Harrisburg, Pennsylvania — An Economic Profile

RECREATION & ENVIRONMENT

HARRISBURG HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN A NATIONAL LEADER IN BOTH CONSERVING AND IMPROVING ITS EXTENSIVE PARK SYSTEM, WHICH IS NOW THE LARGEST MUNICIPAL PARK SYSTEM IN ALL OF CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA; APPROPRIATELY SO, GIVEN THE INSPIRING NATURAL BACKDROP OF THE EXQUISITE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER WITH ITS PRISTINE ISLANDS, AND BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS BEYOND.

Harrisburg’s turn of-the-century “City Beautiful Movement” set forth a master plan of what is now a variety of marvelous parks. River parks, island parks, lake parks, urban parks and hill-top parks utilize over 500 acres at 27 parks and playgrounds and 20 open space reserves within the city limits.

As the custodian of these parks, the City in the current era now plays the key role in not only making them come to life by sponsoring an extensive array of special events and recreational programs, but has also recently entered a new phase of parkland development; creating grand new facilities and attractions as successful sequels exceeding what was done during the City Beautiful era. Over $68 million has been spent since 1984 under the Mayor’s Parks Improvement Program and more than 3.5 million people now attend special events held in these parks each year along with ongoing seasonal activities and programs. A profile of the principal parks includes:

Riverfront Park. Unlike many other river cities that have been cut off from their water’s edge by expressways, industrial areas and parking lots, Riverfront Park physically and spiritually unifies the Susquehanna with Harrisburg, resulting in one of the most scenic inland waterfronts in the United States. Originating just below Shipoke, south of Center City, and running five miles north to the city line, the park is particularly known for the concrete river steps and walkway that follow the length of the park up to Maclay Street and descend into the river. The park is also noted for its statuary, monuments and special features including:

• Sunken Gardens (at Verbeke St.). Known for its traditional English horticultural design, the gardens, which were created in the 1920s, were renovated in the early 1990s to include an underground irrigation system, antique-style street lights, new signage, brick walkways, a central gazebo and expanded flower beds. Monuments honoring firemen and World War I veterans accent the gardens and are located at their north and south ends. These are now lighted at night.
• Par-Course (at Maclay St.). Out door self-exercise and fitness gymnasium, containing permanent sit-up, chin-up, jumping and stretching bars and beams.
• “Unified Force” and “Egyptian Gate” Sculptures (at Forster and Strawberry Sts. respectively). Contemporary and unusual three-dimensional artworks that enrich the city’s waterfront. There are numerous other monuments along the length of the entire park.
• Peace Garden (at Emerald St.). This linear, grassy stretch of Riverfront Park bulges with beds of beautiful flowers, sculptures and inspirational signage. The garden is maintained by volunteers as a symbol of peace and tranquility for all to embrace.
• Kunkel Plaza (at State St.). The famous vista down State St. of the Susquehanna River from the steps of the state capitol, and the reverse view of the state capitol from Riverfront Park, is now punctuated by a grand classically-styled plaza and river overlook erected at Front and State Sts. The $1-million Kunkel Memorial Plaza, completed in 1993, honors late Harrisburg Congressman John Crain Kunkel and his wife, civic leader Katherine Smoot Kunkel. Constructed of brick, granite and sandstone, the plaza features a statue, created by nationally renowned sculptor, J. Seward Johnson, of a man sitting on a park bench reading a bronze newspaper on which “articles” about the work of the congressman and his wife are inscribed. The plaza was almost entirely financed by the John Crain Kunkel Foundation, a nonprofit, philanthropic entity directed by several members of the Kunkel family, with the City financing the rest.
• Holocaust Memorial (at Sayford St.). Completed in 1994, set amid the idyllic waterfront setting in the park’s Midtown section and accented by a spire pointing skyward, is the dramatic marble, granite and sandstone remembrance of those who perished in the Holocaust of World War II.

Major Annual Recreational Events

Month	Event	Estimated Attendance
March	St. Patrick’s Day Parade	15,000
May	Greater Harrisburg ArtsFest (Riverfront Park)	200,000
May through August	First Fridays (Center City)	12,000+ for Season
June	Susquehanna River Celebration	20,000
June	Harrisburg Symphony Barge Concert (Riverfront Park)	35,000
June	Harrisburg Shakesphere Festival (Reservoir Park)	4,800
June	African Family Festival (Reservoir Park)	5,000
July 4th Weekend	American MusicFest (Riverfront Park & City Island	275,000
July & August	Reservoir Park Concerts (Band Shell, Saturday Afternoons)	35,000
July & August	Italian Lake Concerts (Sundays at 7:00PM)	22,000
Labor Day Weekend	Kipona Festival (Riverfront Park & City Island)	315,000
September	Mini Grand Prix (City Island)	30,000 (75+ cars)
November	Harrisburg Marathon (Center City & Riverfront)	4,000
November	Harrisburg Holiday Parade (Center City) Live TV, 200,000 viewers	50,000
December 31st	New Year’s Eve Celebration (Market Square, Center City)	25,000

Riverfront Park is a famous spot for biking and jogging. Many organized track and cycling races are held in the Park, as its linear configuration is conducive to such activity. The Park is also the location for the annual Fourth of July and Kipona Festivals, each being a four-day event conducted by the city. Both events, with Kipona representing the official Labor Day celebration, feature amusement rides, games, food, arts and crafts, performing entertainers, children’s activities and a grand fireworks display at the end of each festival. The Park is also the site of the annual Harrisburg Symphony Barge Concert and the annual Memorial Day Weekend Greater Harrisburg ArtsFest. An embankment stabilization project was completed in 2000 along portions of the park, at a cost of $650,000, to reverse the affects of flooding erosion well into the future.

Walnut Street Bridge and City Island. Tying Riverfront Park as a gateway to the City Island Family Entertainment Complex is the Walnut Street Bridge which, now serving exclusively as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, is lit by over 5,000 lights installed by the City in 1990. The bridge joins Riverfront Park at Swenson Plaza (Front and Walnut Sts.). The Plaza was renamed in 1993 for former Mayor Harold A. Swenson, who served during the devastating Agnes Flood of 1972. At the time, many thought the Walnut Street Bridge would by destroyed by the flood, but its endurance, and that of the leadership of Swenson during and after the disaster, are honored by the Plaza. The Plaza was thoroughly redesigned and upgraded in 1999 by the City with raised plantings in a formal setting. Just south of the Walnut Street Bridge is situated the stone arched Market Street Bridge, the traditional gateway entrance to the city. The relighting of the bridge with historic light standards and the indirect illumination of the bridge’s graceful arches was undertaken in 2001.

Through the foresight and tenacity of Mayor Stephen R. Reed, who launched the city’s massive Parks Improvement Program in 1983 (the first major parks upgrading since the early 20th-century “City Beautiful” movement), City Island has grown to be a regional recreation and entertainment destination that maximizes its river and open-space setting. Components of this 63-acre landmass include:

• RiverSide Stadium. Home of the Harrisburg Senators, an AA-Eastern League affiliate of the Montreal Expos. Contains 6,450 seats, concession areas, team clubhouses and front office administrative center. Over 3.5 million fans have attended regular and play-off season games at the Stadium since the team’s first year in 1987. The Senators were League Champions in 1987,1993, 1996,1997, 1998, and 1999; an unprecedented series of victories in League and minor league baseball history.
• Skyline Sports Complex. Includes four sand volleyball courts, multipurpose playing field (soccer, football, softball and lacrosse), team clubhouses, concession building, picnic area, jogging trail, and river and park overlooks.
• RiverSide Village Park. Quaint village offering food, beverages and souvenirs and featuring a collection of portable buildings with an 1840s canal village-theme design. Central plaza area with gazebo hosts live entertainment in the summer.
• Harrisburg River Boat. Authentic paddlewheel tour boat known as The Pride of the Susquehanna containing a restaurant and observation deck. The Boat operates on a regular schedule, is open to the public and may also be chartered for weddings, private parties or civic and corporate events.

Other attractions found on City Island include the City Island Railroad and railroad station, known as Walnut Station, as well as a carousel, three City Island Marinas, Beach House and swimming recreational area, 18-hole miniature golf course, Island Breezes Shop, the Carriage House (base for horse-drawn rides), Harbour Town children’s village, jogging paths, the replica John Harris Trading Post, batting cages, entertainment arcade and other facilities. Two picnic pavilions (Carousel and Riverview Pavilions) are also available to be leased for group events.

Upcoming additions to the Island include:

• The Pennsylvania National Hall of Fame, where the state’s and nation’s rich athletic history will be displayed through permanent and rotating exhibits, will include educational and conference facilities.
• A year-round restaurant and lounge with a commanding vista of the downtown skyline at the Island’s edge.
• A parking garage connected to the new rail commuter transit system, co-founded by the City.

Italian Lake. Located in the city’s Riverside neighborhood, Italian Lake was created from a swamp in the 1930s into a manmade lake surrounded by magnificent floral gardens. The lake is accented by the picturesque Japanese Bridge, which divides the lake into two sections, and the “Dance of the Eternal Spring,” a spraying fountain sculpture that stands in the center of the southern lake. The park has been restored with antique-style street lights, expanded gardens, new signage and walkways and the first-ever concrete reinforcement of the northern lake’s banks. The park is also the site of numerous outdoor concerts at its bandstand, and residence for many wild and domestic waterfowl. Adjacent to the park in an open space along Division Street is the Obelisk monument, a memorial to Dauphin County’s Civil War military casualties.

Reservoir Park. Situated on the highest point in Harrisburg at the east end of Allison Hill, Reservoir Park is the city’s largest and gives Harrisburg further open-space character by topographically contrasting with the flat and low-lying parkland in the vicinity of the Susquehanna River. The Park was so named because it contained the city’s principal reservoirs (which still exist but as holding pools). Salvaged columns from the old county courthouse that was demolished in the 1940s grace the 90-acre Park’s original main entrance at 18th and Whitehall streets. The Park has undergone extensive renovations and improvements that now make it even grander than its earlier heyday in the 1920s. These include:

• Development of the National Civil War Museum at Harrisburg, located at the park’s summit. The Museum houses one of the most extensive collections in the United States of genuine Civil War artifacts. It is the largest Civil War museum in the world and the only one to include both the North and the South, with exhibits also featuring the pre and post-war periods, including the subject of slavery.
• Restored 1898 mansion containing exhibition and art gallery spaces and community room. It is also home base for the Harrisburg Parks Partnership, a consortium of corporate, civic and public sector leaders focused on park improvements, and a satellite bureau of the Parks and Recreation Department.
• Installation of antique-style street lights lining the park’s reconstructed roadway system as well as a new irrigation system, park benches, handrails, drinking fountains, picnic tables and barbecue grills.
• Refurbished historic band shell and seating area, the site of numerous concerts and special events.
• Planting of over 90,000 new plants, shrubs, trees and flowers.
• Installation of major public art work including “Evolution,” a 12-foot high sculpture representing the evolution of humankind through women.
• Construction of extensive new gardens, including a large drift garden below the park mansion and a formal French garden featuring a three tier plaza and related landscaping.
• Construction of a large granite fountain and plaza area featuring 12 jet spray pumps shooting a 20-foot geyser into the air thereby enhancing the park’s gravity-fed reservoir water theme.
• Rehabilitation and expansion of existing basketball and tennis courts.
• Expansion of the children’s playground into three tiers interconnected by hill sliding boards.
• Construction of the Village at Reservoir Park, where arts classes are conducted year-round in a series of Victorian theme buildings that also feature arts and crafts displays.

Also planned is a theme village area in the park’s northeastern portion. A focus on history will be the theme of the village, its exhibits and surroundings.

Additional public parks and open spaces include:

Capital Area Greenbelt. 20 mile parkland corridor around the City of Harrisburg and adjacent communities developed under the City Beautiful Movement of the early 20th Century and now rediscovered as an important recreation, educational and bikeway resource. Of the 20 miles, approximately 14.6 are in place by way of beltway connections of existing parks that include Riverfront park, Wildwood Lake, Reservoir Park, Cameron/ Paxtang Parkway, Italian Lake and City Island. The remaining 5.4 miles will include markers, pedestrian bridge crossings, property and right-of-way acquisitions and landscaping. The goal is to make available a continuous parkway link within the inner urbanized metropolitan area spanning five (5) municipalities. This effort is supported by members of the Capital Area Greenbelt Association, of which the City is a co-founder.

Wildwood Park. Located at the city’s northern tier, the 210 acre Wildwood Park is perhaps the last vestige of how the Susquehanna River flood plain appeared in its natural state prior to the urbanization of the Harrisburg metropolitan area. The park, which is operated by Dauphin County, surrounds Wildwood Lake, a haven for birds and wildfowl, and features bike and jogging trails which wind through varied topography. The newly constructed, $2.3 million, 25,000 square feet Olewine Nature Center at Wildwood Lake Sanctuary features wetland exhibits, a children’s library, a bird viewing area and nature shop. The building is environmentally friendly as it is primarily constructed of recycled materials. The park is most easily accessed from Linglestown Road and Industrial Road.

Susquehanna River Islands. The 3,000 foot-wide Susquehanna River contains numerous islands, most owned by the City, that are accessible by the public but only by watercraft. The City has insured that the islands are totally undeveloped and display pristine wilderness with hidden channels for exploration by canoe. They are also perfect for camping, hiking and bird watching. City-conducted excavations have verified Native-American use of the islands, with artifacts dating from the Middle Archaic period of eight thousand years ago.

Harrisburg Cemetery. Situated at 13th and Liberty Sts., the city’s oldest and largest cemetery which can be considered a fascinating outdoor museum. Perched on the bluff of Allison Hill and overlooking downtown, the Cemetery is the final resting place of more than 30,000, including Revolutionary War and Civil War dead as well as Pennsylvania governors. The Cemetery, one of only a few in Pennsylvania to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is open for self guided walking tours and contains many significant monuments.

Capitol Park. As part of the Capitol Complex, Capitol Park represents land contained in the original Borough of Harrisburg that was set aside in 1785 for the site of the later-to-be-constructed state capitol building. Today, the park is Center City’s principal in-town green space and is on a hill rising as original topography from the surrounding flat city grid. The park is particularly picturesque and is a favorite spot for pigeon feeding. Of note is the grand Mexican War Memorial in the park’s center.

The Harrisburg Parks Partnership (HPP). Formed by the City and comprised of a group of dedicated citizens, HPP seeks private funding to support City government’s efforts in keeping Harrisburg’s parks and playgrounds a model system for the entire state. Proceeds from multiple activities, including the sale of a limited edition print of one of Harrisburg’s parks, are used to help complete ongoing improvement projects within the park and playground system. HPP collaborates with the Art Association of Harrisburg, Allied Arts and the Opera Association of Harrisburg for the purpose of using the city’s parks and playgrounds as outdoor centers for art and culture. HPP also works closely with the City to provide instructional materials and equipment for Reservoir Park’s Brownstone Building, which was recently converted into a learning center.

Harrisburg strongly believes that the quality of life for residents and visitors is, in part, defined by the quality of the city’s open space. Under the Mayor’s Parks Improvement Program started in 1983, over 30 parks and recreational sites have been substantially upgraded or newly created, providing amenities that never previously existed, while restoring some parks to their early, 20th-century luster. Over $68 million have been spent from 1983 to 2000.

State Farm Show Complex. Although not a park or open space, the State Farm Show Complex, located at Maclay and N. Cameron Streets in the northern portion of the city, is a major facility through which trade shows are promoted and in which activities are held, resulting in enhanced recreational opportunities and commerce for the area. As central Pennsylvania’s principal exhibition facility, the Farm Show complex contains over 500,000 square feet, including an 8,000-seat arena. The complex is the site of over 200 national and regional trade and sporting events per year attended by over 3.5 million people annually. The arena is home to the “Harrisburg Heat,” the popular, indoor professional soccer team. Several major trade shows held at the complex include the Pennsylvania Recreational Vehicle Show, Pennsylvania State Farm Show, Eastern Sports, Camping, Boat, Travel and Outdoors Show, the Eastern National Antique Show and the Penn National Horse Show. A recent Cooperation Agreement executed by the City, the Commonwealth and other regional partners has set forth a mechanism through which major improvements will be made to the facility. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania plans to undertake a $66.2 million total renovation of the facility, including the construction of a parking garage and a new 250,000 sq. ft. Expo Center, to be completed by the end of 2002. In conjunction with this project, the City intends to initiate a hotel development adjacent to the complex and a separate $10 million Equine Center will also be built.