Bellevue Park is technically a part of Harrisburg, but driving on its winding, narrow lanes lined with greenery, it seems worlds away.
Just blocks from the densely packed row homes more characteristic to Harrisburg, many of the historic and stylish homes of Bellevue Park date back nearly a century. Part of the neighborhood’s story includes the vintage-style “Please Drive Slowly” signs scattered throughout.
Featuring an original design dating back to 1938, they’re not big or bright or flashy; rather, the signs are dainty and artful. Until this past May, only two of the original signs with iron lettering remained, and they were in poor condition.
“They had letters missing,” said Bellevue Park resident Vickie Bucher. “Every year, [they] seemed to deteriorate more and more.”
Retired and looking for a project over the winter, Bucher took on the task of restoring the two signs.
First, she researched if the signs could be repaired and what it would cost to do so. Next, she asked the Bellevue Park Association board of directors for permission to raise the money through donations from residents. Over the course of the next six weeks, Bucher received an unexpected $5,000, enough to commission six new reproduction signs from local artist and metalworker Sephi Itzhaki to accompany the originals.
“Everybody said to me, ‘Oh, we’ve been wanting to do that for years.’ ‘Oh, we wish we would’ve done this,’” Bucher said. “So, it really has generated some excitement in the neighborhood.”
The sense of identity and activism among Bellevue Park residents isn’t exclusive to Bucher’s project.
“We’re very involved with lots of community events, not only in our own neighborhood but in the city as a whole,” said Carl Marshall, a long-time Bellevue Park resident. “For us to do something like this, it’s not a rare thing for us to do. We’re very civically oriented.”
Intentional Design
Bellevue Park was originally created as a planned residential community in the early 20th century, unofficial neighborhood historian Dan Deibler said. He and his wife Elizabeth have lived in the “Park,” as it’s more colloquially called, since 1982.
According to a timeline Deibler compiled in 2007, the Union Real Estate Investment Co. was formed in 1905 and, in 1907, purchased the 97 acres that would become Bellevue Park. Renowned landscape architect Warren Manning designed the neighborhood’s layout, including the “reservations” (common green areas) and ponds that fill in the space between home lots and along roads.
Deed restrictions established around the time of the neighborhood’s founding remain in place today. For instance, plans for any proposed new homes must be approved by the board of directors, in keeping with the original vision of an intentionally designed neighborhood, Deibler said.
“[The real estate company’s] goal was to sell lots for people to build houses,” Deibler said during a breezy afternoon chat on his back porch. “They would review the plans of the houses so they had some control over what they looked like. The first houses tended to be those that were the larger lots, the more interesting kinds of lots.”
The Deiblers’ home was built in the 1930s, as were his neighbors’ houses, visible today but still partially obstructed by thick tree trunks and shrubbery.
Even during the Depression, building continued, both by individuals and real estate companies. By the latter half of the 20th century, development had slowed.
Despite tumult in the rest of Harrisburg over the past several decades, Bellevue Park has maintained its status as a secluded, even secret, haven.
“It always sort of had this slight mystique,” Deibler said.
Older generations in Harrisburg are more familiar with Bellevue Park, he said, while younger generations may not be aware of it.
Eager to Help
The “Please Drive Slowly” signs are part of residents’ efforts to preserve the neighborhood’s mystique.
“I don’t think any of us really think anybody is going to drive much slower, but they were historical, and they’re special to our neighborhood,” Bucher said. “That’s why we did it.”
In mid-May, volunteers installed the eight signs throughout the neighborhood, mostly on common property, on more heavily used roads. The decision to keep them off the main thoroughfares, like Market Street and Hale Avenue, was in the interest of preventing vandalism.
Despite rain and unplanned mishaps, volunteers were eager to help. When the delivery of an auger to dig holes for the signposts was behind schedule, Bucher’s husband and a few others began digging by hand.
Residents pay dues to the Bellevue Park Association for maintenance of outdoor common areas and for the community building, which Deibler helps run. Like Bucher, others raise money for different causes throughout the Park. As more young families move there, they’ve begun raising money for a playground, Bucher said.
Bellevue Park may be secluded, but its residents still appreciate engaging with the rest of Harrisburg. Bucher and Marshall enjoy the convenience of being close to the city’s amenities.
So, escape the city without ever having to leave it. Spend a leisurely afternoon admiring the homes along Bellevue Road, but remember to “Please Drive Slowly.”
To learn more about Bellevue Park, visit www.bellevuepark.org.
