Riverfront Park is a public park in

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

that spans beside the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

The park runs parallel to the Susquehanna River between the shoreline and Front Street, from Vaughn Street at the north to the

I-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. Most ...

John Harris Bridge The John Harris Bridge is a steel girder multilane highway bridge that carries Interstate 83 and the Capital Beltway across the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, connecting the East and West Shores of metropolitan Harrisburg. It is ...

at the south. It includes a concrete waterfront

esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

as well as greenspace on the riverbank first developed during 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 ...

in the early 20th Century by

Warren H. Manning Warren Henry Manning (November 7, 1860–February 5, 1938) was an American landscape designer and promoter of the informal and naturalistic "wild garden" approach to garden design. In his designs, Manning emphasized pre-existing flora through a ...

as one of the first riverfront reclamations by American cities. Riverfront Park overlooks views of the river, City Island, Wormleysburg and Blue Mountain in the distance. Riverfront Park is also part of the larger

Capital Area Greenbelt The Capital Area Greenbelt is a looping trail located in the area of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This 20-mile loop around Pennsylvania's capital city provides visitors and tourists with opportunities to hike, ride bicycles, skate, jog, fish, walk t ...

and maintains bike lanes and paved paths. Along the park are many statues, memorials, a series of exercise pits, gardens, public art installations, and a Harrisburg Centennial

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...

. Special areas include the Sunken Gardens, gravesite of John Harris Sr., and Kunkel Memorial Plaza.

Festivals and events

Riverfront Park plays host to many of Harrisburg's yearly festivals and events such as

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 ...

Harrisburg Independence Day Celebration Harrisburg's Independence Day Celebration is an annual music and food festival that takes place in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Fourth of July weekend. It is the state's largest Independence Day weekend music festival. Festivities take place along ...

, ArtsFest, Woofstock Dog Festival, Pennsylvania Pump Primers' Antique Fire Apparatus Show & Muster, and the

Pride Festival of Central PA Pride Festival of Central PA, alternatively called PrideFest of Central PA, is a non-profit which hosts a three-day annual gay pride event that takes place in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. History The first pride event in Central Pennsylvania took p ...

Memorials

References

External links

Harrisburg Events
Parks in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania {{Harrisburg, Pennsylvania