From 2400 miles away, The Baltimore Sun continues to give me optimism for Baltimore’s renaissance.

I grew up in the Cheswolde neighborhood, just inside the city line off Greenspring Avenue, starting at age 9. I attended Pimlico Junior High from 1961-64, which consisted of grades 7, 8 and 9. Pimlico Junior High then sat at the northeast corner of Park Heights Avenue and Northern Parkway facing Park Heights Avenue.

How heartwarming it was to read the April 12 article by Alexa Dikos, “Sixth Graders become ‘medical detectives’ at Sinai Hospital” (where my children were born). This article not only made me proud to have attended Pimlico Junior High but makes me proud of the students there and of how that school and the Pimlico area are evolving. The upgrading of the race track is another encouraging sign of the improvements to the Pimlico neighborhood, gradually restoring it to the way I remember it in the 1960s. Not far from there, the makeover to Reisterstown Road Plaza, where we shopped in the 1960s, is another sign of the improvements in Northwest Baltimore City.

The article and photo in The Sun about the return of the Farmers’ Market under the JFX and the diverse crowd patronizing that also gives me hope. There are so many other indications of Baltimore’s gradual renaissance that I read about in The Sun. The cultural scene and the arts, so close to my heart as someone who was active in Baltimore community theatre, are alive and well. The many projects in South Baltimore along the waterfront are a sight to behold. The continuation of Lexington Market as a shopping destination for all kinds of food and the article about the success of the University of Maryland graduate nursing program make Southwest Baltimore part of this renaissance.

The work to restore the Key Bridge and the community’s incredible support for that effort shows Baltimore’s spirit in the wake of disaster.

Even reading about significant crime reduction in my beloved hometown is encouraging.

Yes, there’s lots of work to be done to restore Baltimore to its glory days, and this will take time. But all of these factors give me so much hope for Baltimore’s future.

Baltimore leaders and community members, keep up the good work!

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