Bellevue Park, is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

in East

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. It is known as Pennsylvania’s first fully planned residential community. Bellevue Park is characterized by winding lanes, wooded topography, underground utilities and period street lighting. Impressive mansions and open preserves are protected by stringent covenants.

History

Bellevue Park was acquired in 1907 by the Union Real Estate Investment Company (consisting of Herman P. Miller and other investors) from the 1876 homestead and vineyard of Jacob Haehnlen ("Belle Vue Farm"). In 1909 Warren H. Manning of Boston area, a preeminent landscape designer, published a residential lot plan, which resulted in central Pennsylvania's first landscaped suburb. Nationally known horticulturalist, environmentalist and publisher

J. Horace McFarland J. Horace McFarland (1859–1948) from McAlisterville, Pennsylvania was a leading proponent of the "City Beautiful Movement" in the United States. Life McFarland was the son of Union Civil War colonel George F. McFarland. He lived and worked mo ...

purchased the first lot. The neighborhood was first advertised as having "Permanent views, assured surroundings" and "city homes with country advantages...within 15 minutes of

Market Square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.

Breeze Hill Mansion

McFarland and his family purchased a 2.5 acre tract of land, upon which laid the Haehnlen's former summer house in disrepair. Nicknamed "Breeze Hill" by his wife, the estate would come be home to one of the most widely known gardens in America, where McFarland would experiment with

cross-pollinating Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...

new varieties of roses and would publish the results in color for a popular horticulture publication.

History

References

See also