"Whatever happens there [at Pimlico] is going to affect all of us," said Aaron Meisner, a stockbroker who heads the Mount Washington Improvement Association and was among those leading the failed bid to defeat slot machines in Maryland. (Slots were, however, ruled out for Pimlico).
The tie binding the two neighborhoods has spurred Will Hanna, president of the New Park Heights Community Development Corp., to embrace his counterparts in Mount Washington and beyond.
"This is an all-out concerted effort in working with all the community associations," said Hanna, who owns a marketing firm. One goal is to maintain a dialogue to allow for a coordinated response when and if a proposal is made to redevelop the 140-acre Pimlico property, which is governed by a city "planned unit development" law.
Pay a visit to either Mount Washington or the Park Heights area, and it does not take long to find residents who dearly hope the track survives.
"It's part of our heritage," said 77-year-old Valetta Brunt, who for decades has lived just south of the course. With a cake in the oven and her Yorkie by her feet, Brunt merrily recalled going to the track on occasion with co-workers from the old C&P phone company.
Out-of-town friends traveled to Baltimore every May for Preakness. "It just made me feel good," she said. "They were coming to my city, and not that far from my home."
Karen Swanson, 44, paused during a yard project to sum up her affection for Pimlico: "It's full of history."
Her partner, Mary Bisson, a horn player for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, added: "It's part of the culture of Baltimore. I tell people we live a block away from where the Preakness is run."
At other times of the year, Bisson, 54, has enjoyed it when the horses stabled at Pimlico appear on the track for exercise. "If I'm in a bad mood," she said, "it makes me feel good."
But for others, heritage and nostalgia go only so far. Just off Park Heights Avenue, tailor Ronald Billy seems less worried about the track staying a track. President of a 75-member merchants association along Park Heights Avenue, he had kind words for Pimlico officials. They open the property to a summer farmers' market. They also gave him and wife, Lillian, free Preakness tickets.
Even so, he would not weep over the track's demise. "That would be fine. Because really, economically - even with the Preakness - it doesn't impact the business," he said.
