Harrisburg is the
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...
, United States, and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Dauphin County
Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth ...
. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the
9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pennsylvania.
Harrisburg is situated on the east bank of the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
. It is the larger principal city of the
Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area
The Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area, officially the Harrisburg–Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and also referred to as the Susquehanna Valley, is defined by the Office of Management and Budget as an area consis ...
, also known as the
Susquehanna Valley
The Susquehanna Valley is a region of low-lying land that borders the Susquehanna River in the United States, U.S. states of New York (state), New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The valley consists of areas that lie along the main branch o ...
, which had a population of 591,712 as of 2020,
making it the
fourth most populous metropolitan area in Pennsylvania after the
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, and
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
metropolitan areas.
Harrisburg played a role in American history during the
Westward Migration
Westward may refer to:
* The cardinal direction West
* Westward, Cumbria, a settlement in north-west England
* ''Westward'' (series), a series of games video created by Sandlot Games
* Westward Islet of Ducie Island
* Westward Television, a forme ...
, the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, and the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. During part of the 19th century, the building of the
Pennsylvania Canal
The Pennsylvania Canal (or sometimes Pennsylvania Canal system) was a complex system of transportation infrastructure improvements including canals, dams, locks, tow paths, aqueducts, and viaducts. The Canal and Works were constructed and assemb ...
and later the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
allowed Harrisburg to develop into one of the most industrialized cities in the
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
. In the mid-to-late 20th century, the city's economic fortunes fluctuated with its major industries consisting of government,
heavy manufacturing,
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
, and food services.
The
Pennsylvania Farm Show
The Pennsylvania Farm Show is an annual agricultural exposition celebrating Pennsylvania's agriculture industry, held every January at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is the largest ind ...
, the largest indoor agriculture exposition in the U.S., was first held in Harrisburg in 1917 and has been held there every early-to-mid January since. The city also hosts the annual
Great American Outdoor Show
The Great American Outdoor Show (GAOS) is the world's largest outdoor recreation show and expo which is held annually in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The show, which was first held in 2014, was previously called the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show ...
, the largest of its kind in the world, among
many other events. Harrisburg experienced the
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor in Pennsylvania, United States. It began at 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979. It is the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclea ...
on March 28, 1979, in nearby
Middletown.
In 2010, ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' rated Harrisburg as the second-best place in the U.S. to raise a family. Despite the city's past financial troubles, in 2010 ''
The Daily Beast
''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008.
It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' website ranked 20 metropolitan areas across the country as being recession-proof, and the Harrisburg region was ranked seventh.
The financial stability of the region is in part due to the high concentration of
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
and
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
agencies.
Harrisburg is located miles southwest of
Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them:
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...
, Pennsylvania's third-largest city, and northwest of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania's largest city.
History
Founding
Harrisburg's site along the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
is thought to have been inhabited by
Native Americans as early as 3000 BC. Known to the Native Americans as "Peixtin", or "
Paxtang
Paxtang is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,640. The borough is a suburb of Harrisburg and is one of the earliest colonial settlements in South Central Pennsylvania.
History ...
", the area was an important resting place and crossroads for Native American traders, as the trails leading from the Delaware to the Ohio rivers, and from the Potomac to the Upper Susquehanna intersected there. The first European contact with Native Americans in Pennsylvania was made by the Englishman,
Captain John Smith
John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...
, who journeyed from
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
up the Susquehanna River in 1608 and visited with the
Susquehanna tribe. In 1719,
John Harris, Sr.
John Harris Sr. (1673 – December 1748) was an American businessman who emigrated from Britain to America late in the 17th century. Harris would later settle and establish Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which was later named in his honor.
Biography ...
, an English trader, settled here and 14 years later secured grants of in this vicinity. In 1785,
John Harris, Jr. made plans to lay out a town on his father's land, which he named Harrisburg. In the spring of 1785, the town was formally surveyed by
William Maclay, who was a son-in-law of John Harris, Sr. In 1791, Harrisburg became incorporated, and in October 1812 it was named the Pennsylvania state capital, which it has remained ever since. The assembling here of the highly sectional Harrisburg Convention in 1827 (signaling what may have been the birth of lobbying on a national scale) led to the passage of the high
protective-tariff bill of 1828. In 1839,
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
and
John Tyler
John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president dire ...
were nominated for
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and
vice president of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
at the first
national convention
The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...
of the
Whig Party of the United States, which was held in Harrisburg.
19th century
Before Harrisburg gained its first industries, it was a scenic, pastoral town, typical of most of the day: compact and surrounded by farmland. In 1822, the impressive brick capitol was completed for $200,000.
It was Harrisburg's strategic location which gave it an advantage over many other towns. It was settled as a trading post in 1719 at a location important to Westward expansion. The importance of the location was that it was at a pass in a mountain ridge. The Susquehanna River flowed generally west to east at this location, providing a route for boat traffic from the east. The head of navigation was a short distance northwest of the town, where the river flowed through the pass. Persons arriving from the east by boat had to exit at Harrisburg and prepare for an overland journey westward through the mountain pass. Harrisburg assumed importance as a provisioning stop at this point where westward bound pioneers transitioned from river travel to overland travel. It was partly because of its strategic location that the state legislature selected the small town of Harrisburg to become the state capital in 1812.
The grandeur of the Colonial Revival capitol dominated the quaint town. The streets were dirt, but orderly and platted in grid pattern. The Pennsylvania Canal was built in 1834 and coursed the length of the town. The residential houses were situated on only a few city blocks stretching southward from the capitol. They were mostly one story. No factories were present but there were blacksmith shops and other businesses.
[Eggert, Gerald G., Harrisburg Industrializes: The Coming of Factories to an American Community. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993. p58]
American Civil War
During the first part of the 19th century, Harrisburg was a notable stopping place along the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
, as
persons escaping slavery utilized the Susquehanna River to access food and supplies before heading north towards Canada.
During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, Harrisburg was a significant training center for the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
, with tens of thousands of troops passing through
Camp Curtin
Camp Curtin was a major Union Army training camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. It was located north of Pennsylvania's state capitol building on 80 acres of what had previously been land used by the Dauphin County Ag ...
. It was also a major rail center for the Union and a vital link between the Atlantic coast and the Midwest, with several railroads running through the city and spanning the Susquehanna River. As a result of this importance, it was a target of
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
's
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...
during its two invasions. The first time during the 1862
Maryland Campaign, when Lee planned to capture the city after taking
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...
, but was prevented from doing so by the
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...
and his subsequent retreat back into Virginia. The second attempt was made during the
Gettysburg Campaign in 1863 and was more substantial. Under orders from Gen. Robert E. Lee directly,
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
Lt. Gen.
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star rank, three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in ...
Richard S. Ewell
Richard Stoddert Ewell (February 8, 1817 – January 25, 1872) was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee ...
's Second Corps were tasked with capturing Harrisburg and disrupting the vital Union supply and rail lines. However Ewell's forces were intercepted by the forces of the
Department of the Susquehanna The Department of the Susquehanna was a military department created by the United States War Department during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Its goal was to protect the state capital and the southern portions of the commonwealt ...
under the command of
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
Maj. Gen.
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Darius N. Couch in a series of skirmishes surrounding the city, such as the
Skirmish of Sporting Hill
The Skirmish of Sporting Hill was a relatively small skirmish during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War, taking place on June 30, 1863, at various locations in present-day Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, Camp Hill, East Pennsboro Towns ...
in
Camp Hill, just west of Harrisburg. The Second Corp were ultimately unsuccessful in both overcoming the local Union defenses and crossing the rain bloated Susquehanna into Harrisburg itself, and were forced to retreat southward to regroup with Lee's main Confederate force. This attempt marked the northernmost advance of the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
On July 3, 1863, the artillery barrage that marked the beginning of
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge (July 3, 1863), also known as the Pickett–Pettigrew–Trimble Charge, was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Major General George G. Meade's Union positions on the last day of the B ...
of the
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
was heard from Harrisburg, almost 40 miles away.
Late 19th and early 20th centuries
![Hb market street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Hb_market_street.jpg)
Harrisburg's importance in the latter half of the 19th century was in the steel industry. It was an important railroad center as well.
Steel and iron became dominant industries. Steel and other industries continued to play a major role in the local economy throughout the latter part of the 19th century. The city was the center of enormous railroad traffic and its steel industry supported large furnaces, rolling mills, and machine shops. The Pennsylvania Steel Company plant, which opened in nearby
Steelton in 1866, was the first in the country; later operated by
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...
.
Its first large scale iron foundries were put into operation shortly after 1850.
As industries nationwide entered a phase of great expansion and technological improvement, so did industries – and in particular the steel industry – in Harrisburg. This can be attributed to a combination of factors that were typical of what existed in other successful industrial cities: rapid rail expansion; nearby markets for goods; and nearby sources for raw product.
With Harrisburg poised for growth in steel production, the Borough of Steelton became the ideal location for this type of industry. It was a wide swath of flat land located south of the city, with rail and canal access running its entire 4 mile length. There was plenty of room for houses and its own downtown section. Steelton was a company town, opened in 1866 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company. Highly innovative in its steel making process, it became the first mill in the United States to make steel railroad rails by contract. In its heyday Steelton was home to more than 16,000 residents from 33 different ethnic groups. All were employed in the steel industry, or had employment in services that supported it. In the late 19th century, no less than five major steel mills and foundries were located in Steelton. Each contained a maze of buildings; conveyances for moving the products; large yards for laying down equipment; and facilities for loading their product on trains. Stacks from these factories constantly belched smoke. With housing and a small downtown area within walking distance, these were the sights and smells that most Steelton residents saw every day.
The rail yard was another area of Harrisburg that saw rapid and thorough change during the years of industrialization. This was a wide expanse of about two dozen railroad tracks that grew from the single track of the early 1850s. By the late 19th century, this area was the width of about two city blocks and formed what amounted to a barrier along the eastern edge of the city: passable only by bridge. Three large and ornately embellished passenger depots were built by as many rail lines. Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest rail line in Harrisburg. It built huge repair facilities and two large roundhouses in the 1860s and 1870s to handle its enormous freight and passenger traffic and to maintain its colossal infrastructure. Its rails ran the length of Harrisburg, along its eastern border. It had a succession of three passenger depots, each built on the site of the predecessor, and each of high style architecture, including a train shed to protect passengers from inclement weather. At its peak in 1904, it made 100 passenger stops per day. It extended westward to Pittsburgh; across the entire state. It also went eastward to Philadelphia, serving Steelton en route. The vital anthracite coal mines in the Allegheny Mountains were reached by the Northern Central Railroad. The Lebanon Valley Railroad extended eastward to Philadelphia with spurs to New York City. Another rail line was the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad which provided service to Philadelphia and other points east.
Allison Hill was Harrisburg's first "suburb". It was located east of the city on a prominent bluff, accessed by bridges across a wide swath of train tracks. It was developed in the late 19th century and offered affluent Harrisburgers the opportunity to live in the suburbs only a few hundred yards from their jobs in the city, and as the city expanded it included Allison Hill in its boundaries. In 1886 a single horse trolley line was established from the city to Allison Hill. Easy access was later achieved via the
State Street Bridge leading east from the Capitol complex and the Market Street Bridge leading from the city's prominent business district. The most desirable section of Allison Hill at the time was Mount Pleasant, which was characterized by large Colonial Revival style houses with yards for the very wealthy and smaller but still well-built row houses lining the main street for the moderately wealthy. State Street, leading from the Capitol directly toward Allison Hill, was planned to provide a grand view of the Capitol dome for those approaching the city from Allison Hill. This trend towards outlying residential areas began slowly in the late 19th century and was largely confined to the trolley line, but the growth of automobile ownership quickened the trend and spread out the population.
20th century
![Anti-nuke rally in Harrisburg USA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Anti-nuke_rally_in_Harrisburg_USA.jpg)
In the early 20th century, the city of Harrisburg was in need of change. Without proper sanitation, diseases such as
typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
began killing many citizens of Harrisburg. Seeing these necessary changes, several Harrisburg residents became involved in the
City Beautiful movement
The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of the ...
. The project focused on providing better transportation, spaces for recreation, sanitation, landscaping, and parks for those living in cities, as research showed that a person with access to amenities would be a happier person. In December 1900, a reformer named
Mira Lloyd Dock
Mira Lloyd Dock (December 25, 1853 − July 11, 1945) was an American botanist, environmentalist, and educator.
Biography
She was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the first child of coal businessman Gilliard Dock and his wife Lavinia Lloyd ...
, who had recently encountered well-ordered urban centers on an international trip to Europe, gave a lecture on “The City Beautiful” to Harrisburg’s Board of Trade. Other prominent citizens of the city such as
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 ...
and
Vance McCormick
Vance Criswell McCormick (June 19, 1872 – June 16, 1946) was an American politician and prominent businessman from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He served as mayor of Harrisburg from 1902 to 1905 and as United States Democratic National Committee ...
advocated urban improvements which were influenced by European urban planning design and the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordi ...
.
Warren Manning
Warren Henry Manning (November 7, 1860–February 5, 1938) was an American landscape designer and promoter of the informal and naturalistic "wild garden" approach to garden design. In his designs, Manning emphasized pre-existing flora through a ...
was hired to help bring about these changes. Specifically, their efforts greatly enlarged the Harrisburg park system, creating Riverfront Park, Reservoir Park, the Italian Lake and Wildwood Park. In addition, schemes were undertaken for new water filtration, burial of electric wires, the paving of roads, and the creation of a modern sanitary sewer system. The efforts to improve the city also paralleled the construction of an expanded monumental
Capitol complex in 1906 which led, in turn, to the displacement of the Old Eighth Ward, one of the most ethnically and racially diverse communities in Harrisburg.
The decades between 1920 and 1970 were characterized by
industrial decline
Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry.
There are different interpre ...
and population shift from the city to the suburbs. Like most other cities which faced a loss of their industrial base, Harrisburg shifted to a service-oriented base, with industries such as health care and convention centers playing a big role. Harrisburg's greatest problem was a shrinking city population after 1950. This loss in population followed a national trend and was a delayed result of the decline of Harrisburg's steel industry. This decline began almost imperceptibly in the late 1880s, but did not become evident until the early 20th century.
After being held in place for about 5 years by WWII armament production, the population peaked shortly after the war, but then took a long-overdue dive as people fled from the city. Hastening the
white flight
White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
to the suburbs were the cheap and available houses being built away from the crime and deteriorating situation of the city. The reduction in city population coincided with the rise in population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area. The trend continued until the 1990s.
The
Pennsylvania Farm Show
The Pennsylvania Farm Show is an annual agricultural exposition celebrating Pennsylvania's agriculture industry, held every January at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is the largest ind ...
, the largest indoor agriculture exposition in the United States, was first held in 1917 and has been held every January since then. The present location of the Show is the
Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center
Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, formerly known as State Farm Show Arena, is a large exhibition center and indoor arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is primarily used for concerts, agricultural exhibitions, the Pennsylvania Far ...
, located at the corner of Maclay and
Cameron
Cameron may refer to:
People
* Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan
* Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
;Mononym
* Cam'ron (born 197 ...
streets.
In June 1972, Harrisburg was hit by a major flood from the remnants of
hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...
.
On March 28, 1979, the
Three Mile Island
3 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
3, three, or III may also refer to:
* AD 3, the third year of the AD era
* 3 BC, the third year before the AD era
* March, the third month
Books
* ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...
nuclear plant, along the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
located in Londonderry Township which is south of Harrisburg, suffered a partial meltdown. Although the meltdown was contained and radiation leakages were minimal, there were still worries that an evacuation would be necessary. Governor
Dick Thornburgh
Richard Lewis Thornburgh (July 16, 1932 – December 31, 2020) was an American lawyer, author, and Republican politician who served as the 41st governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987, and then as the United States attorney general fro ...
, on the advice of
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operat ...
Chairman
Joseph Hendrie
Joseph Mallam Hendrie (born March 18, 1925) is a former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). On August 9, 1977 he was named to a four-year term on the Commission and designated as its chairman by President Jimmy Carter. , advised the evacuation "of pregnant women and pre-school age children ... within a five-mile radius of the Three Mile Island facility." Within days, 140,000 people had left the area.
Stephen R. Reed
Stephen Russell Reed (August 9, 1949 – January 25, 2020) was the longest-serving mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Dubbed "Mayor-for-Life," he was re-elected to seven four-year terms, serving from 1982 to 2010. After leaving office, Reed fac ...
was elected mayor in 1981 and served until 2009, making him the city's longest-serving mayor. In an effort to end the city's long period of economic troubles, he initiated several projects to attract new business and tourism to the city. Several museums and hotels such as
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The center is the first complex of its kind in the United States to use science as an entry to the arts. Whitaker Center exhibits science, the performing arts, and a ...
, the
National Civil War Museum
The National Civil War Museum, located at One Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a permanent, nonprofit educational institution created to promote the preservation of material culture and sources of information t ...
and the
Hilton Harrisburg and Towers were built during his term, along with many office buildings and residential structures. Several minor league professional sports franchises, including the
Harrisburg Senators
The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...
of the
Eastern League, the
Harrisburg Heat indoor soccer club, and
Penn FC
Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) was an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the United States socc ...
of the
United Soccer League
United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...
began operations in the city during his tenure as mayor. While praised for the vast number of economic improvements, Reed has also been criticized for population loss and mounting debt. For example, during a budget crisis the city was forced to sell $8 million worth of Western and American-Indian artifacts collected by Mayor Reed for a never-realized museum celebrating the
American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
.
21st century
![Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Harrisburg%2C_Pennsylvania%2C_on_the_Susquehanna_River.jpg)
During the nearly 30-year tenure of former Mayor
Stephen Reed
Stephen Reed (September 26, 1801 – July 12, 1877) was an American physician, newspaper publisher and geologist.
Reed, the younger son of John and Susanna (Beach) Reed, was born in Cornwall, Connecticut, on September 26, 1801. When ten years ol ...
from 1981 to 2009, city officials ignored legal restraints on the use of bond proceeds, as Reed spent the money pursuing interests including collecting Civil War and Wild West memorabilia – some of which was found in Reed's home after his arrest on corruption charges.
Infrastructure was left unrepaired, and the heart of the city's financial woes was a trash-to-electricity plant, the
Harrisburg incinerator
The Harrisburg Incinerator, now under private operation as Susquehanna Resource Management Complex (SRMC), is a waste-to-energy incinerator in South Harrisburg, Pennsylvania built and operated by the city from 1972 to 2003, which was an ongoing sou ...
, which was supposed to generate income but instead, because of increased borrowing, incurred a debt of $320 million.
Missing audits and convoluted transactions, including swap agreements, make it difficult to state how much debt the city owes. Some estimates put total debt over $1.5 billion, which would mean that every resident would owe $30,285.
These numbers do not reflect the school system deficit, the school district's $437 million long-term debt,
nor unfunded pension and healthcare obligations.
Harrisburg was the first municipality ever in the history of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be charged with securities fraud, for misleading statements about its financial health. The city agreed to a plea bargain to settle the case.
In October 2011, Harrisburg filed for
Chapter 9 bankruptcy when four members of the seven-member City Council voted to file a bankruptcy petition in order to prevent the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryl ...
from taking over the city's finances.
[Voluntary Chapter 9 petition, docket entry 1, Oct. 11, 2011, case no. 1:11-bk-06938-MDF, U.S. Bankr. Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania] Bankruptcy Judge Mary France dismissed the petition on the grounds that the City Council majority had filed it over the objection of Mayor
Linda Thompson, reasoning that the filing not only required the mayor's approval but had circumvented state laws concerning financially distressed cities.
Instead, a state-appointed receiver took charge of the city's finances. Governor
Tom Corbett
Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. (born June 17, 1949) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 1995 ...
appointed bond attorney David Unkovic as the city's receiver, but Unkovic resigned after only four months.
Unkovic blamed disdain for legal restraints on contracts and debt for creating Harrisburg's intractable financial problem and said the corrupt influence of creditors and political cronies prevented fixing it.
As creditors began to file lawsuits to seize and sell off city assets, a new receiver,
William B. Lynch, was appointed. The City Council opposed the new receiver's plans for tax increases and advocated a stay of the creditor lawsuits with a bankruptcy filing, while Mayor Thompson continued to oppose bankruptcy. State legislators crafted a moratorium to prevent Harrisburg from declaring bankruptcy, and after the moratorium expired, the law stripped the city government of the authority to file for bankruptcy and conferred it on the state receiver.
After two years of negotiations, in August 2013 Receiver Lynch revealed his comprehensive voluntary plan for resolving Harrisburg's fiscal problems.
The complex plan called for creditors to write down or postpone some debt.
To pay the remainder, Harrisburg sold the troubled incinerator, leased its parking garages for forty years, and was to briefly go further into debt by issuing new bonds.
Receiver Lynch had also called for setting up nonprofit investment corporations to oversee infrastructure improvement (repairing the city's crumbling roads and water and sewer lines), pensions, and economic development.
These were intended to allow nonprofit fundraising and to reduce the likelihood of mismanagement by the then-dysfunctional city government.
Harrisburg's City Council and the state Commonwealth Court approved the plan, and became implemented.
The city balanced its budget in the late 2010s, was expected to have a surplus of $1 million in 2019, and maintained a surplus in 2020 despite the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Geography
![ISS067-E-184243 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/ISS067-E-184243_Harrisburg%2C_Pennsylvania.jpg)
Topography
Harrisburg is located at (40.269789, -76.875613) in
South Central Pennsylvania
South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of west ...
,
within a two-hour drive of the metro areas of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and three-hour drive of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (29.11%) is water. Bodies of water include
Paxton Creek
Paxton Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in the United States.
The Paxton Creek ...
, which empties into the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
at Harrisburg, as well as
Wildwood Lake and
Italian Lake parks.
Directly to the north of Harrisburg is the
Blue Mountain ridge of the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
. The
Cumberland Valley
The Cumberland Valley is a northern constituent valley of the Great Appalachian Valley, within the Atlantic Seaboard watershed in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Appalachian Trail crosses through the valley.
Geography
The valley is bound to th ...
lies directly to the west of Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River, stretching into northern
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. The fertile
Lebanon Valley
The Lebanon Valley is a geographic region that lies between South Mountain and the Ridge and Valley Province of eastern Pennsylvania. The valley lies almost entirely within Lebanon and Berks counties in Pennsylvania. Portions of the valley lie ...
lies to the east. Harrisburg is the northern fringe of the historic
Pennsylvania Dutch Country
The Pennsylvania Dutch Country (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Deitscherei'' Dutchery', also called Pennsylvania Dutchland (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Pennsylvania Deitschland'', german: Pennsylvania Deutschland), or simply the Dutch Country or Dutchland (Pen ...
.
The city is the county seat of
Dauphin County
Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth ...
. The adjacent counties are
Northumberland County to the north;
Schuylkill County to the northeast;
Lebanon County
Lebanon County ( Pennsylvania Dutch: Lebanon Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,568. Its county seat is the city of Lebanon.
The county was formed from portions of Dauphin ...
to the east;
Lancaster County to the south; and
York County to the southwest;
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
*Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberlan ...
to the west; and
Perry County Perry County may refer to:
United States
*Perry County, Alabama
*Perry County, Arkansas
*Perry County, Illinois
*Perry County, Indiana
*Perry County, Kentucky
*Perry County, Mississippi
*Perry County, Missouri
*Perry County, Ohio
*Perry Coun ...
to the northwest.
Adjacent municipalities
![Harrisburg, Pennsylvania State Capital Building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Harrisburg%2C_Pennsylvania_State_Capitol_Building.jpg)
Harrisburg's western boundary is formed by the west shore of the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
(the Susquehanna runs within the city boundaries), which also serves as the boundary between
Dauphin and
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
counties. The city is divided into numerous neighborhoods and districts. Like many of Pennsylvania's cities and
boroughs
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
that are at "build-out" stage, there are several townships outside of Harrisburg city limits that, although autonomous, use the name ''Harrisburg'' for postal and name-place designation. They include the townships of:
Lower Paxton,
Middle Paxton,
Susquehanna,
Swatara and
West Hanover
West Hanover Township is a township (Pennsylvania), township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,693 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, an increase over the figure of 9,3 ...
in Dauphin County. The borough of
Penbrook
Penbrook is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States, founded in 1861 and incorporated July 10, 1894. Penbrook was once named East Harrisburg and still maintains a Harrisburg, Pe ...
, located just east of
Reservoir Park, was previously known as East Harrisburg. Penbrook, along with the borough of
Paxtang
Paxtang is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,640. The borough is a suburb of Harrisburg and is one of the earliest colonial settlements in South Central Pennsylvania.
History ...
, also located just outside the city limits, maintain Harrisburg
ZIP codes as well. The
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
designates 26 ZIP codes for Harrisburg, including 13 for official use by federal and state government agencies.
Climate
Harrisburg has a variable, four-season climate lying at the beginning of the transition between the
humid subtropical
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
and
humid continental
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
zones (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Cfa'' and ''Dfa'', respectively). The city limits fall within the "Cfa" Humid subtropical climate classification, while the suburban areas and rural surroundings fall just into the "Dfa" Humid continental climate classification. The hottest month of the year is July, with a daily mean temperature of .
Summer is usually hot and humid and occasional heat waves can occur. The city averages around 32 days per year with + highs, although temperatures reaching are rare. Seven months average above 50 °F (10 °C) and three months average above 22 °C (71.6 °F.) The hottest temperature ever recorded in Harrisburg is on July 3, 1966.
Summer thunderstorms also occur relatively frequently. Autumn is a pleasant season, when the humidity and temperatures fall to more comfortable values. The
hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 7b.
Winter in Harrisburg is mild to cool: January, the coolest month, remains above freezing, as it experiences a daily mean temperature of .
A major snowstorm can also occasionally occur, and some winters snowfall totals can exceed , while in other winters, the region may receive very little snowfall. Snow that does fall often melts away quickly. The largest snowfall on a single calendar day was on
January 23, 2016,
recorded at
Harrisburg International Airport
Harrisburg International Airport is a public airport in Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Middletown, Pennsylvania, nine miles (15 km) southeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. It is owned by the Susquehanna Area Regional ...
in Middletown, while the snowiest month on record was February 2010, with , recorded at the same location. Overall Harrisburg receives an average of of snow per winter.
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Harrisburg was on
January 21, 1994.
Spring is also a pleasant time of year for outdoor activities. Precipitation is well-distributed and generous in most months, though July is clearly the wettest and February the driest.
Cityscape
Neighborhoods
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Harrisburg, which includes the
Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex
The Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex is a large complex of state government buildings in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Set on more than of downtown Harrisburg, it includes the Pennsylvania State Capitol and a landscaped park environment with monume ...
, is the central core business and financial center for the
Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area
The Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area, officially the Harrisburg–Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and also referred to as the Susquehanna Valley, is defined by the Office of Management and Budget as an area consis ...
and serves as the seat of government for
Dauphin County
Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth ...
and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. There are over a dozen large neighborhoods and historic districts within the city.
Architecture
Harrisburg's architecture spans over 200 years of evolving construction and design and thus contains a breadth of various architectural styles. Six Municipal Historic Districts, multiple National Historic Districts, and Architectural Conservation Overlay Districts have in turn have been established to preserve and guide any new development of areas with respect to their character.
Harrisburg is home to the
Pennsylvania State Capitol
The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania located in downtown Harrisburg which was designed by architect Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative ...
. Completed in 1906, the central dome rises to a height of and was modeled on that of
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...
in
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
, Rome. The building was designed by
Joseph Miller Huston
Joseph Miller Huston (February 23, 1866 – 1940) was an architect notable for designing the third (and current) Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. Construction started in 1902 of his '' Beaux-Arts'' design. He was one of five peopl ...
and is adorned with sculpture, most notably the two groups'', Love and Labor, the Unbroken Law'' and ''The Burden of Life, the Broken Law'' by sculptor
George Grey Barnard
George Grey Barnard (May 24, 1863 – April 24, 1938), often written George Gray Barnard, was an American sculptor who trained in Paris. He is especially noted for his heroic sized '' Struggle of the Two Natures in Man'' at the Metropolitan Museu ...
; murals by
Violet Oakley
Violet Oakley (June 10, 1874 – February 25, 1961) was an American artist. She was the first American woman to receive a public mural commission. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, she was renowned as a pathbreaker in mural deco ...
and
Edwin Austin Abbey
Edwin Austin Abbey (April 1, 1852August 1, 1911) was an American muralist, illustrator, and painter. He flourished at the beginning of what is now referred to as the "golden age" of illustration, and is best known for his drawings and paintings ...
; tile floor by
Henry Mercer
Henry Chapman Mercer (June 24, 1856 – March 9, 1930) was an American archeologist, artifact collector, tile-maker, and designer of three distinctive poured concrete structures: Fonthill, his home; the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works; and th ...
, which tells the story of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The state capitol is only the third-tallest building of Harrisburg. The five tallest buildings are 333 Market Street with a height of , Pennsylvania Place with a height of , the Pennsylvania State Capitol with a height of , Presbyterian Apartments with a height of and the Fulton Bank Building with a height of .
Demographics
2020 census
''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''
The six largest ethnic groups in the city are:
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
(52.4%),
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
(15.0%),
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
(6.5%),
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
(3.3%),
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
(2.4%), and
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
(1.0%). While the metropolitan area is approximately 15%
German-American
German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...
, 11.4% are
Irish-American
, image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png
, image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state
, caption = Notable Irish Americans
, population =
36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...
and 9.6%
English-American
English Americans (historically known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England.
In the 2020 American Community Survey, 25.21 million self-identified as being of English origin.
The term is distin ...
. Harrisburg has one of the largest
Pennsylvania Dutch
The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...
communities in the nation, and also has the nation's ninth-largest
Swedish-American
Swedish Americans ( sv, svenskamerikaner) are Americans of Swedish ancestry. They include the 1.2 million Swedish immigrants during 1865–1915, who formed tight-knit communities, as well as their descendants and more recent immigrants.
Today, ...
communities in the nation.
There were 20,561 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 13 living with them, 23.4% were married couples living together, 24.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.2% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 13 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 13 and over, there were 84.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,920, and the median income for a family was $29,556. Males had a median income of $90,670 versus $24,405 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $15,787. About 23.4% of families and 24.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 34.9% of those under age 13 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.
The very first census taken in the United States occurred in 1790. At that time Harrisburg was a small, but substantial
colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 au ...
town with a population of 875 residents. With the increase of the city's prominence as an industrial and transportation center, Harrisburg reached its peak population build up in 1950, topping out at nearly 90,000 residents. Since the 1950s, Harrisburg, along with other northeastern urban centers large and small, has experienced a declining population that is ultimately fueling the growth of its
suburbs
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
, although the decline – which was very rapid in the 1960s and 1970s – has slowed considerably since the 1980s.
["Harrisburg Industrializes, The coming of factories to an American community", Eggert, Gerald G.; The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993] Unlike
Western and Southern states, Pennsylvania maintains a complex system of municipalities and has very little legislation on either the annexation/expansion of cities or the consolidating of municipal entities.
Economy
![Harrisburg,_Pa_Product_Exports_(2020)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Harrisburg%2C_Pa_Product_Exports_%282020%29.svg)
Harrisburg is the metropolitan center for some 400 communities.
[Harrisburg: Economy](_blank)
from Capital Region Economic Development Corporation, 2005. Retrieved 2011-01-28. Its economy and more than 45,000 businesses are diversified with a large representation of service-related industries, especially health-care and a growing technological and biotechnology industry to accompany the dominant government field inherent to being the state's capital. National and international firms with major operations include
Ahold Delhaize
Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (in Dutch literally "Royal Ahold Delhaize"), commonly known as Ahold Delhaize, is a Dutch multinational retail and wholesaling company. Its name comes from a merger between Ahold (Dutch) and Delhaize Group (Belgia ...
,
ArcelorMittal Steel,
HP Inc.
HP Inc. is an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, that develops personal computers (PCs), printers and related supplies, as well as 3D printing solutions.
It was formed on November ...
,
IBM,
Hershey Foods
The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milksh ...
,
Harsco Corporation
Harsco Corporation is a global industrial company based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Harsco operates in 30 countries and employs approximately 11,000 people worldwide. The company provides industrial services and engineered products that serve ...
,
Ollie's Bargain Outlet
Ollie's Bargain Outlet is an American chain of discount closeout retailers. It was founded in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in 1982 by Morton Bernstein and Mark L. Butler with backing from Harry Coverman and Oliver E. "Ollie" Rosenberg; the latter ...
,
Rite Aid Corporation
Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. The company ranked No. 148 in the Fortune 500 lis ...
,
Tyco Electronics
TE Connectivity is an American Swiss-domiciled technology company that designs and manufactures connectors and sensors for several industries, such as automotive, industrial equipment, data communication systems, aerospace, defense, medical, o ...
, Gannett Fleming, and
Volvo Construction Equipment
Volvo Construction Equipment - Volvo CE - (originally Munktells, Bolinder-Munktell, Volvo BM) is a major international company that develops, manufactures and markets equipment for construction and related industries. It is a subsidiary and busine ...
. The largest employers, the
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
and
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
governments, provide stability to the economy. The region's extensive transportation infrastructure has allowed it to become a prominent center for trade, warehousing, and distribution.
Employers
Top 10
According to the Region Economic Development Corporation, the top employers in the
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
are:
People and culture
Culture
![Market Square in Harrisburg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Market_Square_in_Harrisburg.jpg)
In the mid-20th century, Harrisburg was home to many nightclubs and other performance venues, including the Madrid Ballroom, the Coliseum, the Chestnut Street Hall and the Hi-Hat. These venues featured performances from
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
,
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
,
Fletcher Henderson
James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musi ...
and
Andy Kirk, among other jazz greats. Segregationist policy forbade these musicians from staying overnight in downtown Harrisburg, however, making th
Jackson Hotelin Harrisburg'
7th Warda hub of black musicians prior the 1960s.
Several organizations support and develop visual arts in Harrisburg. The Art Association of Harrisburg was founded in 1926 and continues to provide education and exhibits throughout the year. Additionally, the
Susquehanna Art Museum
The Susquehanna Art Museum is a non-profit art museum in the United States, located in Midtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the state's capital.
Museum history
In 1989, the Susquehanna Art Museum (SAM) began as an idea by a group of central Pennsy ...
, founded in 1989, offers classes, exhibits and community events. A local urban sketching group, Harrisburg Sketchers, convenes artists monthly.
Downtown Harrisburg has two major performance centers. The
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The center is the first complex of its kind in the United States to use science as an entry to the arts. Whitaker Center exhibits science, the performing arts, and a ...
, which was completed in 1999, is the first center of its type in the United States where education, science and the
performing arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
take place under one roof. The Forum, a 1,763-seat concert and lecture hall built in 1930–31, is a state-owned and operated facility located within the
State Capitol Complex. Since 1931, The Forum has been home to the
Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra (HSO) is an American orchestra based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra can be traced back to the early 1930s during the throes of the Great Depression. The orchestra gave its first ...
. Other performance centers include The Capitol Room at
House of Music, Arts & Culture
The Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, alternatively the House of Music, Arts & Culture (styled "H·MAC"), is a multidisciplinary arts and cultural center located in Midtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is located in the historic Police Athletic Lea ...
, Open Stage of Harrisburg, Harrisburg Improv Theatre, Gamut Theatre Group, Popcorn Hat Players Children's Theatre and Theatre Harrisburg.
Beginning in 2001, downtown Harrisburg saw a resurgence of commercial nightlife development. This has been credited with reversing the city's financial decline, and has made downtown Harrisburg a destination for events from jazz festivals to Top-40 nightclubs.
In 2004, Harrisburg hosted
CowParade
CowParade is an international public art exhibit that has featured in major world cities. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city centre, in public places such as train stations, important avenu ...
, an international public
art exhibit
An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhib ...
that has been featured in major cities all over the world. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city center, in public places such as train stations and parks. They often feature artwork and designs specific to local culture, as well as city life and other relevant themes.
Events
Harrisburg notably is home to large events occurring throughout the year which attracts visitors from across the country and internationally.
*The annual
Pennsylvania Farm Show
The Pennsylvania Farm Show is an annual agricultural exposition celebrating Pennsylvania's agriculture industry, held every January at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is the largest ind ...
held at the
Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex
Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, formerly known as State Farm Show Arena, is a large exhibition center and indoor arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is primarily used for concerts, agricultural exhibitions, the Pennsylvania Farm ...
is the largest
agricultural exhibition
An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...
of its kind in the nation. Farmers from all over Pennsylvania come to show their animals and participate in competitions. Livestock are on display for people to interact with and view.
*The
Great American Outdoor Show
The Great American Outdoor Show (GAOS) is the world's largest outdoor recreation show and expo which is held annually in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The show, which was first held in 2014, was previously called the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show ...
, the world's largest
outdoor recreation
Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...
show, is held each February at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors and includes demonstrations, seminars, calling competitions, education and safety programs, and a country music concert.
*Motorama, the nation's largest all-indoor motorsports event, is held annually and features over 2,000 racers.
*The Ice & Fire Festival, occurring each March downtown, exhibits
ice sculpture
Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative. Ice sculptures are generally associated with special or extravagant events because ...
s,
fire dancer
Fire performance is a group of performance arts or skills that involve the manipulation of fire. Fire performance typically involves equipment or other objects made with one or more wicks which are designed to sustain a large enough flam ...
s, food trucks, and an ice skating rink with live music.
*The
Pennsylvania Auto Show The Pennsylvania Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center.
Show info
The show is operated by ''Motor Trend'' and is sponsored annually by the Harrisburg Automotive Trade A ...
is held annually at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex.
*ArtsFest, held each spring, features juried artisans and craftsmen from across the state and country selling art and unique crafts.
*
Pride Festival of Central PA
Pride Festival of Central PA, alternatively called PrideFest of Central PA, is a non-profit which hosts a three-day annual gay pride event that takes place in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
History
The first pride event in Central Pennsylvania took p ...
is the area's three-day annual
gay pride
LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...
event regularly attracting over 5,000
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
and straight allied supporters.
*The Antique Fire Apparatus Show &
Muster along Riverfront Park features displays of regional fire engines from past and present, a flea market, and firefighting competitions.
*
Harrisburg's Independence Day Celebration, under various names (formerly "MusicFest"), occurs each Independence Day weekend along Riverfront Park and City Island with food, live music, activities and fireworks.
*
Kipona
Kipona is an annual festival held each Labor Day weekend in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania celebrating the Susquehanna River. Its name means "on sparkling water" to some Native Americans, of which "sparkling water" was thought to be what the river was ...
Festival, inaugurated in 1916 and held each
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
Weekend, celebrates the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
as a three-day festival on Riverfront Park and City Island featuring food, fireworks, live music, artist markets, canoe races, wire walkers, pet areas, and family carnival activities.
*The
Greenbelt's Tour de Belt is a weekend-long series of bike-related events and includes an art show and craft breweries.
*Cultural Fest, put on each summer by Dauphin County and held at City Island, celebrates the multicultural diversity of the area.
*
Riverfront Park Concert Series, a summer pop-up concert, features national music acts each summer.
*The Harrisburg Marathon runs along the riverfront and City Island and is a two-day event usually held each fall.
*WoofStock, the celebration of all-things canine along with music, food and prizes, is held each September at Riverfront Park and is the largest
pet adoption
Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet that was previously owned by another party such as a person, shelter, or rescue organization. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters and rescue group
An anim ...
event on the East Coast.
*BrewFest, held each October at
Fort Hunter Park, features local
craft beer
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
s, food and vendors.
*Harrisburg's
New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
Celebration downtown has live music, children's activities, and the
strawberry drop and fireworks at midnight.
Media
Harrisburg area is part of the
Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York media market which consists of the lower counties in south central Pennsylvania and borders the media markets of Philadelphia and Baltimore. It is the 43rd largest media market in the United States.
The Harrisburg area has several newspapers. ''
The Patriot-News
''The Patriot-News'' is the largest newspaper serving the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area. In 2005, the newspaper was ranked in the top 100 in daily and Sunday circulation in the United States. It has been owned by Advance Publicati ...
'', which is published in
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
*Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberlan ...
, serves the Harrisburg area and has a tri-weekly circulation of over 100,000. ''
The Sentinel'', which is published in Carlisle, roughly 20 miles west of Harrisburg, serves many of Harrisburg's western suburbs in
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
*Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberlan ...
. The ''
Press and Journal'', published in Middletown, is one of many weekly general information newspapers in the Harrisburg area. There are also numerous television and radio stations in the Harrisburg/
Lancaster/
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
area.
Newspapers
*''
The Patriot-News
''The Patriot-News'' is the largest newspaper serving the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area. In 2005, the newspaper was ranked in the top 100 in daily and Sunday circulation in the United States. It has been owned by Advance Publicati ...
''
*''
Central Penn Business Journal
The ''Central Penn Business Journal'' is a business newspaper headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The print publication is circulated on a weekly basis and covers five counties in central Pennsylvania: Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Le ...
''
*''
Press and Journal (Pennsylvania)
The ''Press and Journal'' was a weekly newspaper which served Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was owned by Joe and Louise Sukle.
It had a circulation of approximately 8,000 copies in the Highspire, Hummelstown, Londonderry ...
''
*''
Carlisle Sentinel''
Television
The Harrisburg TV market is served by:
*
WGAL
WGAL (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Columbia Avenue ( PA 462) in ...
– (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
)
*
WXBU
WXBU (channel 15) is a television station licensed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of the digital multicast network TBD. The station is owned by Howard Stirk Holdings, a partner c ...
– (
Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
)
*
WHBG-TV – cable-only, public access
*
WHP-TV
WHP-TV (channel 21) is a television station licensed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of CBS, MyNetworkTV, and The CW. Owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station has studio ...
– (
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
)
*
WHTM-TV
WHTM-TV (channel 27) is a television station licensed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of ABC. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios on North 6th Street in H ...
– (
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
)
*
WCZS-LD
WCZS-LD, virtual channel 35 (UHF digital terrestrial television, digital channel 30), is a low-power broadcasting#Television, low-power religious broadcasting, religious Independent station (North America), independent television station that is c ...
– (
CTVN)
*
WITF-TV
WITF-TV (channel 33) is a non-commercial television station in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States, a member station of PBS serving the Susquehanna Valley region (Harrisburg– Lancaster–Lebanon–York). It is owned by WITF, Inc., alongs ...
– (
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
)
*
WPMT
WPMT, virtual channel 43 (Ultra high frequency, UHF digital terrestrial television, digital channel 36), is a Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox-network affiliate, affiliated television station city of license, licensed to York, Pennsylvania, United ...
– (
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
)
*
WLYH – independent, religious
*
PCN-TV, is a
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
dedicated to 24-hour coverage of
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
and
public affairs in the
commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
.
*
Roxbury News
The Roxbury News is an independent video news company based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The company is best known for producing news videos covering various city council and school board meetings, as well as Pennsylvania political and governmenta ...
– independent news
Radio
According to Arbitron, Harrisburg's radio market is ranked 78th in the nation.
This is a list of
FM station
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
s in the greater Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area.
This is a list of
AM station
AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmis ...
s in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania metropolitan area:
Harrisburg in film
Several
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
s and
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
have been filmed or set in and around Harrisburg and the greater
Susquehanna Valley
The Susquehanna Valley is a region of low-lying land that borders the Susquehanna River in the United States, U.S. states of New York (state), New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The valley consists of areas that lie along the main branch o ...
.
Museums, art collections, and sites of interest
*
Broad Street Market
The Broad Street Market, opened in 1863, is located in the Midtown neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Originally established on Broad Street (now Verbeke Street) by the Verbeke family, it is today one of the oldest con ...
, one of the oldest continuously operating
farmers markets
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...
in the United States
*
Dauphin County Veteran's Memorial Obelisk
The Dauphin County Veteran's Memorial Obelisk, sometimes called the Harrisburg Obelisk, is an Egyptian-style obelisk that was erected in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as a tribute to Dauphin County’s Civil War soldiers. Designed by civil engineer E. ...
inspired by the classic
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
/
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
form; located in
uptown
Uptown may refer to:
Neighborhoods or regions in several cities
United States
* Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico
* Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina
* Uptown, area surrounding the University of C ...
Harrisburg
*
Dauphin Narrows Statue of Liberty on the Susquehanna River north of Harrisburg
*
Fort Hunter Mansion and Park, located north of downtown Harrisburg on a bluff overlooking the Susquehanna River
*Harrisburg Doll Museum, which contains over 5,000 dolls and toys stretching back to 1840
*
John Harris – Simon Cameron Mansion, a National Historic Landmark located in downtown Harrisburg along the river
*
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.[National Civil War Museum
The National Civil War Museum, located at One Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a permanent, nonprofit educational institution created to promote the preservation of material culture and sources of information t ...]
, located at Reservoir Park and
affiliated with the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
in Washington, D.C.
*
Pennsylvania National Fire Museum
The Pennsylvania National Fire Museum is a museum devoted to fire fighter heritage in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum has an outstanding collection of artifacts from the hand-drawn equipment, extensive collection of vintage fir ...
*
Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center
Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, formerly known as State Farm Show Arena, is a large exhibition center and indoor arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is primarily used for concerts, agricultural exhibitions, the Pennsylvania Far ...
, one of the largest convention/exhibition centers on the east coast which hosts multiple annual events, most notably the
Pennsylvania Farm Show
The Pennsylvania Farm Show is an annual agricultural exposition celebrating Pennsylvania's agriculture industry, held every January at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is the largest ind ...
*
Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex
The Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex is a large complex of state government buildings in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Set on more than of downtown Harrisburg, it includes the Pennsylvania State Capitol and a landscaped park environment with monume ...
, the center of government for the
commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
and home to the
state capitol building,
state archives
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
, and
state library
A national library is established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuab ...
* ''
Pride of the Susquehanna
''Pride of the Susquehanna'' is a diesel-powered paddle-wheel riverboat owned and operated by the Harrisburg Area Riverboat Society non-profit, moored at City Island, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on the Susquehanna River during its annual operational ...
'' paddle-wheel riverboat, offering daily sightseeing tours and special theme cruises
*
Reservoir Park, the largest public park in the city containing an amphitheater and playground, and connected to the Greenbelt
*
State Museum of Pennsylvania
The State Museum of Pennsylvania is a non-profit museum at 300 North Street in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is run by the state through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and was created to preserve and interpret the region ...
, featuring a planetarium and the Marshalls Creek Mastodon, one of the most complete mastodon fossils in North America.
*
Strawberry Square
Strawberry Square is a mixed-use retail and commercial complex located in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is owned and managed by the Harristown Development Corporation (HDC), a non-profit organization.
History
Strawberry Square is consider ...
, across the street from the Capitol Complex, home of many state offices and a small shopping center
*
Susquehanna art museum
The Susquehanna Art Museum is a non-profit art museum in the United States, located in Midtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the state's capital.
Museum history
In 1989, the Susquehanna Art Museum (SAM) began as an idea by a group of central Pennsy ...
, recently renovated and relocated in Midtown
* Art Association of Harrisburg, founded in 1926, located in the Governor Findlay Mansion
*
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The center is the first complex of its kind in the United States to use science as an entry to the arts. Whitaker Center exhibits science, the performing arts, and a ...
, features an
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
theater
*
Zembo Shrine Building
The Zembo Shrine Building, also known as the Zembo Mosque, is a Masonic building located in the Uptown neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is significant architecturally as an example of Moorish Revival architecture. Construction on the ...
, a significant example of
Moorish Revival architecture
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...
.
Parks and recreation
The following is a list of the major parks of Harrisburg:
*
Capital Area Greenbelt
The Capital Area Greenbelt is a looping trail located in the area of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This 20-mile loop around Pennsylvania's capital city provides visitors and tourists with opportunities to hike, ride bicycles, skate, jog, fish, walk t ...
, a twenty mile long
greenway linking city neighborhoods, parks and open spaces. It connects Wildwood Lake Park, Riverfront Park, the Harrisburg Mall, Penbrook Park, Reservoir Park, Harrisburg Area Community College, and Veterans Park. It is open to cyclists and pedestrians.
*
City Island and Beach
*
Italian Lake, 9.4 acre park located in the
Uptown
Uptown may refer to:
Neighborhoods or regions in several cities
United States
* Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico
* Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina
* Uptown, area surrounding the University of C ...
neighborhood.
*
Paxtang Park
Paxtang Park is a current trailhead area in East Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and former trolley park. It originally existed from 1823 to 1929 between Derry Street and Paxton Street along Spring Creek and has reopened since 2020. The original park c ...
, a historic 40-acre
trolley park
Trolley may refer to:
Vehicles and components
* Tram, or trolley or streetcar, a rail vehicle that runs on tramway tracks
* Trolleybus, or trolley, an electric bus drawing power from overhead wires using trolley poles
** Trolleytruck, a trolleyb ...
in the 1900s, restored in 2020 as a park with
mountain bike
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...
trails
*
Reservoir Park
*
Riverfront Park
*
Wildwood Lake Park
Sports
Harrisburg serves as the hub of professional sports in
South Central Pennsylvania
South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of west ...
. A host of teams compete in the region including three professional baseball teams, the
Harrisburg Senators
The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...
, the
Lancaster Barnstormers
The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...
, and the
York Revolution
The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league, independent "partner lea ...
. The Senators are the oldest team of the three, with the current incarnation playing since 1987. The original Harrisburg Senators began playing in the
Eastern League in 1924. Playing its home games at
Island Field, the team won the league championship in the 1927, 1928, and 1931 seasons. The Senators played a few more seasons before flood waters destroyed Island Field in 1936, effectively ending Eastern League participation for fifty-one years. In 1940, Harrisburg gained an Interstate League team affiliated with the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
; however, the team remained in the city only until 1943, when it moved to nearby
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and renamed the
York Pirates
The York White Roses was the name of a minor league baseball team in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed from 1894–1969.
History
Early years
The York White Roses began as members of the short-lived Keystone Association in 1884. ...
. The current Harrisburg Senators, affiliated with the
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
, have won the Eastern League championship in the 1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 seasons.
Government
City of Harrisburg
![Harrisburg Market Square and City Government Center](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Harrisburg_Market_Square_and_City_Government_Center.jpg)
The Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
City Government Center, the first government building (and only city hall) in the United States named after the
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
leader, serves as a central location for the administrative functions of the city.
Harrisburg has been served since 1970 by the "
strong mayor
Strong may refer to:
Education
* The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States
* Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas
* Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United St ...
" form of municipal government, with separate executive and legislative branches. The Mayor serves a four-year term with no term limits. As the full-time chief executive, the Mayor oversees the operation of 34 agencies, run by department and office heads, some of whom form the Mayor's cabinet, including the Department of Public Safety (which includes the
Bureau of Police,
Bureau of Fire, and Bureau of Codes), Public Works, Business Administration, Parks and Recreation, Incineration and Steam Generation, Building & Housing Development, and Solicitor. The city had 424 full-time employees in 2019 (Water and Sewer employees were transferred to Capital Region Water effective 2013). The current mayor of Harrisburg is
Wanda Williams
Wanda R. D. Williams (born 1953) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania currently serving as 39th Mayor of Harrisburg. Running as a Democrat and President of the Harrisburg City Council ...
whose term expires January 2026.
There are seven
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
members, all elected at large, who serve part-time for four-year terms. There are two other elected city posts,
city treasurer The municipal treasurer is a position of responsibility for a municipality according to the locally prevailing laws.
The treasurer of a public agency is elected [city controller
A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executi ...]
, who separately head their own fiscally related offices.
The city government had been in financial distress for many years in the 2000s. It has operated under the state's Act 47 Harrisburg Strong Plan provisions since 2011. The Act provides for municipalities that are in a state akin to bankruptcy. The city balanced its budget in the late 2010s, was expected to have a surplus of $1 million in 2019, and maintained a surplus in 2020 despite
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Property tax reform
Harrisburg is also known nationally for its use of a two-tiered
land value taxation
A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements. It is also known as a location value tax, a point valuation tax, a site valuation tax, split rate tax, or a site-value ...
. Harrisburg has
taxed land at a rate six times that on improvements since 1975, and this policy has been credited by its former mayor
Stephen R. Reed
Stephen Russell Reed (August 9, 1949 – January 25, 2020) was the longest-serving mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Dubbed "Mayor-for-Life," he was re-elected to seven four-year terms, serving from 1982 to 2010. After leaving office, Reed fac ...
, as well as by the city's former
city manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...
during the 1980s, with reducing the number of
vacant structures located in
downtown Harrisburg
Downtown Harrisburg is the central core neighborhood, business and government center which surrounds the focal point of Market Square, and serves as the regional center for the greater metropolitan area of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States.
...
from about 4,200 in 1982 to fewer than 500 in 1995.
[Pennsylvania's Success with Local Property Tax Reform: The Split Rate Tax](_blank)
Earth Rights Institute. Hartzok, Alanna. 1995. Accessed February 12, 2010. During this same period of time between 1982 and 1995, nearly 4,700 more city residents became employed, the crime rate dropped 22.5% and the fire rate dropped 51%.
Harrisburg, as well as nearly 20 other
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
cities, employs a ''two-rate'' or ''split-rate''
property tax
A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
, which requires the taxing of the value of land at a higher rate and the value of the buildings and improvements at a lower one. This can be seen as a compromise between pure LVT and an ordinary property tax falling on real estate (land value plus improvement value). Alternatively, two-rate taxation may be seen as a form that allows gradual transformation of the traditional real estate property tax into a pure land value tax.
Nearly two dozen local Pennsylvania jurisdictions, such as Harrisburg, use two-rate property taxation in which the tax on land value is higher and the tax on improvement value is lower. In 2000, Florenz Plassmann and
Nicolaus Tideman
Thorwald Nicolaus Tideman (, not ; born August 11, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois) is a Georgist economist and professor at Virginia Tech. He received his Bachelor of Arts in economics and mathematics from Reed College in 1965 and his PhD in economics ...
wrote
["A Markov Chain Monte Carlo Analysis of the Effect of Two-Rate Property Taxes on Construction", Journal of Urban Economics, 2000, vol. 47, issue 2, p. 216-247] that when comparing Pennsylvania cities using a higher tax rate on land value and a lower rate on improvements with similar sized Pennsylvania cities using the same rate on land and improvements, the higher land value taxation leads to increased construction within the jurisdiction.
Dauphin County
![Dauphin County Courthouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Dauphin_County_Courthouse.jpg)
Dauphin County Government Complex, in
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Harrisburg, serves the administrative functions of the county. The
trial court
A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...
of general jurisdiction for Harrisburg rests with the
Court of Dauphin County and is largely funded and operated by county resources and employees.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The
Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex
The Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex is a large complex of state government buildings in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Set on more than of downtown Harrisburg, it includes the Pennsylvania State Capitol and a landscaped park environment with monume ...
dominates the city's stature as a regional and national hub for government and politics. All administrative functions of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are located within the complex and at various nearby locations.
The Commonwealth Judicial Center houses Pennsylvania's three
appellate courts
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
, which are located in Harrisburg. The
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme ...
, which is the court of last resort in the state, hears arguments in Harrisburg as well as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The
Superior Court of Pennsylvania
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania is one of two Pennsylvania intermediate appellate courts (the other being the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania). It is based in Harrisburg.
Jurisdiction
The Superior Court hears appeals in criminal and most ...
and the
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania is one of Pennsylvania's two intermediate appellate courts. The Commonwealth Court's headquarters is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with jurisdiction over administrative and civil public law. The Superior ...
are located here. Judges for these courts are elected at large.
Federal government
The
Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse, located in downtown Harrisburg, serves as the regional administrative offices of the
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
. A branch of the
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania. The court was created in 1901 by subdividing t ...
is also located within the courthouse. Due to Harrisburg's prominence as the state capital, federal offices for nearly every agency are located within the city.
The
United States military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
has a strong historic presence in the region. A large retired military population resides in
South Central Pennsylvania
South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of west ...
and the region is home to a large
national cemetery
The following is a partial list of prominent National Cemeteries:
Africa
Algeria
* El Alia Cemetery, Algiers
Burundi
* Mausolée des Martyrs de la Démocratie, Bujumbura
Ghana
* Asomdwee Park, Accra
* Burma Camp Military Cemetery, Accra
L ...
at
Indiantown Gap. The federal government, including the military, is the top employer in the
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
.
Military bases in the Harrisburg area include:
Transport
Airports
Domestic and International airlines provide services via
Harrisburg International Airport
Harrisburg International Airport is a public airport in Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Middletown, Pennsylvania, nine miles (15 km) southeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. It is owned by the Susquehanna Area Regional ...
(MDT), which is located southeast of the city in
Middletown. HIA is the third-busiest commercial
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
in Pennsylvania, both in terms of passengers served and cargo shipments. But, generally due to the poor airline selection and lack of an airline hub, the more popular airports in the area are
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Dulles and the
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. However nearly 1.2 million people fly out of Harrisburg every year.
Passenger carriers that serve HIA include
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
,
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. ,
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
,
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The ca ...
, and
Allegiant Air
Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America.
Allegiant was founded in 1 ...
.
Capital City Airport (CXY), a moderate-sized business class and
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airport, is located across the Susquehanna River in the nearby suburb of
New Cumberland, south of Harrisburg. Both airports are owned and operated by the
Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority The Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA) is the governing authority of Harrisburg International Airport, Capital City Airport, Franklin County Regional Airport and Gettysburg Regional Airport in south-central Pennsylvania. SARAA was ...
(SARAA), which also manages the
Franklin County Regional Airport in
Chambersburg
Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Mas ...
and
Gettysburg Regional Airport
Gettysburg Regional Airport , formerly known as the Gettysburg Airport and Travel Center and as Doersom Airport, is a general aviation airport located two miles (4 km) west of the Gettysburg, in Adams County, Pennsylvania. The airport is s ...
in
Gettysburg.
From the 1940s to 1960s, the Harrisburg Seaplane Base on the West Shore of the Susquehanna River facilitated the landing and docking of
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s in the river between the
M. Harvey Taylor Memorial Bridge
The M. Harvey Taylor Bridge is a steel girder multilane highway bridge that spans the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, the state capital. It connects central Harrisburg with the near suburbs on the West Shore. Built in the early 1950s, it was ...
and the
Walnut Street Bridge, until it was converted into a marina and boat dealership.
Public transit
![CAT bus 1902 at Market Square Transfer Center](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/CAT_bus_1902_at_Market_Square_Transfer_Center.jpeg)
Harrisburg is served by
Capital Area Transit (CAT) which provides
public bus
Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable.
History of buses Origins
While there are indications ...
and
paratransit
Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...
service throughout the greater metropolitan area. Construction of a
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
line designated the
Capital Red Rose Corridor
Capital Red Rose Corridor, formerly known as Corridor One (corporately styled CORRIDOR''one''), was a proposal for commuter rail service in South Central Pennsylvania, United States, between Harrisburg and Lancaster. In mid-2008, the official n ...
, previously named CorridorOne, was planned to link the city with nearby
Lancaster until plans went dormant in 2011.
Long-term plans for the region called for the commuter rail line to continue westward to
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
*Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberlan ...
, ending at
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
. In early 2005, the project hit a roadblock when the Cumberland County
commissioners
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
opposed the plan to extend commuter rail to the West Shore. Due to lack of support from the county commissioners, the Cumberland County portion, and the two new stations in Harrisburg have been removed from the project. In the future, with support from Cumberland County, the commuter rail project may extend to both shores of the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
, where the majority of the commuting base for the
Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area
The Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area, officially the Harrisburg–Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and also referred to as the Susquehanna Valley, is defined by the Office of Management and Budget as an area consis ...
resides.
In 2006, a second phase of the rail project designated CorridorTwo was announced to the general public. It was planned to link
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Harrisburg with its eastern suburbs in
Dauphin and
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
counties, including the areas of
Hummelstown
Hummelstown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,535 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Originally named Fredrickstown, the town was establi ...
,
Hershey and
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, and the city of
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
in
York County.
Other planned passenger rail corridors also included
Route 15 from the Harrisburg area towards
Gettysburg, as well as the Susquehanna River communities north of Harrisburg, and the Northern
Susquehanna Valley
The Susquehanna Valley is a region of low-lying land that borders the Susquehanna River in the United States, U.S. states of New York (state), New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The valley consists of areas that lie along the main branch o ...
region.
Intercity bus service
The lower level of the
Harrisburg Transportation Center
The Harrisburg Transportation Center (HTC, formerly Pennsylvania Station, Harrisburg or Harrisburg Central Railroad Station) is a large railway station and transportation hub in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is located on the eastern edge of Downto ...
serves as the city's intercity
bus terminal
A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is la ...
. Daily bus services are provided by
Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...
,
Capitol Trailways
Bieber Transportation Group was an American bus company based in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, operating intercity bus, intercity commuter buses, charter buses, and Tour bus service, tours. The company provided bus service from the Reading, Pennsylvania ...
, and
Fullington Trailways
The Trailways Transportation System is an American network of approximately 70 independent bus companies that have entered into a brand licensing agreement. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.
History
The predecessor to Trailwa ...
. They connect Harrisburg to other Pennsylvania cities such as
Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them:
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...
, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
,
Scranton
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
,
State College State College is a city in central Pennsylvania, United States.
State College may also refer to:
Related to State College, Pennsylvania
* State College Area School District, a school district serving State College
* State College Area High School ...
,
Williamsport, and
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and nearby, out-of-state cities such as
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Binghamton
Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...
, New York,
Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
**North Syracuse, New York
*Syracuse, Indiana
* Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, Miss ...
, and Washington, D.C., plus many other destinations via transfers.
Curbside
intercity bus service
An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...
is also provided by
Megabus Megabus may refer to:
*Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro.
*Megabus (North America)
Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/Coach Canada operating in the eas ...
from the parking lot of the
Harrisburg Mall
The Harrisburg Mall is a regional mall located just outside Harrisburg in Swatara Township, Pennsylvania. It is the largest mall in the Harrisburg metropolitan area. The anchor store is Bass Pro Shops. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were ...
in nearby
Swatara Township, with direct service to Philadelphia,
State College State College is a city in central Pennsylvania, United States.
State College may also refer to:
Related to State College, Pennsylvania
* State College Area School District, a school district serving State College
* State College Area High School ...
, and Pittsburgh.
Regional scheduled line bus service
The public transit provider in
York County,
Rabbit Transit, operates its RabbitEXPRESS bus service from
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
via Route 83N and from
Gettysburg via Route 15N which serves both downtown Harrisburg and the main campus for
Harrisburg Area Community College
, mottoeng = Knowledge Restores Truth
, established = 1964, accredited in 1967
, type = Public, Community College
, president = John J. "Ski" Sygielski, Ed.D.
, city = Harrisburg
, state = PA
, country = USA
, undergrad = 19,000
, admini ...
. The commuter-oriented service is designed to serve residents from these areas who work in Harrisburg, though
reverse commute
A reverse commute is a round trip, regularly taken, from an urban area to a suburban one in the morning, and returning in the evening. It is almost universally applied to trips to work in the suburbs from homes in the city. This is in opposition to ...
s are possible under the current schedule. Route 83N makes limited stops in the city of York and at two
park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
s along
Interstate 83
Interstate 83 (I-83) is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its southern terminus is at a signalized intersection with Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland; its northern terminus is at Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania, I-81 near H ...
between York and Harrisburg before making multiple stops in Harrisburg, while Route 15N makes two stops in Gettysburg and at two park and rides along
U.S. Route 15
U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Caro ...
between Gettysburg and Harrisburg before making multiple stops in Harrisburg.
Lebanon Transit operates the Commute King A and Commute King B express bus routes which connect
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
to Harrisburg via
U.S. Route 422 and
Interstate 81
Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island ...
respectively.
A charter/tour bus operator, R & J Transport, also provides weekday, scheduled route commuter service for people working in downtown Harrisburg. R & J, which is based in
Schuylkill County, operates two lines, one between
Frackville and downtown Harrisburg and the other between
Minersville,
Pine Grove, and downtown Harrisburg.
Rail
![Harrisburg Transportation Center, Sept 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Harrisburg_Transportation_Center%2C_Sept_2012.jpg)
The
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
's main line from New York to Chicago passed through Harrisburg. The line was
electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...
in the 1930s, with the wires reaching Harrisburg in 1938. They went no further. Plans to electrify through to
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
and thence to Chicago never saw fruition; sufficient funding was never available. Thus, Harrisburg became where the PRR's crack expresses such as the
Broadway Limited
The ''Broadway Limited'' was a passenger train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) between New York City and Chicago. It operated from 1912 to 1995. It was the Pennsylvania's premier train, competing directly with the New York Central R ...
changed from electric traction to (originally) a
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
, and later a
diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
. Harrisburg remained a freight rail hub for PRR's successor
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
, which was later sold off and divided between
Norfolk Southern
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...
and
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
.
Freight rail
Norfolk Southern
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...
acquired all of
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
's lines in the Harrisburg area and has continued the city's function as a freight rail hub. Norfolk Southern considers Harrisburg one of many primary hubs in its system, and operates 2
intermodal (rail/truck transfer) yards in the immediate Harrisburg area. The
Harrisburg Intermodal Yard
Harrisburg Intermodal Yard is a large rail yard located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The yard used to be operated by Conrail, and since 1999, has been operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The Harrisburg Yard, the Enola Yard and the Rutherfor ...
(formerly called Lucknow Yard) is located in the north end of Harrisburg, approximately 3 miles north of downtown Harrisburg and the Harrisburg Transport Center, while the
Rutherford Intermodal Yard Rutherford Intermodal Yard is a large rail yard located in Swatara Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Swatara Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County, just east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
History
The yard was formerly operate ...
is located approximately 6 miles east of downtown Harrisburg in
Swatara Township, Dauphin County. Norfolk Southern also operates a significant
classification yard
A classification yard (American and Canadian English ( Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English ( Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ...
in the Harrisburg area, the
Enola Yard
Enola Yard is a large rail yard located in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, along the western shore of the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Built in 1905 and expanded through the 1930s, Enola was the world's largest freight y ...
, which is located across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg in
East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County.
Intercity passenger rail
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
provides service to and from Harrisburg. The passenger rail operator runs its ''
Keystone Service
Amtrak's ''Keystone Service'' provides frequent regional rail, regional passenger train service between the Harrisburg Transportation Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, running along the Philadelphia to ...
'' and ''
Pennsylvanian'' routes between New York, Philadelphia, and the
Harrisburg Transportation Center
The Harrisburg Transportation Center (HTC, formerly Pennsylvania Station, Harrisburg or Harrisburg Central Railroad Station) is a large railway station and transportation hub in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is located on the eastern edge of Downto ...
daily. The ''Pennsylvanian'' route, which operates once daily, continues west to
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. As of April 2007, Amtrak operates 14 weekday roundtrips and 8 weekend roundtrips daily between Harrisburg,
Lancaster, and
Philadelphia 30th Street Station
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1 ...
; most of these trains also travel to and from
New York Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main inter-city rail, intercity railroad station in New York City and the List of busiest railway stations in North America, busiest transportation facilit ...
. The
Keystone Corridor
The Keystone Corridor is a 349-mile (562 km) railroad corridor between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that consists of two rail lines: Amtrak and SEPTA's Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg main line, which hosts SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale ...
between Harrisburg and Philadelphia was improved in the mid-first decade of the 21st century, with the primary improvements completed in late 2006. The improvements included upgrading the electrical catenary, installing continuously welded rail, and replacing existing wooden railroad ties with concrete ties. These improvements increased train speeds to 110 mph along the corridor and reduced the travel time between Harrisburg and Philadelphia to as little as 95 minutes. It also eliminated the need to change locomotives at 30th Street Station (from diesel to electric and vice versa) for trains continuing to or coming from New York. As of Federal Fiscal Year 2008, the Harrisburg Transportation Center was the 2nd busiest Amtrak station in Pennsylvania and 21st busiest in the United States.
Roads and bridges
Harrisburg is served by several major roads.
Interstate 76
Interstate 76 may refer to:
Interstate Highways in the United States
* Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska)
* Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey), running through Pennsylvania
Video gaming
* ''Interstate '76
''Interstate '76'' is a vehicular ...
(
Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...
) passes south of the city and has access via two interchanges, running west toward
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
and east toward
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
Interstate 81
Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island ...
passes to the north of Harrisburg and heads southwest toward
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
and northeast toward
Hazleton Hazleton may refer to:
Places
* Hazleton, British Columbia, Canada
* Hazleton, Gloucestershire, a village in Gloucestershire, England
** Hazleton long barrows, Neolithic burial mounds at Hazleton, Gloucestershire, England
** Hazleton Abbey, a me ...
.
Interstate 83
Interstate 83 (I-83) is an Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its southern terminus is at a signalized intersection with Fayette Street in Baltimore, Maryland; its northern terminus is at Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania, I-81 near H ...
begins at I-81 near Harrisburg and heads south and west through the center of Harrisburg before continuing south toward
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
.
Interstate 283
Interstate 283 (I-283) is an auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System located just east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It travels from the Harrisburg East interchange of I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) north to I-83/ U.S. Route 32 ...
connects I-76 and I-83 southeast of Harrisburg.
U.S. Route 11
{{Infobox road
, country=USA
, type=US
, route=11
, map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map
, map_custom=yes
, map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...
and
U.S. Route 15
U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Caro ...
pass through the western suburbs of Harrisburg, heading north concurrent from
Camp Hill up the west bank of the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
toward
Selinsgrove. South of Camp Hill, US 11 heads southwest toward Carlisle and US 15 heads south toward
Gettysburg.
U.S. Route 22
U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 in the Newark Airport Interchange ...
and
U.S. Route 322
U.S. Route 322 (US 322) is a long, east–west United States Highway, traversing Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The road is a spur of U.S. Route 22 and one of the original highways from 1926. A portion of it at one time was concurrent with ...
head northwest concurrent from Harrisburg toward
Lewistown. US 22 passes through the northern portion of Harrisburg before it heads northeast toward
Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them:
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...
. US 322 bypasses Harrisburg along I-81 and I-83 before heading east toward
Hershey.
Pennsylvania Route 230
Pennsylvania Route 230 (PA 230) is a long state route in central Pennsylvania. Its western terminus is at an intersection with U.S. Route 22 (US 22) in Harrisburg. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with PA 283 near Salunga. The route pa ...
heads south from US 22 in the northern part of Harrisburg and passes through the city along Cameron Street.
Pennsylvania Route 283
Pennsylvania Route 283 (PA 283), officially State Route 0300 or SR 0300 due to the presence of Interstate 283 (I-283), is a state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A freeway for nearly its entire length, it c ...
heads southeast from I-283 on a freeway toward
Lancaster.
Pennsylvania Route 581
The Capital Beltway is a beltway surrounding Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is co-designated as Interstate 81 (I-81), I-83, U.S. Route 11 (US 11), US 322, and Pennsylvania Route 581 (PA 581) ...
connects I-81 and I-83 on a freeway through the western suburbs of Harrisburg. I-81, I-83, and PA 581 form the Capital Beltway (Harrisburg), Capital Beltway that circles Harrisburg.
Harrisburg is the location of over a dozen large bridges, many up to a mile long, that cross the Susquehanna River. Several other important structures span the
Paxton Creek
Paxton Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in the United States.
The Paxton Creek ...
watershed and Cameron Street, linking
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
with neighborhoods in East Harrisburg. These include the
State Street Bridge, also known as the Soldiers and Sailor's Memorial Bridge, and the Mulberry Street Bridge.
Walnut Street Bridge, now used only by pedestrians and cyclists, links the downtown and
Riverfront Park areas with City Island (Pennsylvania), City Island but goes no further as spans are missing on its western side due to massive flooding resulting from the North American blizzard of 1996.
Education
Public schools
Harrisburg is served by the Harrisburg School District (Pennsylvania), Harrisburg School District. The school district provides education for the city's youth beginning with all-day kindergarten through twelfth grade. In 2003, SciTech High, a regional math and science magnet school (affiliated with Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Harrisburg University), opened its doors to local students.
;Public Charter Schools
The city also has several public charter schools: Infinity Charter School, Sylvan Heights Science Charter School, Premier Arts and Science Charter School and Capital Area School for the Arts.
The Central Dauphin School District, the largest public school district in the
Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area
The Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area, officially the Harrisburg–Carlisle, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and also referred to as the Susquehanna Valley, is defined by the Office of Management and Budget as an area consis ...
and the 13th largest in Pennsylvania, has several Harrisburg postal addresses for many of the District's schools. Steelton-Highspire School District borders much of the Harrisburg School District.
Private schools
Harrisburg is home to an extensive Catholic educational system. There are nearly 40 parish-driven elementary schools and seven Catholic high schools within the region administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, including Bishop McDevitt High School (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), Bishop McDevitt High School and Trinity High School (Camp Hill, Pennsylvania), Trinity High School. Numerous other private schools, such as The Londonderry School and The Circle School, which is a Sudbury Valley School, Sudbury Model school, also operate in Harrisburg. Harrisburg Academy, founded in 1784, is one of the oldest independent college preparatory schools in the nation. The Rabbi David L. Silver Yeshiva Academy, founded in 1944, is a progressive, modern Jewish day school. Also, Harrisburg is home to Harrisburg Christian School, founded in 1955.
Higher education
*Dixon University Center, located in
Uptown
Uptown may refer to:
Neighborhoods or regions in several cities
United States
* Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico
* Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina
* Uptown, area surrounding the University of C ...
, serves as the office of Chancellor and the central headquarters of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). With a total student enrollment 110,428, PASSHE is one of the List of largest universities by enrollment, largest university systems in the United States
*
Harrisburg Area Community College
, mottoeng = Knowledge Restores Truth
, established = 1964, accredited in 1967
, type = Public, Community College
, president = John J. "Ski" Sygielski, Ed.D.
, city = Harrisburg
, state = PA
, country = USA
, undergrad = 19,000
, admini ...
: the original campus of the college, the Harrisburg Campus, and Penn Center and Midtown (Harrisburg), Midtown campus which are branches of the Harrisburg Campus are located in Harrisburg. Newer campuses are located in
Gettysburg,
Lancaster,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
*Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, located
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
*Messiah College, Messiah College's Harrisburg Institute, located Downtown
*Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State Harrisburg Eastgate Center, located Downtown
*Temple University, Temple University Harrisburg Campus, located Downtown
*Widener University Commonwealth Law School
Libraries
*Dauphin County Law Library
*Dauphin County Library System, with eight branches in Harrisburg and suburban
Dauphin County
Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth ...
*McCormick Library of
Harrisburg Area Community College
, mottoeng = Knowledge Restores Truth
, established = 1964, accredited in 1967
, type = Public, Community College
, president = John J. "Ski" Sygielski, Ed.D.
, city = Harrisburg
, state = PA
, country = USA
, undergrad = 19,000
, admini ...
*Harrisburg University Library
*Penn State Harrisburg Library
*State Library of Pennsylvania, which includes the Pennsylvania Law Library
*Medical library services of UPMC Pinnacle
*Law Library, Widener University School of Law
Notable people
Since the early 18th century, Harrisburg has been home to many people of note. Because it is the seat of government for the state and lies relatively close to other urban centers, Harrisburg has played a significant role in the nation's political, cultural and industrial history. "Harrisburgers" have also taken a leading role in the development of Pennsylvania's history for over two centuries. Two former U.S. Secretaries of War, Simon Cameron and Alexander Ramsey and several other prominent political figures, such as former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich, hail from Harrisburg. The actor Don Keefer was born near Harrisburg, along with the actor Richard Sanders (actor), Richard Sanders, most famous for playing Les Nessman in ''WKRP in Cincinnati''. Many notable individuals are interred at Harrisburg Cemetery and East Harrisburg Cemetery.
Actors
* Eric Mabius, actor ''Ugly Betty''
* Matt Cook (actor), Matt Cook, television, actor ''Man with a Plan (TV series), Man with a Plan''
*John A. Ellsler (1821–1903), actor and theatre manager, born in Harrisburg
*Nancy Kulp, actress
*Mark Malkoff, comedian and filmmaker
*Eric Martsolf, actor and singer
*Pauline Moore, actress
*Ciara Renée, actress
Artists, designers
* Grafton Tyler Brown, first
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
artist to create works depicting the Pacific Northwest and California
*Stephanie A. Johnson (born 1952), mixed media artist, educator
*Rachel Nabors, cartoonist
*Barbara Tyson Mosley (born 1950) American mixed media artist.
Musicians
* Glenn Branca, avant-garde composer and guitarist
* Justin Duerr, musician and artist
* James Allen Gähres, music conductor
* Dan Hartman, musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer
* Gene "Birdlegg" Pittman, blues harmonicist, singer and songwriter.
* Rudi Protrudi, rock musician
* Bobby Troup, actor, jazz pianist, and songwriter
* Robert White (guitarist), Robert White, musician
Politics, military, activism
*Betty Andujar, first Republican woman to serve in Texas Senate, Texas State Senate (1973–1983), was born in Harrisburg in 1912
*David Conner (naval officer), David Conner, U.S. Navy commodore
*Candace Gingrich, civil rights activist
*Newt Gingrich, U.S. Representative 1979–99, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Speaker of the House; born in Harrisburg.
*Charles P. Mason, Vice admiral in the Navy during World War II and Navy Cross recipient
*Daniel C. Miller, Harrisburg City Comptroller, Controller
*Bruce I. Smith, state representative, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
*George W. Smith (USMC), George W. Smith, Major General in the Marine Corps
*William Trickett Smith, lawyer and the former chairman of the Dauphin County Republican Party (United States), Republican Party
*Perry A. Stambaugh, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 86
*Robert Stevenson and Peggy Stevenson, Robert Stevenson, actor and politician, born 1915 in Harrisburg, Los Angeles City Council member.
*M. Harvey Taylor, Pennsylvania State Senator
*LeRoy Zimmerman, 40th Attorney General of Pennsylvania
Sports
Writers
* James Boyd (novelist), James Boyd, a resident of Front Street, wrote a novel about the city in 1935, ''Roll River.''
*Thomas Morris Chester, prominent Black journalist, lawyer, and soldier in the Civil War, was born here.
*Carmen Finestra, television producer and writer.
*Jimmy Gownley, New York Times best-selling author and illustrator of ''Amelia Rules!.''
*John O'Hara, author, a native of Pottsville, lived in Harrisburg briefly to write his novel about the city, ''A Rage to Live.
''
*Adam Resnick, comedic author, wrote about growing up in Harrisburg in his book ''Will Not Attend'', and wrote the screenplay for ''Lucky Numbers'' (2000), a film taking place in Harrisburg.
*Will Stanton (author), Will Stanton, long-published humor writer.
*John Wyeth, publisher of ''Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music'' (1810; ''Second Part'' 1813).
Others
*James Milnor Coit, teacher
*Carl Cover, aviation pioneer and test pilot
*Lindsay Czarniak, ESPN anchor
*Alan Isaacman, lawyer who argued ''Hustler Magazine v. Falwell'' before the Supreme Court of the United States
*Agnes Kemp (1823–1908), American physician and temperance movement leader
*Clyde A. Lynch, president of Lebanon Valley College
*Kenneth W. Mack, historian and professor at Harvard Law School
*Edward C. Malesic, Catholic Bishop of Cleveland
*Robert James Miller, Medal of Honor recipient
*Frank Soday, chemist influential in development of alternative uses for synthetic fiber
See also
*List of cities and towns along the Susquehanna River
*List of hospitals in Harrisburg
Notes
References
External links
*
Hershey-Harrisburg Regional Visitors BureauHarrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
18th-century establishments in Pennsylvania
1719 establishments in Pennsylvania
Cities in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
County seats in Pennsylvania
Government units that have filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy
Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area
Pennsylvania in the American Civil War
Pennsylvania populated places on the Susquehanna River
Populated places established in 1719
Populated places on the Underground Railroad