From across the Susquehanna River, Harrisburg can seem dense and intimidating.
The streets, the neighborhoods, the buildings–where does a person with little knowledge of the city begin to explore the shops, the restaurants, the sights?
Adam Brackbill felt just that way. He grew up nearby, in Mechanicsburg, but, to him, Harrisburg seemed like an alien place.
“When I first came into the city, I didn’t even know where to get a cup of coffee,” he said.
The 22-year-old Brackbill had made the trek across the river to locate his Web design company, Render Innovations, a business he had started while still a student at Messiah College.
He wanted to be in Harrisburg because the city was busy and vibrant commercially, with so many small and mid-sized businesses he hoped to turn into clients. However, he had no idea where to start exploring.
Then inspiration hit.
If he wondered how to navigate Harrisburg, then others might too. So, he began working on a new online portal to Harrisburg called Hop in The Burg, which he launched last month.
“It started out as a personal project because I didn’t know where to go,” he said. “But it evolved into a place where people can always find out something new about Harrisburg.”
Currently, Hop in The Burg focuses on businesses and services.
Are you downtown and want to know where to get a sandwich? Uptown and need to have some dry cleaning done? Maybe you need some gas or would like to meet friends for a burger and beer?
With a quick search, you’ll find all the options in town, along with a very helpful map and directions to tell you exactly where to go.
Going forward, as more people discover the site, you’ll find reviews, comments, photos and other helpful information, said Brackbill, who also hopes to add an events section.
There are also articles and blog posts with useful and interesting tidbits about Harrisburg. For instance, a recent article tracks former Harrisburg Senators players who are making an impact in the Major Leagues. Another story features a profile of Midtown Scholar Bookstore and another pictorial timeline of the history of Harrisburg.
Brackbill said he doesn’t see Hop in The Burg as a moneymaker. Most of all, he’d like to provide a service to the city, to its residents and visitors, with just enough advertising and sponsorships to support the site.
“The purpose is mostly just to provide a service, to help people,” he said.
Well, he does have one other objective, which he’s not shy about stating.
He’d like to entice his fellow West Shore-ites to make that often daunting, mile-long journey over a bridge that seems to separate cultures as much as it does bodies of land.
Since coming to Harrisburg, Brackbill said he’s been astounded at the city’s vibrancy and variety, as well as its sense of community.
He loves walking the streets of Olde Uptown, where his office is located, getting lunch at Alvaro’s or coffee at Little Amps.
In Midtown, he’s watched the river flow by while sitting on the porch of City House Bed & Breakfast, where his cousin, Bruce Burchfield, is the innkeeper.
So, he wants to do his part to dispel the notion, shamelessly promoted by local media and believed by many, that Harrisburg is little more than crime and bankruptcy.
“I want people to find out something new about Harrisburg,” he said. “I’d like them to understand that there’s a tight community here with things to do that people just don’t realize.”
Hop in The Burg is at www.hopintheburg.com. Adam Brackbill and Render Innovations can be reached at 888-594-0446 or www.renderinnovations.com.
