The calls and texts began arriving before 3 a.m.
Who could that be, I wondered, as my phone lit up in the middle of the night.
An early-morning call is almost never good news, and this one certainly wasn’t—the Broad Street Market was on fire.
A friend who lives near the market began texting me pictures, and, well, I’m sure you remember how the scene looked: sheer devastation. I believe that our cover image this month captures well the profound destruction and sense of sorrow.
It was the beginning of a very long and emotional day for Harrisburg. At TheBurg, we wrote several stories, interviewed vendors and residents, spoke with city, state officials. I received more texts, emails, phone calls—people shocked, distressed.
The Broad Street Market holds a special place in the hearts of Harrisburg, this I’ve long known. However, sometimes it takes tragedy for people to truly feel that emotion and express it.
They expressed it intensely and at length. On social media, they shared stories and memories of the market; they voiced sympathy for their favorite vendors; they detailed their pain, their grief.
If there’s a more beloved city institution, I don’t know what it is. Fortunately, as that first day wore on, the news got better. The city seemed eager to quickly rebuild; the state pledged its support.
To me, one interesting aspect was that, since the pandemic—let’s face it—the market has been in something of a funk. Foot traffic has been down, and some vendors have left recently.
So, I deeply hope that, in the end, this catastrophe proves to be a blessing: that the re-construction modernizes a building desperately in need of repair and updates; that officials better appreciate this remarkable city gem; and that the community continues to rally around the market with their love, their patronage and their money.
Let’s take this opportunity to turn disaster to fortune, to reinvigorate our allegiance to our beloved Broad Street Market.
If you would like to donate to the market and its vendors, please visit www.broadstreetmarket.org.
Lawrance Binda
Publisher/Editor
Click here to read the digital version of our August issue.
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