Two of the trees marked for removal in Riverfront Park, as part of a Front Street resurfacing project .
A state historic preservation office last week reversed its position on the removal of four century-old trees along Harrisburg’s riverfront, urging the state Department of Transportation to hold a public meeting on the proposal before proceeding.
The four trees are located in a historic district Uptown in Riverfront Park, at the intersections of Front and Radnor and Front and Emerald streets.
They may have been planted under a landscaping plan from the City Beautiful movement, an early-20th-century effort to enhance Harrisburg’s appearance and infrastructure.
PennDOT plans to remove them as part of a state-funded resurfacing project underway along Front Street between Forster and Division.
The state preservation agency that reviewed the project initially found it would not adversely impact any historical resources, and PennDOT earlier this month described the loss of four trees in a 20-mile-long district as “extremely minimal.”
But in a memo dated June 23, Douglas McLearen of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission said his office had received multiple emails and phone calls from local stakeholders requesting PennDOT protect the trees during construction.
As a result, McLearen wrote, his office now “strongly suggests” PennDOT solicit comments and hold a public meeting on the proposal.
Three of the trees are believed to be American elms dating to 1919, according to PennDOT project findings. The fourth is believed to be either a Chinese elm or a maple dating to after the Great Depression, the department said.
PennDOT said it needed to remove them in order to install wheelchair-accessible ramps, along with twelve other trees that are on the opposite side of the street and therefore outside the historic district.
