalization Action Plan
The Pikesville Revitalization Action Plan was formally adopted into the Baltimore County 2020 Master Plan by the Baltimore County Council on December 20, 2021. It was initiated by 1,000 Friends of Pikesville, Inc., guided and supported by our substantial input, and then adopted into the Master Plan through our persistent encouragement.
The importance of this action cannot be overstated. Because it has been legislatively adopted into the County Master Plan, the action items, timelines, and benchmarks incorporated into the Plan to guide implementation and measure progress can be cited by any citizen for follow-up and monitoring.
The Plan calls for a formal Oversight Committee comprised of interested citizens that, in partnership with the County, will oversee its implementation. Through our representation on this committee, 1kFP will continue to be impactful as we encourage the County to fund and implement projects that support needed economic and aesthetic infrastructure for the community of Pikesville.
Pikesville Armory
The Pikesville Armory redevelopment is a public-private partnership of the Pikesville Armory Foundation, Baltimore County, and the State of Maryland. The 14-acre Armory campus is located at 610 Reisterstown Road and includes a variety of structures that total approximately 225,000 square feet. When completed, the Armory campus will be a center for recreation, cultural arts, historic preservation, and community engagement.
History
The Pikesville Armory is the second oldest armory in the state of Maryland, built in 1903 as part of the National Guard’s 20th century reorganization and expansion, and second in age only to the Fifth Regiment Armory, which was built by the same prestigious Baltimore architectural firm of Wyatt & Nolting in 1901. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The Armory has served as a cultural and social hub in Pikesville for more than a century. In addition to its illustrious history as the home of the Maryland National Guard’s field artillery for nearly 100 years, the enormous drill hall, which originally had a dirt floor, has served as a venue for everything from polo matches to popular trade shows, dog competitions, traveling circuses, concerts, and even a campaign appearance from John F. Kennedy. Many local residents fondly remember voting at the Armory, which served as a polling place for many years. The NCO Club, the only building currently in use on the campus, still serves as the meeting place for military veterans.
The Armory was inactivated by the military in 2009 and is now the property of the State of Maryland. In 2017, the Governor’s Commission on the Future of the Pikesville Armory was launched to study future uses of the property. After a lengthy series of public meetings, community surveys, and extensive research, the Commission produced a Vision Statement to guide the redevelopment of the Armory:
“The future of the Pikesville Armory should be held in the public trust and utilized for the benefit and use by all segments of Pikesville’s diverse community. It is envisioned that the Pikesville Armory will be a multi-use venue for recreation, arts, and other community programming.”
Pikesville Partners
In 2020 1,000 Friends of Pikesville, Inc. partnered with four other community stakeholders to spearhead the Pikesville Armory Foundation. PAF is dedicated to the preservation and renovation of the historic Pikesville Armory as “a one-of-a-kind community gathering place that will enrich the civic life of the Greater Baltimore County-Baltimore City region and invigorate the Reisterstown Road commercial corridor in the heart of downtown Pikesville.”