Tag Archives: Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center

Capital in Conflict: Civil War Days stresses Harrisburg’s role in the war.

May 31, 2016 | by Phyllis Zimmerman

Camp Curtin

Harrisburg’s relationship to the Civil War is a complicated one.

The city was targeted, but never invaded. It played a vital role as a logistics and training center, but never saw battle itself. Today, Civil War buffs and tourists flock to Gettysburg, but usually bypass Harrisburg.

This month, the city’s story will be in focus during the first annual Civil War Days, a widespread historic celebration touching on many aspects of Harrisburg’s important place in the war, particularly in the Battle of Gettysburg.

“A National Civil War Museum was built (in Harrisburg) 15 years ago and a lot of people said, ‘Why?’” noted Joe Benish, a member of the event’s organizing committee, noting the need for public education.

The three-day extravaganza overflows with events, including a Civil War narrative cruise on the Susquehanna, a re-enactors’ encampment at the National Civil War Museum and historic site bus tours.

Civil War Days is the brainchild of Gary Crowell, event chairman and a Civil War history enthusiast since relocating to Harrisburg from California in 1969. Although he initially focused his interest on Gettysburg, he eventually realized that Harrisburg, too, played a significant role in the events that led to the battle on July 1 to 3, 1863.

“I found out that (Confederate Gen. Robert E.) Lee came into Harrisburg three days before Gettysburg,” Crowell said. “Then I thought, we should just dedicate a whole weekend about this for the whole community.”

To publicize the events, organizers have coined the slogan, “Before Gettysburg, Lee headed for Harrisburg. So why don’t you?”

Cooper Wingert, already a prolific author of 10 Civil War books at age 17, said it was an easy choice for him to join the gala’s organizing committee that’s comprised of a dozen local Civil War enthusiasts.

“Gary had the best plan ever,” the East Pennsboro High School senior explained.

Wingert, who begins studies this fall at Dickinson College, said Lee’s initial plan before Gettysburg was to burn and cripple Harrisburg, which was the capital of the second-most populous state in the North.

On June 28, 1863, Gen. Richard S. Ewell and 1,500 Confederates were based in Carlisle in anticipation of a Harrisburg attack. On the same day, Gen. Albert Jenkins and 1,200 members of the Virginia Calvary arrived in Mechanicsburg, ready for a fight.

On June 29, Confederates became engaged in battle with the Union militia at Oyster Point at 31^st and Market streets in Camp Hill. The next day, the Skirmish of Sporting Hill occurred at the Carlisle Pike and Sporting Hill Road in Mechanicsburg, the northernmost town to surrender to Gen. Jenkins’ troops.

The South’s next goal was to overtake Fort Washington, a Union fortification site on Lemoyne’s heights, and Fort Couch, situated about a half-mile west. The Confederates, though, were ordered to leave for Gettysburg due to encroaching Northern troops.

“(The Confederates) were only a couple of minutes away from attacking Fort Washington,” Wingert said, which could have marked a Battle of Harrisburg instead of Gettysburg’s famous fight.

Harrisburg also played a notable part in the Underground Railroad, a network that helped slaves escape from the South, Wingert noted. President Abraham Lincoln was no stranger to Harrisburg, either. In 1861, the president-elect was welcomed with a citywide celebration. In 1865, Lincoln’s funeral train stopped in Harrisburg, as well, and his body lay in state at the Capitol building.

Civil War Days kicks off on Friday, June 17, with “Breakfast with Mr. Lincoln” at the Hilton Harrisburg, followed by a historic Harrisburg bus tour, a bus tour of historic Civil War sites on the West Shore and a Civil War narrative cruise on the Pride of the Susquehanna.

Friday also offers Civil War dance demonstrations, a Civil War social at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, a Civil War artist and author gathering, and the re-enactor encampment at the National Civil War Museum.

Several panel presentations take place on Saturday, including “Harrisburg’s Black Community,” “Camp Curtin,” “Lee’s Second Invasion of Pennsylvania” and “Abolitionist John Brown—PA and Harrisburg Connections.” A historic Harrisburg walking tour also is available on Saturday, and the re-enactor encampment continues at the museum.

On Sunday, June 19, a Civil War commemorative church service will feature Negro spirituals and other songs of the era, and the re-enactor encampment concludes. A Civil War tour of the historic Harrisburg Cemetery also is available that day.

David Morrison, acting executive director of Historic Harrisburg Association, hopes that the weekend will help people not only understand Civil War-era Harrisburg, but modern-day Harrisburg, as well.

“If people have a stronger understanding of Harrisburg’s history, it leads to a greater understanding of what makes this town tick,” he said.

Civil War Days takes place June 17 to 19 at locations throughout the Harrisburg area. Many events are open to the public at no cost, but some require advance registration and a small fee. More information is available on Facebook: Civil War Days in Harrisburg.

Return Visit: A few years ago, our editor urged Harrisburg to embrace its destiny as a small, charming city. How’s that going?

January 29, 2016 | by Lawrance Binda

What do you want your city to look like?

For months, the city’s Planning Bureau, preparing a new comprehensive plan, has asked Harrisburg residents that question and has received hundreds of suggestions, from the prosaic to the fanciful.

From time to time, I’ve expressed my opinion on the topic, perhaps most directly in a 2013 column called “Right-Sizing Harrisburg,” in which I advised casting aside grand, Reed-style ambitions and focusing instead on “doing small city well.”

I continue to believe that, as Harrisburg continues to rebuild, it should play to its natural strengths as a small, Victorian-era city on a gorgeous river. This, I believe, would make the city most appealing to both new residents and visitors.

So, how are we doing? Actually, not bad, I’m happy to report.

Almost three years have passed since I wrote that column and progress, while uneven and always too slow for my taste, is noticeable.

Many of the city’s most significant historic buildings, blighted and largely abandoned until recently, have been restored and reoccupied. Rehabilitation of structures like the Barto Building (now LUX), the Millworks, the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center and the Moose Lodge Temple show that people want to live, work in and visit gracious historic structures in Harrisburg, just like they do everywhere else.

Their survival stands in stark contrast to decades of misguided “urban renewal,” whose philosophy seemed to be that Harrisburg could only save itself by destroying itself, that it had to replace elegant rows of brick, stone and mortar with cold blocks of steel, glass and concrete. Or that it had to more closely resemble the suburbs. Unfortunately, much of downtown was lost to the “raze it and they will come” mindset, but some of the charm of the historic center remains.

So, a few developers finally woke up to the benefits (aesthetic and financial) of preservation, but what about governments?

Well, the state finally seems to be on board, reversing decades of ruinous policies that destroyed entire historic neighborhoods around the Capitol and turned much of Harrisburg into one big traffic island. The recent redevelopment of Front Street and support for the city’s plan to return much of N. 2^nd Street to two-way traffic are both pro-community and pro-small city, making two of Harrisburg’s main thoroughfares less forbidding and better integrated with the city.

The Papenfuse administration seems to get it, too. It has focused on infrastructure and quality-of-life issues, long neglected at the expense of dubious, imposing projects like museums, colleges, art centers, parking garages and big office buildings—often publicly funded via mountains of debt and destructive to the existing, 19^th-century cityscape. Despite the city’s tight budget, the administration has found creative ways to finance the installation of new LED lights, to begin years of long-ignored street paving and to improve sanitation services.

So, that’s the good news. What about the bad?

To be attractive to outsiders, a small city must look good, and, in that regard, Harrisburg still needs work.

As I just said, some developers are doing their part, but others aren’t. This city has too many dilapidated structures and empty lots owned by people who have the means to fix and improve them. Also, much of Harrisburg’s building stock remains stuck in the hands of slumlords and negligent commercial property owners who seem intent on sucking the last penny out their buildings before they crumble to the ground.

Then there are the problem businesses.

Lately, the city has been trying to shut down several bars that it deems troubled, which it believes act as magnets for crimes both major (shootings, drugs, assaults) and minor (vagrancy, loitering, panhandling).

No business—whether a bar, a convenience store, or heck, an ice cream parlor—has the right to be a destructive force on a neighborhood. Businesses should add to the quality of life where they’re located, or at least not damage it.

Personally, I don’t care what happens to these businesses as long as they stop contributing to the city’s blight and retarding its progress. There are tons of bars in Harrisburg, most responsibly run, and only a few seem to have constant problems.

Making Harrisburg into a more livable, attractive and enjoyable small city—one where people want to live and visit—is hardly rocket science.

Developers need to develop, respecting the historical context of the city around them; building and business owners need to act responsibly, understanding that they exist not in isolation but within a community of people; the municipal government needs to focus on the basics, such as infrastructure and quality of life.

I’m impressed with the progress this city has made in just a few years. The difference between then and now is real and substantial. Nonetheless, much more needs to be done for Harrisburg to achieve its destiny as a lovely, vibrant small city perfectly located on a wide, gorgeous river

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Heart of a Community: A century old, the Jewish Community Center continues to foster unity, identity, memories.

January 29, 2016 | by Barbara Trainin Blank

The Jewish Community Center is more than a physical space.

Since its inception in 1915, the JCC has been the focal point of the city’s Jewish community. Not surprisingly, then, a Dec. 5 celebration of the center’s 100^th anniversary drew hundreds of people.

Margie Adelmann, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg—the umbrella organization that supports the JCC—calls the JCC the “central unifying organization, where people come together, where all are welcome for cultural, fitness and educational opportunities and to learn more about Jewish life and traditions—regardless of how they practice Judaism.”

“No matter which synagogue a family was affiliated with, Harrisburg Jewry joined together at the JCC,” noted Marian E. Frankston, co-chair with Marcia Cohen of the celebration.

Throughout its history, the JCC’s programming has been “extensive and eclectic,” including pottery, photography, dramatics, gala dances, bowling, basketball, gymnastics, swimming and handball. Adult classes have ranged from philosophy to politics.

“When I was a youngster, my brothers, sisters and I were at the JCC six days a week,” Frankston recalled. “We attended the Yeshiva Academy, now Silver Academy. One of the most popular activities was ‘iddy biddy’ basketball. There was a program called ‘Sunday Funday’—for children with teen counselors—and an active teen lounge for meetings, dances and games.”

Milestones

A Jewish community existed in Harrisburg before 1915, boasting several communal organizations and businesses and three synagogues.

However, it lacked a central building. Community leader Louis Brenner formed the local Young Men’s Hebrew Association, which provided Jews with recreational, educational, social and cultural activities, and Leon Lowengard became its first president.

In 1921, these community leaders purchased a large private house on N. 3^rd Street. That building, now the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, remained the JCC venue until 1958, when the current structure was built Uptown. In 1995, the federation launched a campaign to renovate and expand it.

Over time, services and programs were added, including the Community Review, a bimonthly publication “reflecting a true cross-section of Jewish life”; the Early Learning Center; the day camp, now at Green Hills Swim Club; and the Yeshiva Academy.

During the turbulent times of the Holocaust and World War II, Rabbi David L. Silver, spiritual leader of Kesher Israel Congregation, established the Yeshiva, a Jewish day school, in the JCC. Harrisburg became the first American city with a population of fewer than 5,000 Jews to have a school teaching both Judaic and secular studies.

“Rabbi Silver was a special man,” said Merv Woolf.

Woolf, born and raised in Harrisburg, started using the JCC at an early age.

“I went to Hebrew School and to the gym,” he recalled. “I was on the basketball and swim teams. It was a place to go when my mother took ill when I was 7. I’d walk there and spend the whole evening.”

Later, Woolf got involved in theater, including an elaborate production of the musical “Pal Joey.” He also recalled the JCC’s New Year’s Eve gatherings.

Over the years, Woolf and his wife DeDe have served on “every committee.” He was on the board of the Yeshiva Academy and the building committee that oversaw the 1996 renovations.

In addition to historic events, the community was besieged by natural disasters, including the massive flooding of the 1972 Tropical Storm Agnes and by Tropical Storm Lee in 2011.

In 2004, the community mourned the passing of Albert Hursh, who had worked at the JCC and the United Jewish Community (the predecessor to the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg) for more than 70 years, serving as executive director of both.

Hursh was a “dominant leader who will long be remembered,” said Morton Spector, who was born in Williamsport but moved with his family to Harrisburg in 1948.

Melting Pot

Shortly after his father’s heart attack in 1956, Spector was asked to get more involved in the community.

He chaired the annual campaign and was president of the JCC and later, a board member and chair of the United Jewish Community. The JCC’s Freda and Harry Spector Room is named for his parents.

“The center was always the melting pot, able to maintain visibility for both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities,” he said. “All the organizations, such as Hadassah, Anti-Defamation League and Israel Bonds used it as a home base. It was for Jews of all religious denominations.”

For Spector, the heart of the JCC is the Yeshiva, of which he was a president.

“It brought kids and their parents into the building,” he said. “The Yeshiva and its mission embody the JCC.”

Like Home

Alyce Spector, married to Morton for 65 years, grew up in Paxtang and took two buses to N. 3^rd Street to Hebrew School at the JCC five days a week. She remembers basketball games, fraternity and sorority meetings and Broadway shows at the JCC.

Always active, Spector was president of Young Judaea, a Zionist youth movement, a Hadassah member, and president of the PTA at Yeshiva and of Israel Bonds, among other positions. She founded a program promoting tolerance and diversity in public schools through the federation.

She has vivid memories of collecting money to settle immigrants in Israel. During the Six-Day War in 1967, “an emergency campaign raised the highest per capita contributions of any community in the country,” she said.

Lillian Rappaport heads the Hebrew High for public school students and the federation’s Holocaust education programs. The latter include the annual “March of the Living” to Poland and Israel for teens and the “Reading of the Names” of Holocaust victims. The community also built a Holocaust Memorial in Riverfront Park.

A Harrisburg native who returned after years in New York, Rappaport loved growing up in a small, close-knit community.

One “profound memory” was the center. She took art, bowling and trampoline classes and attended the Yeshiva and after-school program.

“After doing my homework, I went to the JCC,” Rappaport said. “It had everything, but the activities were secondary. Everyone was there.”

The younger generation is represented by Emily Doctrow Freeburn.

“My parents and I were born in the city, and three-quarters of my grandparents were raised here,” she said. “Many of my aunts, uncles and cousins also chose to raise their families in Harrisburg.”

Freeburn considers herself “lucky” to have grown up in a tight-knit community where many people feel like family and the JCC feels “like home.”

She participates in the young adult leadership cohort, which helps train leaders, and serves on the board of the Silver Academy.

“I feel like I spent my entire childhood at the JCC, between attending the ELC [Early Learning Center] and the Yeshiva Academy to after-school activities like swim team and basketball, to community/family activities such as the Purim Carnival,” Freeburn said. “I would also go to the JCC to watch my dad play basketball or to hang out while my parents were in meetings.”

As an adult, she uses the gym, and her husband has participated in sports leagues. The couple is expecting a first child this month and is looking forward to raising a family at the JCC.

“Because we all felt welcome at the JCC, we experienced a real sense of unity,” concluded Frankston. “We were a community who joined together in joy and in sorrow.”

The Harrisburg Jewish Community Center is located at 3301 N. Front St., Harrisburg. For more information, call 717-236-9555 or visit www.jewishharrisburg.org.

Culture Capital: The capacious, renovated Capitol Room set to host major events at H*MAC

December 30, 2015 | by Jess Hayden

The nearly completed restoration of the Capitol Room, a turn-of-the-century art deco ballroom located at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center (H*MAC), is the latest chapter in one of the area’s most ambitious renovation projects.

It joins Stage on Herr and the recently opened Kitchen & Gallery Bar to form a complex that aspires to be Harrisburg’s “one stop shop for arts and culture.”

“This is the last surviving ballroom from the early 1900s left in Harrisburg,” said H*MAC founder and managing partner John Traynor. “When it’s fully operational, we’re going to be able to do music events here every weekend. That’s a lot of music and a lot of entertainment.”

The Capitol Room is spacious, and, being a ballroom, has no pillars or other obstructions to get in the way of good sightlines to the stage. The maple wood floor is original, and banks of arched windows grace the room on two sides. There is a bar in the back of the room and a door that leads out to an inviting balcony where event-goers can relax with a beer or a glass of wine and enjoy the beautiful view of the state Capitol.

The stage is an adequate size to house the national bands that Traynor hopes to showcase in the space, as well as theatrical productions by the center’s resident company, the H*MAC Theater Troupe. For the artists’ comfort, there are also greenrooms and bathrooms behind the stage. A Juliet balcony, which sits at mezzanine level in the back of the ballroom, is still to be renovated.

“It will be for the VIPs,” said Traynor. “We’ll have a private bar and bathrooms, and, obviously, everyone who sits up there will have a great view of the stage.”

The Capitol Room is a multi-use space that can be configured to hold a variety of events ranging from concerts, parties and theatrical events to fundraisers and weddings. It can accommodate as many as 500 guests for banquets and many more for theater-style seating or standing events. Traynor says that, while the ballroom opened up this past June, the public will have to wait until the spring to see big musical events there.

“We still have some work to do to get in a top-notch sound system,” he said. “This is a very expensive ticket item, and we want to make sure that the audio is perfect.”

In the meantime, the Capitol Room is fully operational as a banquet facility and has other uses, as well. The space hosted several holiday parties last month, and wedding receptions are scheduled for this year. A monthly arts flea market has started there, with more than 40 vendors and upwards of 1,000 people attending recently. The annual stage production of “The Rocky Horror Show,” which previously had been held at Stage on Herr, was moved upstairs this past Halloween for a successful two-day run, and some smaller acoustic concerts are also planned.

Now that the Capitol Room is open, Traynor says that H*MAC has much more to offer the community.

“You can come for the evening, have a drink at Stage on Herr, have dinner at the restaurant and then come up for the show,” he said.

H*MAC also plans to do a lot more programming and may sometimes run simultaneous shows at both venues.

“Our dream is to be as eclectic and welcoming to all kinds of possibilities,” he said.

The renovated structure that H*MAC now occupies was built 100 years ago as the city’s Jewish Community Center which had, aside from the ballroom, a swimming pool, kosher kitchens and classrooms for a yeshiva. During its heyday, the ballroom was used for weddings, bar mitzvahs and other celebrations.

The building later housed the Harrisburg Police Athletic League, with the ballroom converted to a basketball court.

“When I first saw the room, I remember thinking, ‘OK, we don’t have to change the wheel,’” he said. “What we just need to do is restore this beautiful old ballroom to what it was, a place for the community.”

The resulting Capitol Room has plenty of old-world charm, but don’t expect to find a lot of fancy chandeliers or other finery.

“We still have the curtains to do, but we intentionally left the room very simple and basic,” said Traynor. “This way, it is a blank canvas where anything can happen.”

The Capitol Room is located in the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center (H*MAC), 1110 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.harrisburgarts.com or call 717-412-4342.

Musical Notes: Songs for the Season

November 30, 2015 | by Andrew Dyrli Hermeling

Typically, this column is focused on rock and pop music. However, sometimes, I just can’t resist getting into the holiday spirit. And seeing as Harrisburg is home to many superb holiday concert events, it seemed only fitting that we take a break from the guitars and drums and focus on a more seasonally appropriate sound. So, put a scarf around your neck, sip a little eggnog and gather the family for some of our most joyful celebrations of the holiday.

HARRISBURG GAY MEN’S CHORUS, 12/6, 4PM, UNITARIAN CHURCH OF HARRISBURG, $15: The Harrisburg Gay Men’s Chorus has been combining a love of music with a mission for presenting gay-positive entertainment for 29 years. Although they are a mainstay of Harrisburg cultural events, they have also performed across the country alongside such ensembles as the Manhattan Philharmonic and the Turtle Creek Chorale. This year’s holiday concert, “Just Say ‘Yes’ to an ‘80s Christmas!” is dedicated to Nancy Reagan and the rest of her esteemed decade. The chorus encourages all attendees to wear their most audacious shoulder pads and spray up some big hair in the spirit of the former first lady. Expect a lot of holiday spirit with just a dash of tongue-in-cheek.

THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER, 12/16, 7:30PM, WHITAKER CENTER, $47.50-$65: This famed vocal ensemble traces its roots to 1969. Founded by Tim Hauser, a former marketing executive and New York cab driver, the group has gone through numerous line-up changes while always staying true to its swinging doo-wop roots. The Manhattan Transfer has recorded with some of the greatest vocalists and songwriters in the history of pop, including Bette Midler, Tony Bennett, James Taylor and Smokey Robinson. The group will be performing a holiday-themed concert that is sure to be a treat for the whole family.

SUSQUEHANNA CHORALE: 12/18, 8PM, MESSIAH COLLEGE, PARMER HALL, $20/$25: The Susquehanna Chorale is the ensemble-in-residence at Messiah College. The 36-member chamber choir has received national accolades, and their annual holiday concert has become a central Pennsylvania tradition. This year’s performance, “A Candlelight Christmas,” features a rendition of Respighi’s “Laud to the Nativity.” Their performance will take place within Parmer Hall, the remarkable centerpiece of the college’s High Center for Worship and Performing Arts. Considering the chorale’s track record, this should prove to be an evening of peerless artistry.

Mentionables: Tomáseen Foley, 12/2, Rose Lehrman Arts Center; Pitch Blak Brass Band w/the West Philadelphia Orchestra, 12/5, H*MAC; Rivers w/Indian Summer Jars, 12/12, Abbey Bar; Trans-Siberian Orchestra, 12/18, Giant Center; Jeffrey Gaines, 12/26, H*MAC; Wizards of Winter, 12/29, The Forum

Great Scott! The cult classic “Rocky Horror Show” returns to H*MAC for Halloween season.

September 30, 2015 | by Rebecca Hanlon

Fishnet stockings, heavily made-up transvestites and a hunk by the name of Rocky have made the cult classic “Rocky Horror Show” a fan favorite for years at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center.

This year, the live production returns for four shows, to the great relief of light-shining, callback shouting, dancing-in-the-aisles audience members who can’t imagine a Halloween season without the crazy antics of Dr. Frank N. Furter and his spaced-out, insatiable crew from Transsexual, Transylvania.

“The audience is the best part,” said Lindsay Bretz-Morgan, a longtime producer and choreographer for H*MAC’s “Rocky Horror Show.”

As soon as the band plays the first note, the crowd goes wild, she said.

But it isn’t just the audience at H*MAC that comes back to see the show year after year, sometimes buying tickets for each of the four performances. Bretz-Morgan has participated in a “Rocky Horror” production at various theaters for the past 10 years. The past three have been at H*MAC.

“Performing this show at H*MAC makes you feel a little like a rock star,” Bretz-Morgan said. “It comes back to the stage each year, but there’s always something a little different.”

Based on a story by Richard O’Brien, “Rocky Horror” is about newly engaged couple Brad and Janet, whose car breaks down near the Frank N. Furter castle. The mad scientist, famous as a flamboyant transvestite, takes the couple in and introduces them to a cast of characters who have their own hidden agendas. Things take a twist when the doctor’s project, the creation of a handsome fellow named Rocky, comes to life.

Going into its sixth year at H*MAC, “Rocky Horror” has always had a live band and presents an experience different from any other theater, said John Traynor, H*MAC president.

The entire room becomes the stage as actors interact with the audience and the narrator even tells the story from a spot above the theater’s bar. Many audience members come dressed as the popular Frank N. Furter and are happy to shout or sing along with the cast or toss confetti onto the stage, Traynor said.

He suggests those who haven’t been to the theater performance first watch the movie version, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” and have an open mind to the story of acceptance.

“The story has a real fun aspect to it, if you’re open to it,” Traynor said. “I think it’s become so popular because it pushes people to be who they are.”

Bretz-Morgan said that, despite being a yearly production, “Rocky Horror” has a little something different to offer depending on the cast and people behind the scenes. Different directors often bring their own take, she said. In previous years, Justin Beiber jokes and other modern aspects were tossed into the mix. This year, people might notice the addition of a saxophone to the live band. A group of phantoms, who play the ensemble, also make it the largest cast H*MAC has had for “Rocky Horror,” she said.

Returning veterans, such as Ryan Boyles, who plays Frank N. Furter, and Taryn Sprenkle, who plays Janet, also bring back a sense of familiarity to the show. Boyles had to take a break from theater performances a couple of years ago when he and his wife had a child, Bretz-Morgan said. Others members have gone on tour, moved away or become busy with new projects, so it’s nice when an old face can return, she said.

Those thinking of attending the show for the first time should be prepared for a crazy night, said Bretz-Morgan. Friends of hers who attended in the past were expecting a traditional theater experience. By the time the show was over, they wanted to learn all the callbacks shouted out by regular audience members so they could be more involved for the next year.

“If you come knowing that things are a little different, a little out of the ordinary, then you’ll have a great time,” she said. “It’s such a fun atmosphere, and people love that.”

Bretz-Morgan also suggests people make a night of it by having dinner in H*MAC’s restaurant, The Kitchen, which wasn’t an option before this year. In the past, even cast members searched for places to get Chinese takeout between shows.

“Harrisburg, in general, has a lot of cool, new places that have been opening up, and I think people are more likely to grab dinner or a drink and just hang out,” she said. “It’s fun to be in Harrisburg right now. I’m glad H*MAC can be part of that.”

The “Rocky Horror Show” will be performed at 8 p.m. and midnight on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, 1110 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg. Tickets are $20 to $25. For more information, visit www.harrisburgarts.com or call 717-412-4342.

September News Digest

September 30, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

Tax Hike Suggested

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse last month proposed tripling the local services tax to help close an estimated $6 million budget gap for the year.

Papenfuse introduced the idea during the annual State of the City address, saying that the Harrisburg Strong financial recovery plan needed to be amended because some revenues, including parking revenues due to enforcement snags, have fallen short of projections.

Under this plan, the local services tax would increase from $1 to $3 per worker per week. The increase would generate about $4 million a year, according to the administration.

The increase must be passed by City Council and approved by the Commonwealth Court. Papenfuse later said that Fred Reddig, a state official and the city’s Act 47 coordinator, supports the idea.

During his speech, Papenfuse also urged Harrisburg-based businesses to help the city financially by ceasing to use private haulers for trash collection. In addition, he floated the idea that the city should consider Home Rule, which would allow it to have greater control in its own affairs.

Papenfuse said that Home Rule was the “only real way out” of Act 47 financial oversight. Many municipalities in Pennsylvania, including Carlisle, have Home Rule charters, but achieving Home Rule would take years.

Reed to Stand Trial

The criminal case against former Harrisburg Mayor Steve Reed will go to trial, a judge determined last month.

Following a daylong preliminary hearing, Senior Magisterial District Judge Richard Cashman said the state could proceed with a case against Reed on all 485 counts against him, covering a wide range of alleged corruption.

At the hearing, the prosecution presented evidence that Reed had violated numerous laws, including that he had kept in his possession hundreds of artifacts purchased with city money. Reed allegedly bought the artifacts for several museums that he had proposed building in the city.

The defense team, led by Henry Hockheimer of the Philadelphia-based firm of Ballard Spahr, refuted those charges, stating that the property rightfully belonged to Reed.

Separately, Reed’s attorneys last month filed a motion asking the court to dismiss more than 300 counts against him, claiming they were not valid because the statute of limitations had expired.

Sinkhole Application Favored

The state has ranked Harrisburg first in Pennsylvania to receive federal sinkhole mitigation funds, the city learned last month.

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency sent a letter to Harrisburg saying its application for a federal Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant for sinkhole remediation had been ranked No. 1 in the state.

The city is seeking grants for sinkhole repair and home demolition and buyouts in a hard-hit area of S. 14^th Street.

The state support, while positive, does not guarantee that Harrisburg will receive the award, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. Only state emergency management agencies are eligible to apply for grants under the program, but awards are not allocated on a state-by-state basis.

LED Project Gets Green Light

Harrisburg’s plan to upgrade all of its streetlights with long-lasting LED lights is set to begin this month after the City Council approved funding for the project.

Council last month voted unanimously to borrow $3.2 million from M&T Bank for the LED conversion project, the city’s first major borrowing since the financial crisis shut it off from the credit markets. Council then voted unanimously to contract with The Efficiency Network, based in Pittsburgh, to perform the citywide installation of about 6,000 lights.

The administration estimates that the upgrade will save the city about $500,000 annually in energy costs, which should cover the cost of the financing. As part of its contract, The Efficiency Network guarantees the savings for a 10-year period.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse said much of the work would be done this fall, but probably would not be completed until early next year.

Council also authorized the administration to apply for a $3.6 million grant from Impact Harrisburg, a nonprofit set up as part of the city’s financial recovery plan to assist its infrastructure and economic development efforts. Impact Harrisburg is in the process of hiring an executive director, which it must do before considering applications for grants.

If Harrisburg receives the money, the city would pay off the loan early and use the savings from reduced energy costs for other purposes, Papenfuse said. The loan carries a prepayment penalty of 3 percent.

The city already has received a grant of $500,000 to offset some of the cost of the LED project.

Campbell Gets Probation

Former Harrisburg Treasurer John Campbell last month was sentenced to three years of probation for stealing money from three nonprofit organizations.

As part of his sentence, Campbell turned over a restitution check for $26,230, which will repay Historic Harrisburg Association, the Capital Region Stonewall Democrats and Lighten Up Harrisburg for the thefts.

In all, Campbell pled guilty to one misdemeanor and two felony counts.

Campbell was executive director of Historic Harrisburg and a volunteer treasurer for both Lighten Up Harrisburg and the Stonewall Democrats when the thefts occurred. He was not charged with any crimes in his capacity as city treasurer.

Dauphin County Common Pleas Judge Scott A. Evans is allowing Campbell to serve his probation in the Washington, D.C., area, where he now lives.

Bar Loses Appeal

A Midtown Harrisburg bar targeted for closure by the city has lost its appeal, and now has taken its case to court.

The city’s License and Tax Appeal Review Board rejected the effort by the Third Street Café (formerly Club 1400) to retain its business license and continue operating from its building at the corner of N. 3rd and Calder streets.

The three-person appeals board unanimously sided with the city, which alleges that the bar attracts criminal behavior, especially drug activity.

“The owners and operators of the Third Street Café consented to or allowed behavior on and around the premises that constituted crimes under federal, state and local laws,” concluded the board in its Aug. 28 decision.

The city has tried for months to revoke the bar’s business license. In late March, it sent owner Tony Paliometros a letter stating it planned to revoke the license, giving him 30 days to cease operations. Paliometros appealed the revocation, and a one-day appeals hearing was held in late May.

After losing the appeal, Paliometros immediately appealed that decision to the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas and was granted a stay to remain open. The court appeal is scheduled for Oct. 9.

Housing Market Stable

Housing sales and prices were relatively stable in August, compared to the same period last year.

Throughout the region, 783 houses sold at a median sales price of $165,000, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors. In August 2014, 781 houses sold for a median price of $165,000.

In Dauphin County, 265 houses sold at a median price of $144,900. In Cumberland County, 268 houses sold for a median price of $179,900 and, in Perry County, 27 houses sold for a median price of $165,000.

So Noted

The Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District and Recycle Bicycle last month launched a Downtown Bike Library, which allows people to borrow and then return a bike, a helmet and a lock at no cost from the HDID office at 22 N. 2^nd St. This program is considered a pilot program to the Bike Share Harrisburg initiative that is in the works to bring a bike share program to the city.

The Millworks last month started a lunch service, which begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday to Friday. The Midtown Harrisburg restaurant and art space opened in March for dinner, Tuesday through Sunday. It then added weekend brunch hours.

Bricco halted its lunch service last month in favor of expanding its catering business with Ciao! Bakery, in an endeavor now called Bricco-Ciao! Catering. The menu consists of both Ciao’s sandwiches and Bricco’s Mediterranean-inspired dishes. Bricco, at the corner of S. 3^rd and Chestnut streets, remains open for dinner.

The Kitchen at H*MAC last month announced new lunch and brunch hours. The restaurant, located at 1110 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg, now is open for lunch on Monday to Friday beginning at 11 a.m. and for brunch on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 10 a.m.

Arepa City, which specialized in the Venezuelan sandwich called the arepa, closed last month after more than six years in downtown Harrisburg. Owner Daniel Farias said customers didn’t follow the restaurant after it moved into larger space further down N. 2^nd Street. Farias said he plans to continue his catering business.

Frederic Loraschi Chocolate opened a retail location and production facility at 4615 Hillcrest St. in Colonial Park. For years, the chocolatier has made his high-end confections from a converted kitchen in the basement of his Hummelstown home. The new shop allows consumers to buy directly from him.

Changing Hands

Berryhill St., 2101: R. Pickles to D. Maxwell, $96,500

Calder St., 116: M. DePhilip to D. Goldman, $150,000

Chestnut St., 2100: W. & K. Richards to H. Trauffer, $65,000

Curtin St., 543, 2135 N. 4^th St., 1949 Berryhill St., 545 Benton St. & 2314 N. 4^th St.: Susquehanna Bank to MBHH RE LLC, $107,000

Graham St., 118: B. & K. Elgart & Cartus Financial Corp. to P. Furlong, $219,900

Green St., 1924: D. Miller & R. Finley to G. O’Loughlin, $214,900

Hale Ave., 428: Metro Bank to T. & K. Vu, $42,500

Herr St., 409: W. & F. Moore to D. Jordan, $106,000

Industrial Rd., 3360: Conewago Contractors Inc. to Norfolk Southern Railway Co., $7,500,000

Kelker St., 319: K. Hancock to J. Marks, $60,000

N. 2^nd St., 1311: J. Feldman to T. Gray, $78,700

N. 2^nd St., 1406: F. Magaro to C. Albers, $149,000

N. 2^nd St., 1520: E. Spaar to N. & R. Masterson, $94,000

N. 2^nd St., 1708: D. Shreve to J. Seigle, $171,300

N. 2^nd St., 1829: E. Stuckey to M. Nolt, $126,000

N. 2^nd St., 3206: R. & P. Kotz to S. Margut, $178,000

N. 3^rd St., 1606: Fannie Mae to Anselmo Brothers Partnership, $52,500

N. 3^rd St., 2243: Kusic Financial Services LLC to A. & M. Collins, $58,000

N. Front St., 2609: Supreme Forest of Tall Cedars to A. Hartzler, $225,000

Penn St., 1820: Bayview Loan Servicing LLC to PA Deals LLC, $50,250

Penn St., 1917: S. Stauffer to S. Cline & J. Lemon, $118,500

Penn St., 1920: WCI Partners LP to C. Clabaugh, $159,900

Rudy Rd., 2141: A. McKenna to M. McNelis, $142,900

Rumson Dr., 2586: Beneficial Consumer Discount Co. to PA Deals LLC, $43,299

Schuykill St., 518 & 522: M. & A. Parsons to J. & B. Readinger, $37,500

S. 15^th St., 347, 1529 Catherine St., 1615 Naudain St., 30 Balm St., 1822 Park St. & 22 Balm St.: I. Colon to C. Harp, $30,000

S. Front St., 555: Ashbury Foundation to D. Ogg, $82,500

State St., 115: Pennsylvania Bar Association to Commonwealth Strategic Solutions LLC, $172,000

State St., 231, Unit 504: LUX 1 LP to M. & K. Lastrina, $144,900

State St., 231, Unit 505: LUX 1 LP to M & K. Lastrina, $154,900

State St., 1336: D. Pinnock to D. Vining, $37,000

Susquehanna St., 1833: G. & K. Ender to J. Secrest, $42,500

Swatara St., 2416: M. Gaston et al to D. & E. Davenport, $129,600

Thompson St., 1257: Jamil Karim LLC to Harrisburg Housing Authority, $80,000

Woodbine St., 502: K. Bethea to C. Guerrier, $40,000

Harrisburg property sales for August 2015, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

H*MAC, Rising: Once near extinction, a restored Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center surges back with a casual restaurant, a new performance space and a re-energized mission.

June 1, 2015 | by M. Diane McCormick

The developers of the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center see an unfilled niche in the city’s entertainment scene.

H*MAC partner Michael Giblin sees it when, in his life as a bass player, he tours nationwide with musicians from such revered bands as R.E.M. and Wilco. Lisa White, the Washington, D.C.-based booker brought on to fill the Lazarus-like space, also saw it when she drove down 2^nd Street late one night and stopped for young drunks lurching in front of her car.

That niche is the responsible, grown-up crowd, hungry for a night out that doesn’t end in a drunken blur. White knew that mature types would want “to hang out in Midtown where there are more adult things to do, and more art-related things to do, whether it be visual art or musical art or film.”

“Every city has their area where the younger people go to just be drunk, and they have other places where people can go who don’t want to be part of that, and that’s what Midtown Harrisburg is going to be,” she says.

H*MAC, rescued five times from the sheriff’s sale list, has been restored to life. A financing deal in October 2014 finally provided the infusion to capitalize on the whole, historic building and not just the funky, existing Stage on Herr.

Giblin says he became “organically involved” with the project, moving from frequent customer to hands-on partner with John Traynor, Gary Bartlett and Chuck London. Traynor is the British import who wandered off I-81 to check out Harrisburg and fell in love with the possibilities at the former Police Athletic League building at 1110 N. 3^rd Street.

But the dream collided with the recession, and H*MAC’s tribulations were front-page news. Today, the partners are about $4 million into the total $5 million project, and the end is in sight, says Giblin. Here’s what to expect in the new, ADA-compliant H*MAC:

Stage on Herr, rebranded as Herr Street Stage, continues hosting fun and up-and-coming acts. Even in the darkest days, the success of this space helped pay the bills.

The spectacular upstairs ballroom becomes the Capital Room. With capacity up to 1,100, it’s a configurable venue worthy of hosting name music acts, weddings, galas, fundraisers and dances.

The Kitchen at H*MAC opened May 15, serving fast-casual, but not like Chipotle. These are “gourmet-ish,” PA Preferred, Southern-inspired, chef-prepared dishes, Giblin says. The H*MAC partners signed on the Delaware restaurant consultant behind Troegs Brewing Co.’s breakout tasting room and snack bar to create the concept.

What else? Maybe a dance club in the basement. Maybe a bar on the rooftop. That’s in the next phase, so we’ll have to wait and see. The idea isn’t just about expanding the space but “bringing a whole new concept to the landscape,” says Giblin.

“We’re going to be a one-stop shopping event for your evening out,” he says. “You can come and eat, either before or between the show, you can go to the show upstairs, and then you can hang out in the night club afterwards.”

There’s that grown-up thing. H*MAC belongs to the Destination Midtown coalition striving for the eclectic go-to neighborhood that Harrisburg pines for. He remembers the days of the “I saw your mama on 3^rd Street” taunts. Now, he sees a turnaround because a few smart folks bought low during the recession and are dreaming high.

“All of those wonderfully hidden architectural gems were sitting there, waiting to blossom,” he says.

Giblin envisions a “middle class of acts” coming to H*MAC from the “rich catalog that appeals to the over-30 crowd or the cottage industry of artists that makes a living playing live.”

That’s where Lisa White comes in. She has been booking spaces and consulting since the 1980s. She signed on with H*MAC because she saw the “little renaissance” of artistic variety in Midtown and recognized the need for touring acts and events in a wide-open space.

White says she won’t sign any artists to the Capital Room until renovations are wrapping and an opening date is clearly in sight.

“The last thing we want to do is move a confirmed show that someone has routed a tour around,” she says.

But she’s been planting the seed among managers. At this year’s South by Southwest music festival, her descriptions of this new venue in a city just off a major highway got their attention. She and other buyers are conversing about an I-81 music corridor, where acts can find eager audiences city by city.

“They can’t go up and down the I-95 corridor all the time,” she says. “You can only play those markets a certain amount of times before you start having diminishing returns. Bands are on the road more because they’re not getting any revenue from the recorded product, so they need to find places where they can perform and do well.”

Enter Harrisburg. There will be an experimentation period in booking the Capital Room, finding what delights Harrisburg, whether it’s Scandinavian black metal or swing dance lessons on the ballroom’s wooden floor.

“That’s part of the adventure of it,” White says. “You don’t know these things, and you can’t know these things, and you just gotta try it and see what works.”

The Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center (H*MAC) is located at 1110 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg. For the latest updates and scheduled acts, visit www.harrisburgarts.com or the Facebook page: Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center.

The Kitchen at H*MAC is open Monday to Thursday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday, 4 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like