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Harrisburg is the
capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...
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, Ma ...
, 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. 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 U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The valley consists of areas that lie along the main branch of the river, which flows from Up ...
, 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 List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, 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, 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 ...
, 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 and later the Pennsylvania Railroad allowed Harrisburg to develop into one of the most industrialized cities in the Northeastern United States. 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 t ...
, and food services. The Pennsylvania Farm Show, 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 largest of its kind in the world, among many other events. Harrisburg experienced the Three Mile Island accident 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 r ...
'' 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 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 Taze ...
, Pennsylvania's third-largest city, and northwest of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Pennsylvania's largest city.


History


Founding

Harrisburg's site along the Susquehanna River is thought to have been inhabited by Native Americans as early as 3000 BC. Known to the Native Americans as "Peixtin", or " Paxtang", 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., 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, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig tick ...
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 ...
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 Nationa ...
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. ...
, 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 ...
, 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 of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
, 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 of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Robert E. Lee'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. st ...
, but was prevented from doing so by the Battle of Antietam 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 Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell'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 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 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 ...
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

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

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 d ...
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, 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 and Vance McCormick 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 in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
. Warren Manning 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 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 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, located at the corner of Maclay and Cameron streets. In June 1972, Harrisburg was hit by a major flood from the remnants of hurricane Agnes. On March 28, 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, along the Susquehanna River 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, on the advice of Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Joseph Hendrie, 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 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 ...
, the National Civil War Museum 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 soccer ...
of the
United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...
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.


21st century

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, 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, Ma ...
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 t ...
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 identi ...
.


Geography


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 w ...
, 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 o ...
,
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
and three-hour drive of New York and
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
. 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 t ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (29.11%) is water. Bodies of water include Paxton Creek, which empties into the Susquehanna River 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 ...
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 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 ( ...
. 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 to the east; Lancaster County to the south; and York County to the southwest; Cumberland County to the west; and Perry County to the northwest.


Adjacent municipalities

Harrisburg's western boundary is formed by the west shore of the Susquehanna River (the Susquehanna runs within the city boundaries), which also serves as the boundary between Dauphin and Cumberland 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 A ...
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 in Dauphin County. The borough of Penbrook, located just east of Reservoir Park, was previously known as East Harrisburg. Penbrook, along with the borough of Paxtang, 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 freez ...
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 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 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 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 monum ...
, 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. 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 e ...
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 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 dec ...
and Edwin Austin Abbey; 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 t ...
, 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 (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 (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 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, 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 is the metropolitan center for some 400 communities.Harrisburg: Economy
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 (Belgi ...
, 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 Novembe ...
, IBM,
Hershey Foods The Hershey Company, commonly known as Hershey's, is an American multinational corporation, multinational company and one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. It also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and s ...
, Harsco Corporation, Ollie's Bargain Outlet,
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. The largest employers, the federal 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 an ...
are:


People and culture


Culture

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, Dizzy Gillespie, Fletcher Henderson and Andy Kirk, among other jazz greats. Segregationist policy forbade these musicians from staying overnight in downtown Harrisburg, however, making th
Jackson Hotel
in Harrisburg'
7th Ward
a 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 ...
, which was completed in 1999, is the first center of its type in the United States where education, science and the performing arts 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 firs ...
. 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 exhi ...
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 held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex is the largest agricultural exhibition 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 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 sculptures,
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 Candle wick, wicks which are designed to sustain a large ...
s, food trucks, and an ice skating rink with live music. *The Pennsylvania Auto Show 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 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 s ...
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 ...
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 Weekend, celebrates the Susquehanna River 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 groups. Some or ...
event on the East Coast. *BrewFest, held each October at Fort Hunter Park, features local craft beers, food and vendors. *Harrisburg's New Year's Eve 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'', which is published in Cumberland County, 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. 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'' *''
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 – (
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
) *
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 ...
– (
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 ...
) * 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 st ...
– (
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 Entertainm ...
) *
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 ...
– ( ABC) * WCZS-LD – ( 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., along ...
– (
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
) *
WPMT WPMT, virtual channel 43 (UHF digital channel 36), is a Fox- affiliated television station licensed to York, Pennsylvania, United States, and serving the Susquehanna Valley region (Harrisburg– Lancaster–Lebanon–York). The station is own ...
– ( Fox) * 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 bro ...
network 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 ...
and public affairs in the commonwealth. * Roxbury News – 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 capa ...
s in the greater Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area. This is a list of AM stations 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, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
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 U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The valley consists of areas that lie along the main branch of the river, which flows from Up ...
.


Museums, art collections, and sites of interest

*
Broad Street Market The Broad Street Market, opened in 1863, is located in the Midtown (Harrisburg), Midtown List of Harrisburg neighborhoods, neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Originally established on Broad Street (now Verbeke Street) b ...
, one of the oldest continuously operating farmers markets in the United States * Dauphin County Veteran's Memorial Obelisk inspired by the classic Roman/ Egyptian
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 An ...
form; located in uptown 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, originally planned in 1785 and serves as the pinnacle of downtown * Midtown Scholar Bookstore, largest independent bookstore on the East Coast * National Civil War Museum, 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 * Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, one of the largest convention/exhibition centers on the east coast which hosts multiple annual events, most notably the Pennsylvania Farm Show *
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 monum ...
, the center of government for the commonwealth 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'' 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, 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 conside ...
, 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 ...
, features an IMAX theater * Zembo Shrine Building, a significant example of Moorish Revival architecture.


Parks and recreation

The following is a list of the major parks of Harrisburg: * Capital Area Greenbelt, 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 neighborhood. * Paxtang Park, 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 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 w ...
. 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 United States, American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a ...
, 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 "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...
. 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; 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 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

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, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
leader, serves as a central location for the administrative functions of the city. Harrisburg has been served since 1970 by the " strong mayor" 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 politician from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania currently serving as 39th Mayor of Harrisburg. Running as a Democrat and President of the Harrisburg City Council, she won the 2021 Harrisburg ma ...
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 execut ...
, 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 identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
.


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 (economics), land without regard to buildings, personal property and other land improvement, improvements. It is also known as a location value tax, a point valuation tax, a site valuation ta ...
. 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, as well as by the city's former city manager during the 1980s, with reducing the number of vacant structures located in downtown Harrisburg from about 4,200 in 1982 to fewer than 500 in 1995.Pennsylvania's Success with Local Property Tax Reform: The Split Rate Tax
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 inhe ...
, 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 Government Complex, in downtown 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 monum ...
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 ...
, 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 Ju ...
, 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 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 branch of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania 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 th ...
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 w ...
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. Military bases in the Harrisburg area include:


Transport


Airports

Domestic and International airlines provide services via Harrisburg International Airport (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 surfa ...
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 List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. 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 world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...
, Frontier Airlines, 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 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 taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...
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

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 Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
line designated the Capital Red Rose Corridor, 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, ending at Carlisle. In early 2005, the project hit a roadblock when the Cumberland County commissioners 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, 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 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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
, 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 U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. The valley consists of areas that lie along the main branch of the river, which flows from Up ...
region.


Intercity bus service

The lower level of the Harrisburg Transportation Center serves as the city's intercity bus terminal. 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 resurgenc ...
, Capitol Trailways, and Fullington Trailways. 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 Taze ...
, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading,
Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...
, State College, 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, 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 from the parking lot of the Harrisburg Mall in nearby Swatara Township, with direct service to Philadelphia, State College, 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 I-81 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mo ...
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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
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

The Pennsylvania Railroad'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 of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
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 (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 freigh ...
, 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 daily. The ''Pennsylvanian'' route, which operates once daily, continues west to
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
. 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. Sinc ...
; 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 intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 600,000 passengers ...
. 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 of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
and east toward
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
.
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 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 medi ...
.
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 I-81 near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mo ...
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 3 ...
connects I-76 and I-83 southeast of Harrisburg. U.S. Route 11 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 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 Intercha ...
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 Taze ...
. 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 ...
heads south from US 22 in the northern part of Harrisburg and passes through the city along Cameron Street. Pennsylvania Route 283 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 The Capital Beltway is a Interstate Highway in the Washington metropolitan area that surrounds Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. It is the basis of the phrase " inside ...
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 watershed and
Cameron Street 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 ...
, linking Downtown with neighborhoods in
East Harrisburg East Harrisburg is a district of neighborhoods in the eastern end of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Its southern border is formed by Interstate 83; eastern border is Paxtang Paxtang is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of t ...
. 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 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. The
school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
provides education for the city's youth beginning with all-day
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
through twelfth grade. In 2003,
SciTech High SciTech Campus of Harrisburg High school, located in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a regional math and science public school that attracts students from Harrisburg and neighboring school districts. Beginning with the 9th grade, SciTech Ca ...
, a regional math and science magnet school (affiliated with Harrisburg University), opened its doors to local students. ;Public Charter Schools The city also has several public
charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...
s: Infinity Charter School, Sylvan Heights Science Charter School, Premier Arts and Science Charter School and
Capital Area School for the Arts The Capital Area School for the Arts (CASA) is a 9th to 12th grade, public charter school located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, USA. The School began as an arts magnet school, which was founded in 2001 as a partnershi ...
. The
Central Dauphin School District The Central Dauphin School District is a large, suburban, public school district located in suburban Harrisburg, Pennsylvania serving students in central and eastern Dauphin County. It is the largest school district in the county, the largest i ...
, 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 The Steelton-Highspire School District is a diminutive, urban public school district located in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses the boroughs of Steelton and Highspire, both industrial suburbs of the City of Harrisburg. The distri ...
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 The Diocese of Harrisburg is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that covers 15 counties of South Central Pennsylvania: Adams County, Pennsylvania, Adams, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, Columbia, Cumberlan ...
, including Bishop McDevitt High School and
Trinity High School Trinity High School is the name of high schools: United Kingdom * Trinity High School, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland * Trinity High School, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland * Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, in Redditch, England *Trini ...
. Numerous other private schools, such as The Londonderry School and
The Circle School The Circle School is a self-directed democratic school located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and founded in 1984, and is operated similarly to the Sudbury Valley School (Framingham, Massachusetts) and Hudson Valley Sudbury School ( Kingston, New Y ...
, which is a
Sudbury Model A Sudbury school is a type of school, usually for the K-12 age range, where students have complete responsibility for their own education, and the school is run by a direct democracy in which students and staff are equal citizens. Students use t ...
school, also operate in Harrisburg. Harrisburg Academy, founded in 1784, is one of the oldest independent
college preparatory A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...
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 Harrisburg Christian School is a private, coeducational Christian elementary, middle school and high school, located on the north side of the greater Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area in the village of Linglestown, Pennsylvania Linglestown is a ...
, founded in 1955.


Higher education

*
Dixon University Center Dixon University Center was a former higher education center made up of college and university-level programs from a consortium of schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The faci ...
, located in Uptown, serves as the office of Chancellor and the central headquarters of the
Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that oversees 10 state-owned universities. Collectively, it is the largest provider of higher education in the commonwealth. All ...
(PASSHE). With a total student enrollment 110,428, PASSHE is one of the 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 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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
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 Harrisburg University of Science & Technology, commonly referred to as Harrisburg University (HU), is a private STEM-focused university in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with an additional location in Philadelphia. Founded in 2001 as Harrisburg Poly ...
, located Downtown * Messiah College's Harrisburg Institute, located Downtown * Penn State Harrisburg Eastgate Center, located Downtown * Temple University Harrisburg Campus, located Downtown *
Widener University Commonwealth Law School Widener University Commonwealth Law School (Widener Law Commonwealth) is a law school located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and part of Widener University, a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited ...


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 Penn State Harrisburg Library (Middletown, Pennsylvania, USA) is an academic library which serves Penn State Harrisburg, the Harrisburg (or Capital) campus of the Pennsylvania State University. It is one of more than 20 libraries in Pennsylvania ...
*
State Library of Pennsylvania The State Library of Pennsylvania is one of the largest research libraries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Until 1971 it was known as the Pennsylvania State Library The Office of Commonwealth Libraries, within the Pennsylvania Department of ...
, which includes the Pennsylvania Law Library *Medical library services of
UPMC Pinnacle UPMC Central Pa, part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) system as of September 1, 2017, is a healthcare provider in central Pennsylvania and surrounding rural communities. It has more than two thousand nine hundred physicians ...
*Law Library,
Widener University School of Law Widener University Delaware Law School (Delaware Law School and formerly Widener University School of Law) is a private law school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of Widener University. Widener Un ...


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 Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate and served as United States Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Americ ...
and
Alexander Ramsey Alexander Ramsey (September 8, 1815 April 22, 1903) was an American politician. He served as a Whig and Republican over a variety of offices between the 1840s and the 1880s. He was the first Minnesota Territorial Governor. Early years and fam ...
and several other prominent political figures, such as former speaker of the house
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
, hail from Harrisburg. The actor
Don Keefer Donald Hood Keefer (August 18, 1916 – September 7, 2014) was an American actor known for his versatility in performing comedic, as well as highly dramatic, roles. In an acting career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in hundreds of ...
was born near Harrisburg, along with the actor Richard Sanders, most famous for playing
Les Nessman Lester "Les" Nessman Jr. is a fictional character on the television situation comedy ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' (1978–82) played by Richard Sanders. He reprised his role in the sequel series, '' The New WKRP in Cincinnati''. Background and appear ...
in ''
WKRP in Cincinnati ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working ...
''. Many notable individuals are interred at
Harrisburg Cemetery Harrisburg Cemetery, sometimes referred to as Mount Kalmia Cemetery, is a prominent rural cemetery and national historic district in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, located at 13th and Liberty streets in the Allison Hill/East Harrisburg neighborhoods ...
and
East Harrisburg Cemetery East Harrisburg Cemetery is an historic cemetery located outside of the city limits of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The older, eastern section of the cemetery is located within the borough of Penbrook; the western section is located in Susquehanna T ...
.


Actors

*
Eric Mabius Eric Harry Timothy Mabius (born April 22, 1971) is an American actor. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, with a degree in cinema studies. After working in theater productions, Ma ...
, actor ''
Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian t ...
'' * Matt Cook, television, actor '' Man with a Plan'' * John A. Ellsler (1821–1903), actor and theatre manager, born in Harrisburg *
Nancy Kulp Nancy Jane Kulp (August 28, 1921 – February 3, 1991) was an American character actress and comedienne best known as Miss Jane Hathaway on the CBS television series ''The Beverly Hillbillies''. Early life Kulp was born to Robert Tilden and Mar ...
, actress *
Mark Malkoff Mark Malkoff is an American comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He is a graduate of New York University and currently lives in New York City, where he hosts ''The Carson Podcast''. Career ''The Carson Podcast'' Malkoff currently makes videos for ...
, comedian and filmmaker *
Eric Martsolf Eric Martsolf (born July 27, 1971) is an American television actor. Since November 2008, he has played the role of Brady Black on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' for which he won a Daytime Emmy in 2014. He also played the role of Ethan ...
, actor and singer *
Pauline Moore Pauline Moore (born Pauline Joless Love; June 17, 1914 – December 7, 2001) was an American actress known for her roles in Western and B movies during the 1930s and 1940s. Early years Moore was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After her fath ...
, actress *
Ciara Renée Ciara Renée Harper (born October 19, 1990) is an American actress and musician. She is best known for her roles on Broadway as The Witch in ''Big Fish,'' the Leading Player in ''Pippin'', and Elsa in '' Frozen.'' She played Esmeralda in ''The H ...
, actress


Artists, designers

*
Grafton Tyler Brown Grafton Tyler Brown (February 22, 1841 – March 2, 1918) was an American painter, lithographer and cartographer. Brown was the first African-American artist to create works depicting the Pacific Northwest and California. Early life and education ...
, 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 The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
and
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
* Stephanie A. Johnson (born 1952), mixed media artist, educator * Rachel Nabors, cartoonist *
Barbara Tyson Mosley Barbara Tyson Mosley (born 1950) is an American artist, known for her Abstract art, abstract landscape paintings, mix media artwork, photography, and fiber art. She is active in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky and within the African Am ...
(born 1950) American mixed media artist.


Musicians

*
Glenn Branca Glenn may refer to: Name or surname * Glenn (name) * John Glenn, U.S. astronaut Cultivars * Glenn (mango) * a 6-row barley variety Places In the United States: * Glenn, California * Glenn County, California * Glenn, Georgia, a settlement ...
, avant-garde composer and guitarist * Justin Duerr, musician and artist *
James Allen Gähres James Allen Gähres (born August 5, 1943 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is an American conductor, based in Germany. Biography Gähres studied music, conducting, composition and piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, where he ...
, music conductor *
Dan Hartman Daniel Earl Hartman (December 8, 1950 – March 22, 1994) was an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Among songs he wrote and recorded were " Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits ...
, musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer * Gene "Birdlegg" Pittman, blues harmonicist, singer and songwriter. *
Rudi Protrudi Rudi Action Protrudi (born December 15, 1952) is an American rock musician, songwriter, record producer, artist, and actor best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of the garage band The Fuzztones. Rudi Protrudi was born in Washington, D.C ...
, rock musician *
Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the song " Route 66" and acted in the role of Dr. Joe Early with his wife Julie London in the television prog ...
, actor, jazz pianist, and songwriter * Robert White, musician


Politics, military, activism

*
Betty Andujar Elizabeth Richards Andujar (November 6, 1912 – June 8, 1997), was a homemaker, civic activist, and politician, the first Republican woman to be elected and serve in the Texas State Senate. From 1973 to 1983, Andujar represented District 12 ...
, first Republican woman to serve in
Texas State Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...
(1973–1983), was born in Harrisburg in 1912 * David Conner, U.S. Navy commodore *
Candace Gingrich Candace Gingrich (; born June 2, 1966) is an American LGBT rights activist at the Human Rights Campaign. Candace is the half-sibling of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.Seelye, KatharineSpeaker's Sister Now Speaking Out ''The New Yor ...
, civil rights activist *
Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...
, U.S. Representative 1979–99,
Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
; born in Harrisburg. *
Charles P. Mason Charles Perry Mason (January 12, 1891 – August 15, 1971) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Vice admiral. An early naval aviator, he distinguished himself as Commanding officer of aircraft carrier , ...
, Vice admiral in the Navy during World War II and
Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...
recipient *
Daniel C. Miller Daniel C. Miller (born 1956, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) was the Harrisburg City Comptroller, Controller and was a member of the Harrisburg City Council (Pennsylvania), Harrisburg City Council. Both positions are elected at large.Controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...
* Bruce I. Smith, state representative,
Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...
* George W. Smith, Major General in the Marine Corps * William Trickett Smith, lawyer and the former chairman of the Dauphin County
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Party * Perry A. Stambaugh, member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 86 The 86th Pennsylvania House of Representatives District is located in central Pennsylvania and has been represented by Perry A. Stambaugh since 2021. District profile The 86th District encompasses part of Juniata County and all of Perry Count ...
*
Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engl ...
, actor and politician, born 1915 in Harrisburg,
Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The President of the Los Angeles City Counc ...
member. *
M. Harvey Taylor Maris Harvey Taylor (June 4, 1876 – May 16, 1982), also known as M. Harvey Taylor or Harvey Taylor, was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the 15th district from 194 ...
, Pennsylvania State Senator * LeRoy Zimmerman, 40th Attorney General of Pennsylvania


Sports


Writers

* James Boyd, a resident of Front Street, wrote a novel about the city in 1935, ''Roll River.'' *
Thomas Morris Chester Thomas Morris Chester (May 11, 1834 – September 30, 1892) was an American war correspondent, lawyer and soldier who took part in the American Civil War. Early life and education Chester was born at the corner of Third and Market Street in Ha ...
, prominent Black journalist, lawyer, and soldier in the Civil War, was born here. *
Carmen Finestra Carmen Finestra (born 1947) is an American producer and TV writer who currently is partnered with Matt Williams and David McFadzean in Wind Dancer Productions, a firm which Finestra also co-owns and co-founded with actor Tim Allen. For Wind Dance ...
, television producer and writer. * Jimmy Gownley, New York Times best-selling author and illustrator of ''
Amelia Rules! ''Amelia Rules!'' is the title of a comic book series written and drawn by Jimmy Gownley. ''Amelia Rules!'' follows the life of Amelia Louise McBride as she adjusts to life in a new town after her parents' divorce causes her to leave life in Manha ...
.'' * 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 Adam Resnick is an American comedy writer from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his work writing for '' Late Night with David Letterman''. He co-created and wrote for '' Get A Life'' with Chris Elliott. Resnick also wrote and ...
, comedic author, wrote about growing up in Harrisburg in his book ''Will Not Attend'', and wrote the screenplay for ''
Lucky Numbers ''Lucky Numbers'' is a 2000 black comedy film directed by Nora Ephron. The screenplay by Adam Resnick was inspired by the 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery scandal. It is the only film Ephron directed without also writing the screenplay. It is considered ...
'' (2000), a film taking place in Harrisburg. * Will Stanton, long-published humor writer. *
John Wyeth John Wyeth (1770–1858) was a printer in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania who is best-known for printing ''Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second'' (Harrisburg, PA: 1813), which marks an important transition in American music. Like the original ...
, publisher of ''Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music'' (1810; ''Second Part'' 1813).


Others

* James Milnor Coit, teacher *
Carl Cover Carl Anson Cover (26 April 1893 – 27 November 1944) was the chief test pilot and first to fly the Douglas Aircraft Company DC-1, DC-2, DC-3, DC-4, and the DC-5 airliners. Cover became Senior Vice President and general manager for Douglas Airc ...
, aviation pioneer and test pilot *
Lindsay Czarniak Lindsay Ann Czarniak (born ) is an American sports anchor and reporter. She currently works for Fox Sports as a sideline reporter for NFL games. After spending six years with WRC-TV, the NBC owned-and-operated station in Washington, D.C., Cza ...
,
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
anchor *
Alan Isaacman Alan L. Isaacman (; born July 12, 1942) is an American lawyer primarily famous for serving as attorney for publisher Larry Flynt. His past clients also include Geraldo Rivera, Kathy Griffin, Rock Hudson and CBS, Inc. He lives in Beverly Hills, ...
, lawyer who argued ''
Hustler Magazine v. Falwell ''Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell'', 485 U.S. 46 (1988), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court ruling that the First and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit public figures from recovering damages for the tort of intentional inf ...
'' before the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
* 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 Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
* Edward C. Malesic, Catholic Bishop of Cleveland *
Robert James Miller Robert James Miller (October 14, 1983 – January 25, 2008) was a United States Army Special Forces soldier who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the War in Afghanistan. Military career Miller was born in Pennsylvan ...
, Medal of Honor recipient *
Frank Soday Dr. Frank John Soday, spent his childhood in Harrisville, Pennsylvania, before receiving a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and both a Master of Science in chemistry and a Doctor of P ...
, chemist influential in development of alternative uses for synthetic fiber


See also

*
List of cities and towns along the Susquehanna River This is a list of cities and towns along the Susquehanna River and its branches in the United States, in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. These communities and their surroundings are collectively referred to as the Susquehann ...
*
List of hospitals in Harrisburg This is a list of notable hospitals and medical centers in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States metropolitan area. * Carlisle Regional Medical Center ''Carlisle'' * Community General Osteopathic Hospital ''Harrisburg'' * Fredricksen Ou ...


Notes


References


External links

*
Hershey-Harrisburg Regional Visitors BureauHarrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control 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