The relationship between Dauphin County and the City of Harrisburg is an interesting one to ponder.
Historically, the two entities go hand in hand. John Harris, Jr. famously lobbied for the establishment of Dauphin County, as well as for the location of the county seat. The to-be-named Harrisburg became the hub, winning out over Middletown.
Harris was even wise to seal the deal by giving the county several plots of land on Market and Walnut Streets. Together the city and the county evolved to be prominent and significant, most especially when designated the state’s capital.
Currently, there are 40 municipalities in Dauphin County. It’s typical, though, to think of the county as being made up of “the city” and “the 39 municipalities.”
Technically inextricable from one another, in most people’s minds—including many county and city elected officials’—the city is separate and apart from the rest of the county.
Over time, it has increasingly stood alone and not necessarily in high esteem.
When the financial crisis bubbled to the surface, mass disregard for the city became more apparent. Few people in Dauphin County believed the city was worth saving, especially if they were expected to help or care. If that were the case, they were prepared to let it die.
More and more, the city was alienated and scoffed at. Ridiculed and scorned.
Of course, it wasn’t always like that. There was a time when the city was the center of the entire region, the place to be. It was where people came for commerce, business, shopping, education, art, culture, food, music, socializing and work.
However, it wasn’t just Harrisburg’s recent fiscal woes that altered its reputation and attraction. The decline started a long time ago. As post-World War II suburbia began its sprawl and superhighways enabled people to move faster and more freely to places like shopping malls, places of employment and homes with big yards, the city lost its appeal.
People stopped coming here and industry and businesses left.
As that happened over decades, the other Dauphin County municipalities grew more robust and stable. The city—once the nexus—was practically useless to them. If it weren’t for the fact that Harrisburg is the capital and county seat, it might have perished a long time ago.
This situation wasn’t unique to Harrisburg. It was a statewide and national trend. Cities emptied out as their usefulness was replaced. This is why Pennsylvania has so many cities in the state’s Act 47 fiscal distress program—and why more continue to enter.
Harrisburg had the added condition of Hurricane Agnes in 1972. That did nothing but add incredible injury to an already insulted place. The flood waters soaked and rotted whole sections of the city, leaving not much more than prime pickings for those looking for places on the cheap, slumlords included.
By the 1980s, the city had become “that place.” Dirty, blighted, crime-ridden, and, yes, poor.
Most of Dauphin County pretended it didn’t exist. Necessary trips to the city were lamented, done during the day, and executed with an in-and-out intent.
Then that began to change little by little. When Harrisburg’s renaissance got started in the last years of the millennium, downtown transformed from a virtual wasteland to an improving urban center, with Strawberry Square, the Hilton, Restaurant Row and the Whitaker Center.
People started to visit again for more than just errands. Commuters stayed longer and lingered and even returned on the weekends. Visitors had a place to stay overnight and enjoy the scene.
While this provided a useful, interesting, entertaining and enjoyable urban space for some people’s use, it did not succeed in re-earning much of the county’s acceptance. It didn’t succeed in redeeming the city’s position as an integral place.
There are still far too many county neighbors who don’t venture to the city. Too many of those who do visit and work here fail to go beyond the lines of downtown to experience more of the city’s revitalization. Destinations like the Broad Street Market, Harrisburg Cemetery, Italian Lake, Allison Hill murals and the statues of Reservoir Park are missed. Delicious eateries throughout the city go unnoticed. Boutiques and special events are overlooked.
At the annual State of the County dinner in April, each one of the commissioners remarked on the city’s value. They applauded its recovery and potential. They talked of collaboration and cooperation. They commended the city’s elected leadership and its residents. For the first time in a long time, they spoke highly of the city.
Hopefully, their speeches signify a change in attitude and symbolize a sincere reconciliation between the city and the county. Optimistically, their new attitudes will influence many others. It’s a message we should all be touting and spreading around the region—Harrisburg is a virtue of Dauphin County rather than its bane.
Tara Leo Auchey is creator and editor of today’s the day Harrisburg. www.todaysthedayhbg.com.
