Hamilton-Lauraville area throughout the 21st century. For example, they have organized First Friday events along Harford Road. In 2010, they began sponsoring the Downhill Derby, an annual soap box derby in Hamilton Hills. The quality of the restaurants along the Harford Road corridor has been recognized in food media since the late 20th century. In 2019, a dining reporter for The Baltimore Sun described the Hamilton-Lauraville area as "Baltimore's low-key foodie neighborhood". Clementine, a farm-to-table restaurant that closed in 2017, was featured on an episode of the Food Network series Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Excluding apartments, most housing units in Hamilton Hills are single-family detached houses or semi-detached houses with front porches and large yards. Because many houses in Hamilton-Lauraville were built with ample yard space, hundreds of urban gardeners and farmers live in the area. As of 2021, one active group created for gardeners in Hamilton-Lauraville on Facebook had over 1,000 members. Parks and recreation The Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks manages the majority of parks and recreational facilities in Baltimore. The agency manages Hamilton Hills' North Harford Park, which provides athletic fields and other recreational facilities at 6800 Hamlet Avenue. Hamilton Hills also has two urban green spaces: HEPP Park, a four-acre (0.02 km2) woodland area located at 2399 Pinewood Avenue; and the section of Herring Run that flows south into Herring Run Park. Political and civic participation Voter registration and voting in general elections have been more frequent in Hamilton Hills compared to all of Baltimore. As of 2018, 85.7% of adults 18 years or older in HEPP were registered to vote. This was higher than the 81.3% of adults who were registered across all of Baltimore. In elections between 2010 and 2018, an average of 49.8% of adults 18 years or older in HEPP voted in general elections. This was also higher than the percentage for all of Baltimore, as an average of 45.1% of the city's adults voted in general elections during the same period. Hamilton Hills residents have formed several neighborhood associations since the early 1900s. The Hamilton Hills Neighborhood Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the present-day group of volunteers who organize and advocate for Hamilton Hills' residents. Notable people Notable residents of the Hamilton area have included: Munro Leaf (1905–1976), an author and illustrator of children's books. He is best known for creating the character Ferdinand the Bull. E. Ruth