Harrisburg is the capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
, in the United States of America.
As of the
2000 census, the city had
a population of 48,950, making it the ninth largest city in
Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia
, Pittsburgh
, Allentown
, Erie
, Reading
, Scranton
, Bethlehem
and Lancaster
.
Harrisburg
is the county seat of Dauphin
County
and lies on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, 105 miles
(169 km) west-northwest of Philadelphia. The
Harrisburg-Carlisle
Metropolitan Statistical Area
, which includes Dauphin, Cumberland
, and Perry
counties, had a population of 509,074 in
2000. A July 1, 2007 estimate placed the population
at 528,892, making it the fifth largest Metropolitan Statistical
Area in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia
, Pittsburgh
, Allentown
-Bethlehem
-Easton
(the Lehigh Valley),
and Scranton
-Wilkes Barre
. The Harrisburg-Carlisle-Lebanon
Combined
Statistical Area, including both the Harrisburg-Carlisle and
Lebanon Metropolitan Statistical Areas, had an estimated population
of 656,781 in 2007.
Harrisburg played a notable role in American history during the
Westward Migration, the
American Civil War, and the
Industrial Revolution.
During part of the
19th century, the building of the Pennsylvania Canal
and later the Pennsylvania Railroad allowed
Harrisburg to become one of the most industrialized cities in the
Northeastern United
States. The
U.S.
Navy ship
USS Harrisburg, which served from
1918 to 1919 at the end of
World War
I, was named in honor of the city.
Contrasted with its 1981 status as the second most distressed city
in the nation, Harrisburg has undergone a dramatic economic change,
with nearly
$3 billion in new investment now
realized.
The
Pennsylvania Farm Show,
the largest indoor agriculture exposition in the United States, was
first held in Harrisburg in 1917 and has been held there every
January since then. Harrisburg also hosts the annual "Auto Show," a
large static display of new as well as classic cars, which is
renowned nation-wide.
Harrisburg is also known for the infamous
Three Mile
Island accident
, which occurred in nearby Middletown
.
History
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, who journeyed from Virginia
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
800 acres (3.2 km
2) 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 was named
the Pennsylvania state capital in October 1812,and has been
since.
During the first part of the 19th century, Harrisburg was a notable
stopping place along the
Underground Railroad, as escaped
slaves would
be transported across the Susquehanna River and were often fed and
given supplies before heading north towards Canada. The assembling
here of the Harrisburg Convention in 1827 led to the passage of the
high
protective-tariff bill of 1828.
In 1839,
Harrison and
Tyler were nominated for
President of the United
States at Harrisburg.
By the 1830s Harrisburg was part of the
Pennsylvania
canal
system and 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 nineteenth century. The city was
the center of enormous railroad traffic and 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.
During the
American Civil War,
Harrisburg was a significant training center for the
Union Army, with tens of thousands of troops
passing through
Camp Curtin. 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
Robert E. Lee's
Army of Northern Virginia 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
, 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.
A short skirmish took place in June 1863 at
Sporting
Hill
, just 2 miles west of Harrisburg. This
is considered by many to be the northern-most battle of the Civil
War.
In the early 20th century, several Harrisburg residents became
involved in the City Beautiful movement. Mira Lloyd Dock and Horace
McFarland advocated urban improvements which were influenced by
European urban planning design and the Columbia Exposition.
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 the
burial of electric wires, the creation of a modern sanitary sewer
system, and the beautification of an expanded Capitol
complex.
Many important events have helped to shape Harrisburg over the
years. 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 State Farm Show
Arena, 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 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
Richard Thornburgh did recommend an
evacuation of pregnant women and preschool children who lived
within a five-mile radius of Three Mile Island. Although there were
about 5,000 people covered by this recommendation, over 140,000
people fled the area.
After Harrisburg suffered years of being in bad shape economically,
Stephen R. Reed was elected mayor in 1981 and has been
re-elected ever since, making him the city's longest serving mayor.
He immediately started projects which would attract both businesses
and tourists.
Several museums and hotels such as Whitaker
Center for Science and the Arts, the National
Civil War Museum
and the Hilton Harrisburg
and Towers were built during his term, along with many office
buildings and residences. Several semi-professional sports
franchises, including the
Harrisburg
Senators of the
Eastern League, the defunct
Harrisburg Heat indoor soccer club
and the
Harrisburg City
Islanders of the
USL Second
Division 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.
Geography
Topography
Harrisburg is located at (40.269789, -76.875613).
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
11.4 square miles (29.6 km
2), of which,
8.1 square miles (21.0 km
2) of it is land and
3.3 square miles (8.6 km
2) of it (29.11%) is
water.
Directly
to the north of Harrisburg is the Blue Mountain ridge of the
Appalachian
Mountains
. The Cumberland
Valley lies directly to the west of Harrisburg and the
Susquehanna River, stretching into northern Maryland
. The fertile
Lebanon Valley lies to the east.
Harrisburg's western boundary is formed by
the Susquehanna River, 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 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 of the city limits,
maintain Harrisburg zip codes as well. The
United States Postal Service
designates 26 zip codes for Harrisburg, including 13 for official
use by federal and state government agencies.
Climate
Adjacent municipalities
People and culture in Harrisburg
Culture
Downtown Harrisburg has two
major performance centers.
The Whitaker
Center for Science and the Arts
, 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.
Beginning in 2001, downtown Harrisburg saw a surge 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.
Harrisburg is also the home of the annual
Pennsylvania Farm Show, 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. In 2004, Harrisburg
hosted
CowParade, an international public
art exhibit 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 centre,
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.
Demographics
As of the census of 2005, there were an estimated 47,472 people
living in Harrisburg. In the
census of 2000,
there were 48,950 people, 20,561 households, and 10,917 families
residing in the city. The
population
density was 6,035.6 people per square mile (2,330.4/km²). There
were 24,314 housing units at an average density of
2,997.9/sq mi (1,157.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was
31.72%
White, 54.83%
Black or
African American, 0.37%
Native American, 2.83%
Asian, 0.07%
Pacific Islander, 6.54% from
other races, and 3.64%
from two or more races. 11.69% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. Harrisburg is the
6th most populous city in eastern Pennsylvania and 47th in the
nation of
Vietnamese population
with 2,649 residents.
There were 20,561 households out of which 28.5% had children under
the age of 18 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 18 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 18 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 $27,670 versus $24,405 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$15,787. About 23.4% of families and 24.6% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 34.9%
of those under age 18 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
town with a population of 875 residents. With the increase of the
cities 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.
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.
Reversing fifty years of decline, 2007 Census Bureau estimates show
that Harrisburg's population has actually grown. Between 2006 and
2007, Harrisburg gained 22 people.
Media
The Harrisburg area has two daily newspapers.
The Patriot-News is published in Harrisburg
and has a daily 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
area, which makes up the 41st largest
media market in the nation.
Newspapers
Television
Radio
According to Arbitron, Harrisburg's radio market is ranked
#79.
This is a list of
FM stations in the
greater
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania metropolitan
area.
This is a list of
AM stations in the
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania metropolitan area:
Callsign |
kHz |
Band |
Format |
City of license |
WHP
 |
580 |
AM |
Conservative News/Talk |
Harrisburg |
WWII |
720 |
AM |
Contemporary Christian |
Shiremanstown |
WSBA |
910 |
AM |
News/Talk |
York |
WADV |
940 |
AM |
Gospel |
Lebanon |
WHYL |
960 |
AM |
Adult Standards |
Carlisle |
WIOO |
1000 |
AM |
Classic Country |
Carlisle |
WKBO |
1230 |
AM |
Christian Contemporary |
Harrisburg |
WQXA |
1250 |
AM |
Country |
York |
WLBR |
1270 |
AM |
Talk |
Lebanon |
WTCY |
1400 |
AM |
Now ESPN Radio (Formerly Adult R&B: The Touch) |
Harrisburg |
WTKT |
1460 |
AM |
sports: "The Ticket" |
Harrisburg |
WEEO |
1480 |
AM |
Oldies |
Shippensburg |
WLPA |
1490 |
AM |
sports |
Lancaster |
WWSM |
1510 |
AM |
Classic Country |
Annville |
WPDC |
1600 |
AM |
Spanish |
Elizabethtown |
Harrisburg in film
Several
feature films and
television series have been filmed or set
in and around Harrisburg and the greater
Susquehanna Valley.
Museums, art collections, and sites of interest
- Broad Street Market
, one of the oldest continuously operating farmers markets in the United
States.
- Capital Area Greenbelt, a
twenty mile long greenway linking city
neighborhoods, parks and open spaces
- Fort Hunter Mansion and
Park, located north of downtown Harrisburg on a bluff
overlooking the Susquehanna River
- John Harris - Simon Cameron
Mansion
, a National Historic Landmark located in
downtown Harrisburg along the river
- National Civil War Museum
, located at Reservoir Park
- Pennsylvania National Fire
Museum

- Pennsylvania
State Farm Show Arena, one of the largest convention/exhibition
centers on the east coast
- Pennsylvania
State Capitol Complex
- Reservoir Park
, the largest public park in the city
- State Museum of Pennsylvania

- Strawberry Square
, across the street from the Capitol Complex, home
of many state offices and a small shopping center
- Susquehanna art museum
, located in downtown Harrisburg
- Whitaker
Center for Science and the Arts
, features an IMAX
theater
Parks and recreation
Notable residents
Since the early 1700s, Harrisburg has been home to many people of
note. Because it is the seat of government for the state and lies
relatively close to other urban centers, Harrisburg has played a
significant role in the nation's political, cultural and industrial
history.
Harrisburgers have also taken a leading role in
the development of Pennsylvania's history for over two centuries.
Two former U.S. Secretaries of War,
Simon
Cameron and
Alexander Ramsey
and several other prominent political figures, such as former
speaker of the house
Newt Gingrich,
hail from Harrisburg. The actor
Don
Keefer was born near Harrisburg, along with the actor Richard
Sanders, most famous for playing Less Nessmen in WKRP in Cincinnati
.
Many
notable individuals are interred at Harrisburg Cemetery
and East Harrisburg Cemetery
.
Sports
Architecture
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
in Vatican
City
, 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; murals by Violet Oakley
and Edwin Austin
Abbey; tile floor by Henry Mercer,
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 .
Government
Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. City Government Center, the only city hall in the
United States named for a
civil rights
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 comprise the
Mayor’s cabinet, including the Departments of Public Safety (police
and fire bureaus), Public Works, Business Administration, Parks and
Recreation, Incineration and Steam Generation, Building &
Housing Development and Solicitor. The city has 721 employees
(2003). The current mayor of Harrisburg is
Stephen R. Reed (D), whose current term expires January
2010.
There are seven city council members, all elected at large, who
serve part-time for four-year terms. There are two other elected
city posts, City Treasurer and City Controller, who separately head
their own fiscally related offices.
Dauphin County Government Complex, in
downtown
Harrisburg, serves the administrative functions of the county.
The
trial court of general jurisdiction for
Harrisburg rests with the Court of Dauphin County
and is largely funded and operated by county
resources and employees.
Pennsylvania
State Capitol Complex, 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.
Commonwealth Judicial Center, houses
Pennsylvania's three
appellate
courts, which are located in Harrisburg.
The Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania
, which is the court of last resort in the state,
regularly hears arguments at. The
Superior Court of
Pennsylvania and the
Commonwealth Court of
Pennsylvania are located here. Judges for these courts are
elected at large.
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.
Property Tax Reform
Harrisburg is also known world wide for its use of
land value taxation. Harrisburg has
taxed land at a rate six times that
on improvements since 1975, and this policy has been credited by
its long time mayor, Stephen R. Reed, as well as by the city's
former
city manager during the 1980s
with reducing the number of
vacant
structures in
downtown
Harrisburg from about 4,200 in 1982 to less than 500.
Transportation
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 in Pennsylvania, both in terms of
passengers served and cargo shipments. Passenger carriers that
serve HIA include
US Airways,
United Airlines,
Delta Air Lines,
Northwest Airlines,
Continental Airlines,
Air Canada, and
AirTran Airways.
Capital City
Airport
(CXY), a moderate-sized business class and general aviation 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 (SARAA), which also manages the
Franklin
County Regional Airport
in Chambersburg
and Gettysburg Regional Airport
in Gettysburg
.
Mass transit
Harrisburg is served by
Capital Area Transit (CAT)
which provides
public bus,
paratransit, and
commuter
rail service throughout the greater metropolitan area.
Construction of a commuter rail line called
CorridorOne will eventually link the
city with nearby Lancaster
in 2008.
Long-term
plans for the region call 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, CorridorOne may
extend to both shores of the
Susquehanna River, where the majority of
the commuting base for Harrisburg resides.
In 2006, a second phase of the rail project (named CorridorTwo) was
announced to the general public.
It will link downtown Harrisburg with its eastern
suburbs in Dauphin
and Lebanon
counties (including Hummelstown
, Hershey
and Lebanon
), and the city of York
in York County
. Future passenger rail corridors also include
Route 15 from the Harrisburg area
towards Gettysburg
, as well as the Susquehanna River communities
north of Harrisburg, and the Northern Susquehanna Valley 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,
Capitol Trailways,
Fullington Trailways, and
Susquehanna Trailways.
They connect
Harrisburg to other Pennsylvania cities such as Allentown
, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading
, Scranton
, State College
, Williamsport
, and York
and nearby, out-of-state cities such as Baltimore
, Binghamton
, New York, Syracuse
, and Washington, D.C.
, plus many other destinations via
transfers.
Regional scheduled line bus service
The
public transit provider in York County
, Rabbit
Transit, operates its RabbitEXPRESS bus service on weekdays
between the city of York and both downtown Harrisburg and the main
campus for Harrisburg
Area Community College. The commuter-oriented service is
designed to serve York County residents who work in Harrisburg,
though reverse commutes are possible under the current schedule.
Buses running this route make limited stops in the city of York and
at two
park and rides along
Interstate 83 between York and Harrisburg
before making various stops in Pennsylvania's capital city. As of
May 2007, the RabbitEXPRESS operates three times in the morning and
three times in the afternoon.
A charter/tour bus operator,
R
& J Transportation, 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 in the 1930s,
with the wires reaching Harrisburg in 1938. They went no further.
Plans to
electrify through to Pittsburgh
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 changed from electric
traction to (originally) a
steam
locomotive, and later a
diesel
locomotive. Harrisburg remained a freight rail hub for PRR's
successor
Conrail, which was later sold off
and divided between
Norfolk
Southern and
CSX.
Freight Rail
Norfolk Southern acquired all of Conrail's lines in the Harrisburg
area and has continued the city's function as a freight rail hub.
Norfolk
Southern considers Harrisburg one of the 3 primary hubs in its
system, along with Chicago and Atlanta
, 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 Transportation Center, while the
Rutherford Intermodal
Yard is located approximately 6 miles east of downtown
Harrisburg in Swatara Township, Dauphin
County
. Norfolk Southern also operates a significant
classification yard in the
Harrisburg area, the Enola
Yard
, which is located across the Susquehanna River from
Harrisburg in East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland
County
.
Intercity Passenger Rail
Amtrak provides service to and from
Harrisburg.
The passenger rail operator runs its
Keystone and
Pennsylvanian
services between New York
, Philadelphia
, and the Harrisburg
Transportation Center
daily. The Pennsylvanian route, which
operates once daily, continues west to Pittsburgh
. As of April 2007, Amtrak operates 14 weekday
roundtrips and 8 weekend roundtrips daily between Harrisburg,
Lancaster
, and Philadelphia 30th Street
Station
; most of these trains also travel to and from
New York
Penn Station
. The
Keystone
Corridor between Harrisburg and Philadelphia was improved in
the mid-2000s, 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 2006, the Harrisburg
Transportation Center was the 2nd busiest Amtrak station in
Pennsylvania and 24th busiest in the United States.
Bridges
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, linking
Center City with neighborhoods in
East
Harrisburg.
These include the State Street Bridge
, also known as the Soldiers and Sailor's Memorial
Bridge, and the Mulberry Street Bridge
. Walnut Street Bridge, now
used only by pedestrians and cyclists, links the downtown and
Riverfront Park areas with City Island but goes no further as spans
are missing on its western side.
Education
Public schools
The City of Harrisburg is served by the
Harrisburg School District. The
school district provides education
for the city’s youth beginning with all-day
kindergarten through twelfth grade. A
multi-year restructuring plan is aimed at making the district a
model for urban
public
schools. The district has been troubled for years with
management fiascos and poor test scores. In the summer of 2007,
more than 2,000 city students were enrolled in educational programs
offered by the Harrisburg School District as remediation.
The city also maintains one public
charter school, the
Sylvan Heights Science
Charter School. In addition, Harrisburg is home to an
arts-focused
magnet school, the
Capital Area School for
the Arts.
In 2003, SciTech High
, a regional math and science magnet school
affiliated with Harrisburg University
, opened its doors to students. A growing
number of virtual public charter schools provide residents with
many alternative to the bricks and morter public school
system.
The
Central Dauphin School
District, the largest public school district in the metropolitan
area
and the 13th largest in Pennsylvania, uses several
Harrisburg postal addresses for many of the districts
schools.
Private schools
Harrisburg is home to an extensive Catholic educational system.
There are
nearly 40 parish-driven elementary schools and seven Catholic high
schools within the region administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Harrisburg, including Bishop McDevitt High School
and Trinity High School
. Numerous other private schools, such as
The
Londonderry School and The Circle
School, which is a Sudbury Model
school, also operate in Harrisburg.
Harrisburg
Academy
, founded in 1784, is one of the oldest independent
college preparatory schools in
the nation. The
Rabbi David L. Silver Yeshiva
Academy, founded in 1944, is a progressive, modern Jewish day
school.
Also, Harrisburg is home to Harrisburg Christian School
, founded in 1955.
Higher education
In Harrisburg
- Dixon University Center
, located in Uptown, serves as the office of
Chancellor and the central headquarters of the Pennsylvania State
System of Higher Education (PASSHE). With a total
student enrollment 110,428, PASSHE is one of the largest university
systems in the United States.
- Harrisburg Area
Community College: 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
and York
.
- Harrisburg University of Science and
Technology
, located in Center City.
- Penn State Harrisburg Eastgate
Center
, located in Center City.
- Temple University Harrisburg
Campus
, located in Center City.
- Widener University Harrisburg
Campus
including its School of Law
Near Harrisburg
- Central Pennsylvania
College
, located in Summerdale
, Pennsylvania
.
- Dickinson College
, located in Carlisle
, Pennsylvania
.
- Duquesne University
(Capital Region Campus), located in Lemoyne
, Pennsylvania
.
- Elizabethtown College
, located in Elizabethtown
, Pennsylvania
. Elizabethtown College is a consortium
member of the Dixon University Center
, offering seven accelerated, undergraduate degree
programs in the Harrisburg area.
- Gettysburg College
, located in Gettysburg
, Pennsylvania
.
- Lebanon Valley College
, located in Annville
, Pennsylvania
.
- Lutheran Theological Seminary at
Gettysburg
, located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
- Messiah College
, located in Grantham
, Pennsylvania
.
- Penn State
Dickinson School of Law, located in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania.
- Penn
State Hershey Medical Center
, located in Hershey
, Pennsylvania
.
- Penn State Harrisburg
(Main Campus), located nearby in Middletown, Pennsylvania
.
- Shippensburg University
, located in Shippensburg
, Pennsylvania
.
- United States Army War
College
, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Libraries
Notable natives and residents
- James Boyd, a resident of
Front Street, wrote a novel about the city in 1935, Roll
River.
- Glenn Branca, an avant-garde
composer and guitarist, was born here
- Bruce Brubaker, MLB player for the Los
Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee
Brewers
- Candace Gingrich, civil rights
activist
- Newt Gingrich, former U.S.
Representative from Georgia

- Danny Lansanah, NFL player for the Green
Bay Packers
- John O'Hara, a
native of Pottsville
, lived in Harrisburg briefly to write his novel
about the city, A Rage to Live, published in 1949.
Harrisburg, disguised as Fort Penn, appears also in other O'Hara
novels.
- Bobby Troup, actor, jazz pianist,
and songwriter (known for the standard (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66
and as Dr. Joe Early on the TV Series Emergency!).
- Robert White, one of
the Funk Brothers who played on the
Motown hits in the 1960s, was born here
See also
References
- The Underground Railroad
- "Harrisburg Industrializes, The coming of factories to an
American community," Eggert, Gerald G.; The Pennsylvania State
University Press, 1993
- Patton, Judith, "Summer schools draw 2,000 Harrisburg
students", PennLive, July 24, 2007.
- http://www.hcs.nu/about/history.aspx
- PASSHE Fact Sheet, available at
http://www.passhe.edu/content/?/about/facts, retrieved December 16,
2007.
External links