CENTER CITY SIGHTS
Central Business District
18. LOCHIEL HOTEL* (Colonial Building) - 227 Market Street
Front portion of the building dates to 1836 and was originally known as the Lochiel Hotel. Victorianized in the 1870s. Site of much 19th Century politicking. Rear portion became an elaborate vaudeville, and later movie theater, in 1910. Conversion to offices in the 1980s resulted in new construction to the side and rear in a style, which emulates the original building. Sometimes referred to as the Colonial Building, as this was the name of the old theater.
19. MARKET SQUARE - Second and Market Streets
Nationally renowned historic and contemporary urban hub of the City of Harrisburg and the Greater Harrisburg Metropolitan Area. Laid out as the center focus of John Harris, Jr’s plan in 1785 as expansive public space surrounding original market houses. Commanded the best inns and stores as well as Harrisburg’s first multi-story office buildings which continued to evolve into the city’s corporate and hotel center. Graced by Victorian town clock and beautiful urban gardens. Site of many events and rallies.
20. MARKET SQUARE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - S. Second and Blackberry Streets
Prominent Romanesque-styled edifice dominated by the city’s tallest church spire (193 feet). Majestic sanctuary all in white. Home to Harrisburg’s oldest Presbyterian congregation and now the oldest surviving building on Market Square, having been built in 1860. Known for its concert series.
21. MARKET STREET BRIDGE* - Front and Market Streets
Successor bridge at the same site as the old Camelback Bridge, erected in 1814 as the first anywhere to cross the Susquehanna. Present bridge, with its graceful stone-glad arches, is the result of the 1926 widening of the 1905 two-lane replacement of the Camelback. Columns at Harrisburg entrance salvaged from the old State Capitol which burned in 1897.
22. MENAKER BUILDING - 17-19 S. Second Street
Early 20th Century mid-rise originally built by Harrisburg businessman William Donaldson in 1906 as a four story building with the fifth and sixth floors added later. Restoration exposes original cornices and rusticated first floor fenestration.
23. MULBERRY STREET BRIDGE - S. Fourth and Chestnut Streets
Second bridge at this site to join the downtown with Allison Hill. Replaced an iron and fire-prone, wood-decked structure erected in 1891, which was heralded as a unifier of a “Greater Harrisburg.” 1909 concrete replacement bridge was a marvel at the time.
24. OLD CITY HALL* - 423 Walnut Street
Former municipal building (1929-1982) and previously the city’s main boys’ high school (1910-1926). English Collegiate architectural style enhanced by marble-clad hallways and grand stairs. Converted in 1982 to stylish loft apartments.
25. ORIGINAL DAUPHIN DEPOSIT BANK - 213 Market Street
Built in 1835, the oldest bank building in metropolitan Harrisburg and still used for banking. Original Greek Revival design intact, inside and out. Dazzling interior with vaulted ceiling and neoclassical cornicing and detailing.
26. PENN NATIONAL TOWER - N. Second and Market Streets, northwest corner
World headquarters of Penn National Insurance operations erected in 1996. Stands as a symbol of the private sector’s commitment to locate major facilities downtown. Cross-vaulted roof design and distinctive Keystone icons enhance Harrisburg’s skyline.
27. PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEE’S RETIREMENT SYSTEM BUILDING - 5 N. Fifth Street
Headquarters to one of the Nation’s largest public pension funds. First structure in the current era to be built (1989) on a long-vacant tract representing the revitalization of the eastern portion of the Central Business District.
* Individually Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
