Hunt Valley, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Hunt Valley is an affluent unincorporated community
in Baltimore County
, Maryland
, United States
. It lies just north of the city of Baltimore
, along Highway 145 off Interstate 83
. Loch Raven Reservoir
. Located at a latitude
of 39.5° North
and longitude
76.7° West
.
Hunt Valley is the home of BreakAway Games
, Sinclair Broadcast Group
, McCormick & Company
, AAI Corporation
, Dunbar (Armored Vehicles), TESSCO Technologies, and KCI Technologies, Inc. It was the former home of Noxell Corporation
, makers of Noxzema
, before Noxell was acquired by Procter & Gamble
in the early 1990s
. It was also the former home of PHH and Firaxis Games
, both of which now reside in Sparks, Maryland
which is a few miles to the north of Hunt Valley.
MicroProse
, a leading video game developer
from the 1980s
, was originally based in Hunt Valley.
The Hunt Valley Inn is the most popular hotel in Maryland for Science fiction conventions and hosts Balticon
, Shore Leave, Horrorfind and other theme-related conventions.
Hunt Valley is served by the Cockeysville, Maryland
post office, and also is home to a satellite campus of the Community College of Baltimore County
.
Many Baltimore County residents declaim that Hunt Valley doesn't actually exist—it is often grumbled that "Hunt Valley" is a fanciful name cooked up by real estate developers during the development of the area in the 1970s and 1980s; that is, "Hunt Valley" is more of a name brand than an actual place.
line, and is also served by the Route 9 bus. Only one-half of light rail trains operate to the Hunt Valley terminus, with the remainder only running as far as Timonium. The frequency of service is every 15 minutes all day daily and on weekends and holidays. Route 9 operates on an approximately 20 minute interval daily. See http://mta.maryland.gov/services/lightrail/schedule/ and http://mta.maryland.gov/services/bus/schedule/schedule_9_6_09.pdf
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Baltimore County
Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It lies just north of the city of Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, along Highway 145 off Interstate 83
Interstate 83
Interstate 83 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. Its southern terminus is in Baltimore, Maryland at the Fayette Street exit; its northern terminus is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at Interstate 81....
. Loch Raven Reservoir
Loch Raven Reservoir
The Loch Raven Reservoir is a reservoir that provides drinking water for the City of Baltimore and most of Baltimore County, Maryland. Originally built in 1881 as a dam and water tunnel to channel water to Lake Montebello and Lake Clifton, the new dam was constructed in 1914 in efforts to increase...
. Located at a latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
of 39.5° North
North
North is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.North is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west.By convention, the top side of a map is north....
and longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
76.7° West
West
West is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....
.
Hunt Valley is the home of BreakAway Games
BreakAway Games
BreakAway Games is a video game developer based in Hunt Valley, Maryland established in 1998. Their executive staff is composed of several veterans from companies such as MicroProse, Origin Systems, Atari and Acclaim Entertainment....
, Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
, McCormick & Company
McCormick & Company
McCormick & Company manufactures spices, herbs, and flavorings for retail, commercial, and industrial markets. The company began in 1889 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. One hundred years later, McCormick moved from downtown Baltimore to the suburb of Hunt Valley, Maryland. McCormick has...
, AAI Corporation
AAI Corporation
AAI Corporation is an aerospace and defense development and manufacturing firm in Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA. It is formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation, AAI was acquired by Textron in 2007 and currently is an operating unit of Textron Systems Corporation...
, Dunbar (Armored Vehicles), TESSCO Technologies, and KCI Technologies, Inc. It was the former home of Noxell Corporation
Noxell Corporation
Noxell Corporation was a Maryland-based company that made the famous Noxzema skin cream. Procter & Gamble acquired the brand in 1989.Noxzema and CoverGirl were the most famous products made by Noxell. Since 1914, Noxzema has been sold in a small blue jar. Noxzema contains camphor, menthol, and...
, makers of Noxzema
Noxzema
Noxzema is a skin cleanser marketed by Alberto-Culver. Alberto-Culver bought the rights to the brand in 2008 from Procter & Gamble and now owns and operates the line of skin-care products...
, before Noxell was acquired by Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
in the early 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
. It was also the former home of PHH and Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games is a computer game developer. It was founded in 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds upon leaving MicroProse. The company focuses on strategy games and is based in Sparks, Maryland in the United States....
, both of which now reside in Sparks, Maryland
Sparks, Maryland
Sparks is an unincorporated community that is located in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is situated approximately 20 miles north of Baltimore, Maryland and is considered to be a suburb of the City of Baltimore...
which is a few miles to the north of Hunt Valley.
MicroProse
MicroProse
MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
, a leading video game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
from the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
, was originally based in Hunt Valley.
The Hunt Valley Inn is the most popular hotel in Maryland for Science fiction conventions and hosts Balticon
Balticon
Balticon is the Maryland Regional science fiction convention, sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society . It has been held annually since 1966...
, Shore Leave, Horrorfind and other theme-related conventions.
Hunt Valley is served by the Cockeysville, Maryland
Cockeysville, Maryland
Cockeysville is a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 19,388 at the 2000 census.-History:...
post office, and also is home to a satellite campus of the Community College of Baltimore County
Community College of Baltimore County
The Community College of Baltimore County is an accredited community college located in Baltimore County, Maryland in the United States with three main campuses and two extension centers.- Programs and enrollment :...
.
Many Baltimore County residents declaim that Hunt Valley doesn't actually exist—it is often grumbled that "Hunt Valley" is a fanciful name cooked up by real estate developers during the development of the area in the 1970s and 1980s; that is, "Hunt Valley" is more of a name brand than an actual place.
Public transportation
Hunt Valley is well known in the Baltimore area as a result of its public transportation. It is the northern terminus of the Light RailBaltimore Light Rail
The Maryland Transit Administration Light Rail is a light rail system serving Baltimore, Maryland, United States, and the surrounding suburbs.In downtown Baltimore it uses city streets...
line, and is also served by the Route 9 bus. Only one-half of light rail trains operate to the Hunt Valley terminus, with the remainder only running as far as Timonium. The frequency of service is every 15 minutes all day daily and on weekends and holidays. Route 9 operates on an approximately 20 minute interval daily. See http://mta.maryland.gov/services/lightrail/schedule/ and http://mta.maryland.gov/services/bus/schedule/schedule_9_6_09.pdf