Tag Archives: harrisburg

Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

September 14, 2017 | by Sara Bozich

Happy Weekend!

As you read this, I’m likely en route to our last round of Poured shoots, at least for a little bit. I’m home this weekend, though Andy’s not, that’s his loss because I’m going to the Chef’s Table at The Garlic Poet on Saturday.

Since I learned that the stupid CBS All Access app is not, in fact, all access (what the hell do I need an app for to play the same damn game that is on my television??), I’m going to a stupid bar to watch stupid football. THANKS ROGER GOODELL. Thankfully, next weekend I can finally watch from the comfort of my own couch. There will be nachos.

Of course, this is all after I hit up Next Step Performance and Broad Street Market Saturday morning. I might miss this routine the most.

What are you doing this weekend?

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HBG Council Recap: Madsen sworn in, Hamilton expansion OK’d.

September 12, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

Dave Madsen was sworn in as a Harrisburg councilman just as tonight’s meeting started.

Harrisburg City Council swore in a new member and approved a major building project during a legislative session this evening.

Dave Madsen, a technician in the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, took the oath of office from Dauphin County Judge Lori Serratelli, officially assuming the seat formerly held by Jeffrey Baltimore.

Madsen was appointed to a four-month term on council last week, and, just two days later, nabbed the Democratic nomination to run for his seat in the November election. Since Madsen currently has no Republican challenger in that race, he will likely serve the remaining two years of Baltimore’s term. His seat has been empty since Baltimore’s resignation on Aug. 11.

After Madsen was sworn in, council voted on a number of resolutions awaiting final approval. Most significant among them was a building permit application by Hamilton Health Providers, which now has the green light to expand its facility on S. 17th Street to include additional parking spots, patient visiting rooms and classrooms for the Head Start pre-K program.

Council also brought to the floor two new resolutions, including one calling for the creation of a task force to explore community policing policies, law enforcement and training initiatives, and the creation of a civilian review board for the police bureau. Council agreed to consider such legislation as a condition of allocating $65,000 to the bureau for the purchase of new protective gear.

A resolution approving the city’s agreement with the National Civil War Museum was also brought to the floor tonight and moved to the Economic Development Committee. Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced the plan to resolve disputes with the museum in a press conference at city hall yesterday. The agreement, reached jointly by city officials and museum directors, will allow the museum to buy its collection of artifacts from the city for $5.25 million. In turn, the city will begin to charge the museum rent and will pay for some capital repairs to the museum building in Reservoir Park.

Council will discuss both of the new resolutions at its Sept. 19 work session.

“Prime” Location? Harrisburg area suggested for new Amazon headquarters.

September 7, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

Could the old State Hospital grounds be the perfect spot for a new Amazon.com headquarters?

Amazon.com announced this morning that it is scouting locations for a second headquarters complex—and cities across the country are gearing up to woo.

The announcement that Amazon would build a $5 billion facility supporting 50,000 jobs immediately lit up social media. Some local activists and officials suggested that the sprawling, for-sale Harrisburg State Hospital grounds off Cameron Street would be a perfect fit.

Indeed, the Harrisburg metropolitan area is already home to four Amazon warehouses. But what else would it need to beat other cities vying for the headquarters project?

For starters, another half-million people, said David Black, president of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce & CREDC.

“Harrisburg is too small to put in a bid, but I do think there’s an opportunity to put in a bid with partners in York and Lancaster,” Black said on Thursday.

He said that the population of the Harrisburg metro hovers near 560,000 people, falling short of Amazon’s preference for metro areas with more than 1 million people.

Black thinks that the city could offer a competitive application if it works as part of a regional team. He said that the region’s existing relationship with Amazon distribution centers could distinguish it from other cities, as could its proximity to highways, major East Coast cities and the resources of the Penn State network.

“Working with the broader region is the only way this will work,” Black said.

In the press release announcing the location search, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said that the new headquarters will be a “full equal” to the company’s 8.1-million-square-foot headquarters in Seattle. That location, which comprises 33 buildings housing more than 40,000 employees, has a yearly operating budget of $1.4 billion.

Harrisburg might score better on a few other criteria that Amazon outlined: a stable and business-friendly environment; urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent; and communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options.

One potential pitfall of a regional application is that it would require a patchwork of incentives, since most of these programs are created at a municipal level.

Harrisburg has a LERTA tax abatement program to encourage building in the city, and Black said that neighboring municipalities have programs ranging from LERTAs to Keystone Opportunity Zone designations. Since applications for the program are due Oct. 19, there is no hope of creating uniform incentive programs on a regional level.

“We can only offer what’s in place now,” Black said, adding that there are 103 municipalities in Dauphin and Perry counties alone.

He did say that input from the commonwealth could strengthen the incentives portion of the application, since it has successfully negotiated with Amazon in the past to build warehouses.

“The state did work with Amazon on some of their distribution facilities in PA, and they put together a nice package,” Black said. “Since this is a generic application, the state can say, ‘We offer incentive packages based on more detail.’”

On the whole, Black believes that business and political leaders in the midstate could put together a thoughtful bid for the Amazon project. He thinks that workforce data from the Penn State Data Center will strengthen the bid, as will the region’s established relationship with the company.

“We have a track record with Amazon,” Black said. “They’re here, they know the workforce, and it’s not like we’re coming in out of the cold.”

Black cautioned the public from becoming too excited about the prospect of Amazon breaking ground in the midstate, but said he believes that the application process itself will benefit the community.

“Whether or not we get it, the exercise is worthwhile,” Black said.

Members of the city’s legislative branch made moves on Thursday to begin considering an application. Councilman Westburn Majors said he contacted city officials and business leaders shortly after seeing the morning announcement.

“It is my hope that the administration can work with the county, the commonwealth, local business groups such as the Chamber, CREDC, etc., to determine if putting in an application is something that they would consider,” Majors said.

“We would love to have Amazon come here and will see what we can do as a collective team to make it happen,” said Ben Allatt, chair of the council’s finance committee.

Leaf Us Alone: Susquehanna Twp. residents unswayed on Harrisburg composting proposal.

August 25, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

Harrisburg hopes to turn this area in Susquehanna Township into the city’s new composting facility.

Harrisburg mayor Eric Papenfuse came to Susquehanna Township on Thursday with an apology, but still found few supporters for a controversial waste disposal project the city seeks to build on an old school site.

Papenfuse appeared at the Township’s Board of Commissioners workshop meeting to defend the city’s application to build a composting facility at 1850 Stanley Rd. The property, which is owned by the Harrisburg school district, already houses a small composting site.

Papenfuse said that the proposal would expand and improve the existing facility, satisfying a state Department of Environmental Protection mandate that the city have its own composting plant for leaves, lawn debris and woody waste.

The mayor offered to scale back the permit application to help appease community concerns. However, township residents, citing concerns about public health, remained skeptical of the city’s intentions.

“Everything is suspect, and my trust has been destroyed,” said resident Pat Thompson, who called the proposal an issue of environmental justice for the largely African-American neighborhood nearby, citing research that shows that a disproportionate number of waste facilities are located in predominantly non-white neighborhoods.

Resident Jamie Folks pointed out that any agreement that the city reaches with the township could be revised under a future administration. Papenfuse said that the city does not intended to compost food waste at the facility, but Folks said that a future mayor could pursue a different plan.

“We might take food scraps out of the application tonight, but that permit allows for all sorts of things,” she said.

She asked for the creation of a permanent advisory council composed of Susquehanna Township residents with oversight of the facility.

Harrisburg submitted a preliminary permit application to the DEP on April 13 for a facility that would compost food and plant matter. More than 60 residents came to a July 22 commissioners meeting to stand against the project, and the board unanimously passed a resolution opposing the permit application.

Since the land is owned by the Harrisburg school district, the city has the power to go ahead with the project even without approval from the township. At last night’s meeting, however, Papenfuse insisted that community input was essential to the project’s evolution.

“I apologize for how this issue was communicated, and I take responsibility for it,” Papenfuse said, pledging to consider input from the meeting and return with a revised permit application that would be more acceptable to residents.

Papenfuse also defended the choice to build the facility at the Stanley Road site.

“Harrisburg is a small city, and most of it is in the flood plane,” Papenfuse said, reiterating that the city could not find a project site within its own borders.

John Rarig, Harrisburg’s recycling coordinator, insisted that residents would not notice any noise, odor, pests or traffic resulting from the project. He cited comparable facilities in Camp Hill and Swatara Township as evidence that the facility would not affect neighboring home values. Finally, he asked for public trust that the city comply with DEP regulations protecting air and water quality.

“We have nothing to gain from doing this wrong,” Rarig said.

One obstacle that Papenfuse faced last night was a general skepticism of city public works projects. AJ Overton, a Harrisburg resident who has family in Susquehanna Township, asked about the health hazards of the project. Overton grew up in the South Harrisburg neighborhood bordering the city’s incinerator, and she said that she has a chronic lung condition as a result of its air pollutants.

Amy Warnagiris echoed Overtin’s wariness.

“Your administration is the victim of past consequences,” Warnagiris said, addressing Papenfuse.

She said the township has been suspect of the city administration since it began the permit process in April.

“The lack of communication to us did not help,” she said. “The first permit did not go well, and I don’t know what it will take.”

Susquehanna Township residents were not the only ones who came out to oppose the facility. Rhonda Mays spoke on behalf of a community group from Allison Hill, which borders the proposed site south of Arsenal Boulevard. She said that Allison Hill residents have not received the same information as Susquehanna Township citizens, though they fear they will absorb some of the traffic and noise pollution from the project.

In an informal show of hands at the end of the meeting, about half of the people in attendance said they still opposed the project. Papenfuse remained optimistic that he could change their minds.

“We are hopeful that we can continue to work on a revised application that may be acceptable to you,” Papenfuse said, rejecting comparisons to the incinerator and adding that the composting facility carries “no health danger at all.”

Township residents, however, seemed unconvinced.

“You are ignoring us completely,” one resident said in exasperation. “We want nothing to do with it.”

In his final public comment, Papenfuse conceded that the city might need to consider alternative sites.

“There may come a time when this is deemed to not be in the best interest of the city or Susquehanna Township,” Papenfuse said. “We do not want to do something you don’t want.”

Speaking after the meeting, however, Papenfuse said that there are no alternative sites currently under consideration. He explained that building on the Stanley Road property would be mutually beneficial to the city and the school district, since the site is unsuitable for a school but fits the needs of the compost project.

The Stanley Road property, which was sold by the state to the school district decades ago, is bound under an educational covenant that requires it to be used for educational purposes. To comply with the property’s covenant, the facility would accommodate school trips and be used in the district’s environmental science curriculum, he said.

He also elaborated on the terms of the lease with the school district, saying that the city would pay a nominal fee—“maybe a dollar”—for use of the land.

Papenfuse could not offer a concrete timeline for the project, but insisted that the city needs its own composting facility. Currently, Harrisburg sends its lawn waste to a compost plant in Swatara Township. However, the DEP mandates that a municipality of Harrisburg’s size have its own dedicated site for leaves and wood waste.

Author: Lizzy Hardison

Water & Wire: City Announces 2017 Kipona Festival

August 22, 2017 | by Lizzy Hardison

Alice Herrick, 21, walks on a tight rope outside of city hall today to promote the 2017 Kipona festival. Photo by Yaasmeen Piper.

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse predicts a record-breaking Kipona celebration this Labor Day weekend—and not just in terms of attendance.

At the city’s 101^st annual Kipona festival, which will be held Sept. 2 to 4 at Riverfront Park and City Island, two tightrope walkers will strut across the Susquehanna in hopes of breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest wire walk in high heels. Stunt artists Alice Herrick, 21, and Rilee Gallagher, 16, both of the Finucular Circus troupe in Philadelphia, will attempt the feat at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2.

Herrick, who was at the Tuesday morning press conference where Papenfuse announced the Kipona schedule, will be wearing 4½ -inch heels when she attempts to break the record. She said she is excited but nervous about executing the stunt.

“If I fall, I hope it goes viral,” Herrick said.

She and other wire walkers will perform additional walks (albeit in slippers, not heels) throughout the day on Saturday.

The tightrope walk is just one high-adrenaline event at this year’s Kipona, which is free and open to the public. On Sunday, the city and PinnacleHealth will erect a free, 28-foot high, 200-foot long zip line on State Street—the first of its kind at a Kipona celebration.

Some perennial favorites will return this year, as well, including the Native American pow-wow, Festival of India, the Dick Reese canoe race and fireworks on City Island at 8:15 p.m. on Sunday. Festival-goers will also be able to cool down at a Midtown Cinema movie tent, enjoy drinks at a beer garden, and view local craft goods at the artists market.

In all, more than 130 food and product vendors, artists and nonprofit organizations will be present at the event, Papenfuse said.

Kipona is presented each year by the City of Harrisburg in partnership with the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau and a number of corporate sponsors.

Sue Kunisky, vice president of the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau, reported that 55,000 people attended last year’s celebration, many of them from outside the city. This year, organizers are preparing for an even higher turnout.

“Kipona is a time to celebrate Harrisburg’s diverse cultures,” Papenfuse said.

Kipona 2017 will take place Saturday, Sept. 2 through Monday, Sept. 4 at Riverfront Park and City Island in Harrisburg. Visit Harrisburgpa.gov/kipona2017 for more information, including an event schedule and parking details.

Author: Lizzy Hardison

One Fish, Big Fish: Rare stripers snagged in Harrisburg.

August 16, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Mike Sholley and his catch in front of the Dock Street Dam.

The Susquehanna River is not exactly a chasm, averaging just a few feet deep in Harrisburg.

So, what the heck was a 35-inch, 20-pound striped bass doing there?

“It really is rare for something like this to happen,” said veteran angler Mike Sholley, who snagged the fish earlier this month near the Dock Street Dam. “It’s pretty exciting.”

Sholley, of Palmyra, has been fishing the river since he was a boy and said that never before had he caught a “striper,” a fish usually found in the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay. But he’s caught four this year.

“For them to get all the way up here, it’s amazing,” he said.

Geoff Smith, Susquehanna River biologist for the state Fish and Boat Commission, said that several stripers had been observed passing upriver by the Holtwood and York Haven dams. The stripers, which can live in both salt and freshwater, also may have come downstream from Raystown Lake, a large reservoir in Huntingdon County where they’re stocked, or even from a hatchery on Brunner Island in York County, he said.

“There are likely not many striped bass in the Susquehanna River and tributaries, and the angler was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time,” Smith said.

Sholley and Smith agree that this season’s copious rains and relatively high water levels may have contributed to the unusual catch.

Smith said that Raystown Lake has been releasing more water than usual into the river, and Sholley added that higher river levels have meant cooler summertime water temperatures, which stripers prefer. Both agreed that ample stocks of smaller species, such as shad and herring, this year also may have attracted the predatory fish.

“They’ll stick around as long as the food supply is there,” Sholley said.

And they may still be around, as Sholley released the fish soon after catching them.

In a broader sense, Sholley said he was delighted to see the stripers because it says something positive about the health of the river. He’s out on the river nearly every weekend and, in fact, with a few river-loving friends, runs an online apparel company called Susquehanna Native.

“If a fish of that caliber can live in the river, right now the river is doing pretty well,” he said.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Air Rights: Harrisburg may be late to the Airbnb game, but now it’s here, with opportunities, challenges.

July 31, 2017 | by M. Diane McCormick

Ted Hanson, at his home.

“Newly remodeled studio near Capitol.”

“Luxury Condo facing Capitol, River and State St.”

“Charming 1920s Bungalow near River & Italian Lake.”

Judging from the listings, the secret to Airbnb success is location, location, location. A search of Harrisburg, PA, on Airbnb.com brings up 177 rentals. Many are in the city itself, perhaps “steps from the Capitol” (or “Capital,” say the spelling-challenged), while others are in surrounding areas—“Hershey Park 15 minutes,” or in New Cumberland, “’Weston,’ the 1982 Vanagon.”

As Airbnb takes hold, its relationship with the city of Harrisburg is in flux. One Airbnb owner is questioning a letter seeking payment of the city’s Business Privilege and Mercantile Tax. The city, in the meantime, says it’s looking into its powers over Airbnbs.

“The city is obviously authorized to regulate business activity within its borders,” said a statement from Joyce Davis, spokesperson for Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “We are currently reviewing how best to regulate Airbnb operations popping up around the city, if at all.”

Do the math, and Harrisburg–area listings comprise .000059 percent of Airbnb’s 3 million listings worldwide. Indeed, tiny Harrisburg will never be a tourist mecca like New York, Paris or San Francisco. However, at least anecdotally, the city does seem to be attracting more visitors these days, and Airbnb hosts are responding, with rooms and apartments popping up to serve them.

Ready for Business

Former city Councilman Brad Koplinski is among the city’s hosts.

His “Commonwealth 67,” on North Street “Steps from the Capital” (yes, Brad, you’re the spelling–challenged one), was once saved from destruction by Historic Harrisburg Association’s pleas to preserve this example of working-family housing.

Today, the walls are a sort of museum for Koplinski’s extensive political memorabilia collection—a Ronald Reagan “Bedtime for Brezhnev” poster, a photo autographed by Jimmy Carter when Koplinski caught him coming out of the World Bank in Washington, D.C.

Originally, Koplinski envisioned the space as a fundraiser venue, so a bar spanning the long wall in the open first floor is topped with bumper stickers—“BABBITT, Democrat for President”—lacquered in place by Koplinski’s girlfriend, Melissa Vayda, who works with him on the venture. In the bright, open kitchen, the breakfast bar showcases buttons ranging from the FDR years and earlier to one of Koplinski’s own buttons when he took a shot at the lieutenant governor nomination.

Once he decided on an Airbnb, Koplinski found the process “surprisingly easy.”

“Make sure the place is squared away, take some pictures, load them up to the website, and you’re ready for business,” he said.

Since Koplinski opened the doors in January 2017, guests have included numerous people doing state business in Harrisburg, such as the regular guest who attends Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency training.

“The location is just fantastic,” Koplinski said. “You’ve got three of the best restaurants in the city on this block. We offer a parking space. You can walk to the Capitol, the State Museum, the river. All of those things combined have allowed us to be pretty much booked.”

Airbnb guests are “the type of people who want to stay in other people’s houses,” said Teena Brinkley, who “Airbnbs” two of the eight bedrooms in the 1920s-era 2nd Street bungalow she shares with her 19-year-old son (“Historic House in Up Town Harrisburg”).

“They’re good people,” she said. “They’re friendly people. They’re more open to conversation. They’re not coming to trash your house.”

Brinkley works from home as a software engineer and has traveled cross-country, Airbnb-hopping, with her son. When she moved out of Camp Hill in 2016 and scouted a city home, the idea of running an Airbnb breezed across the back of her mind. She “just fell in love” with her pristine bungalow and its many original touches—a stone fireplace, leaded-glass sidelights surrounding the front door, bathrooms tiled in black and white—but decorated in a cheery, contemporary fashion, including a purple consignment-store couch that might have come from a bridal salon.

Guests have included a couple traveling from Virginia to bike the Capital Area Greenbelt and a military family with a 3-year-old daughter who stayed three months while waiting to close on their new home. Another visitor is set to stay for 90 days.

All guests are sure to meet Foster, Brinkley’s 13-year-old Westie love bug. Her guests treat the home with respect and “kind of become extended family.” They can step out to the terracotta tile front porch or the back deck for coffee, chatting with her or the neighbors on the friendly block.

“It’s a busy house, with people coming over, and I love it,” she said. “I’m originally from the South, and having people pop over is normal.”

Brinkley’s next-door neighbor, Shane Gallagher, went Airbnb in late 2016, a few months before Brinkley. He offers an air mattress (“but it’s a very nice air mattress,” Brinkley said) that’s popular with mid-20 and 30-somethings seeking a low-cost place to crash while traversing nearby I-81. One weekly guest of Gallagher’s, a nurse studying for her master’s degree, frequently skates with Brinkley, a former roller derby player.

With Airbnb’s reasonable rates, visitors have more money to spend on nice meals at local restaurants, usually recommended by the Airbnb host, said Brinkley.

“Note needs to pay us a commission,” she joked about the 2nd Street bistro a short walk or Uber up the block.

Airbnb hosts say they’re not raking in buckets of money, but “it’s a smart thing to do if you have a room or an apartment,” said Koplinski. “It’s a reflection of the self-motivated economy. We’re taking it out of the hands of the big corporations and putting it in the hands of everyday people. It’s not like there’s no rules anymore, but it’s almost like you can make your own rules, and this is a neat way to do that.”

Many guests heading for Koplinski’s place take the train into Harrisburg “and Uber over.”

“It’s an updated crowd,” he said. “You learn things as you go along. People really like coffee, so you better have the pods ready to go. No one really cares about television. They all care about where they can plug in their chargers and that the wi-fi looks good.”

Excited to Share

Neither Koplinski nor Brinkley has received a city notice levying the Business Privilege and Mercantile Tax, but Ted Hanson has.

Hanson put the rental home that adjoins his Victorian rowhome in Old Fox Ridge on Airbnb in October 2014 (“Private townhouse near PA Capitol”). Guests vary from administration appointees to Hersheypark visitors.

This past May, Hanson got a letter from the city’s Tax & Enforcement Office requiring that he obtain a license and pay the tax, “pursuant to the Local Tax Enabling Act.”

Not so fast, Hanson responded by letter. He has rented out the building for 20 years, “and the only thing that has changed is the manner in which I receive bookings.” Aside from the “beyond confusing” forms he was asked to fill out, he wrote, there is the matter of City Ordinance 5-715.3 C (5), stating that “no such (Mercantile License) tax shall be assessed and collected on the gross receipts received as rent by a landlord or his agent.”

In his response to Harrisburg, Hanson recognized “the city’s desire to find additional revenue streams and regulate Airbnb operations within its borders. However, this approach seems cobbled together and might not withstand judicial scrutiny especially in terms of levying additional taxes on Airbnb hosts beyond the property and school taxes we already pay.”

Chatting over deliciously messy burgers from nearby Jackson House while seated on his covered patio, Hanson said he just wants to see a thoughtful approach in any effort to regulate city-based Airbnbs.

“It would benefit everybody if there were some sort of regulation, but do you want to regulate, or do you want to tax?” Hanson said. “What are you concerned about? Are you concerned about public safety or taxation?”

The public nature of Airbnb listings makes them easily visible to city tax officials, Hanson noted.

“If I was renting it off a bulletin board, or off Craigslist, how would they know?” he said. “In fact, why would they know? I’m not taxable, anyway.”

Brinkley can’t foresee any move to shutter Airbnbs.

“It’s one of those things that’s taken off,” she said. “There’s no going back. If they shut down Airbnb, that service is going to exist somehow, because people like it. It’s too perfect not to find another way out.”

Airbnb collects payments from renters and distributes the proceeds to hosts. Without that money-managing service, Brinkley isn’t sure she would have gone Airbnb. She would “feel weird collecting from people, because I’m so happy they’re here.”

“For me, it’s about meeting people and offering up this beautiful home to travelers,” she said. “I’m very proud of this house. It’s a beautiful house. I feel very excited to share it.”

Do you run an Airbnb? Are you thinking about it? Harrisburg will hold a public meeting on Aug. 9 at 6 p.m. in City Council chambers to hear input about how the city should address issues pertaining to Airbnb in Harrisburg.

Author: M. Diane McCormick

Flood of Memory: The Agnes flood was 45 years ago. Will Harrisburg ever recover?

July 31, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Illustration by Rich Hauck.

On a recent Saturday, I wandered into Midtown Scholar Bookstore just as local historian Erik Fasick was queuing up his slideshow chronicling the most devastating event to hit Harrisburg—the flood from Tropical Storm Agnes.

The 1972 disaster put the nail in the coffin for a city already staggering from deindustrialization and suburbanization. After that, it was basically game over so that, 45 years later, Harrisburg continues its slow return as a place people want to be, as opposed to escape as fast as possible after another tedious day at the office.

Fasick’s presentation showed Harrisburg at a point of collapse, and you could almost hear its heart break as the floodwaters rushed down from Wildwood and rose up from the Susquehanna River.

Fascinating as the talk was, I already knew most of the story. But what had escaped me was how Agnes permanently changed the city’s geography, how the flood wiped entire neighborhoods off the map.

Before Agnes, there was a small neighborhood (with a school) at Paxton and Cameron streets, now a vast surface parking lot. Before Agnes, there was “the real Shipoke,” as Fasick called it, a gritty, insular neighborhood of narrow streets where Pennsy Supply now stores its heavy equipment. Before Agnes, rowhouses lined portions of N. 2nd and Penn streets near Maclay, now, respectively, asphalt lots and grassy fields.

These places were drowned, condemned and bulldozed. Some caught fire.

They weren’t the city’s first losses. The “old 8th” ward, a dense, working-class neighborhood of winding alleys and small, clapboard houses, got taken out when the Capitol Complex expanded to the east. A few decades later, another Capitol expansion—and the related widening of Forster Street—removed most of the rest of the primarily African-American neighborhood. Meanwhile, Agnes was just the final blow to Shipoke, which already had been cut to ribbons by the expansion of I-83, so that, today, only the rump of this once-sprawling neighborhood remains.

Uptown, the breakdown was slower but just as complete. Over decades, the loss of people, the decline of industry and the neglect by property owners turned vibrant streets of houses, businesses, hotels and nightclubs into block after block of nothing.

And what happened to such grand downtown buildings as the Penn-Harris Hotel, the Senate Theater and Keystone Hall? All fell to the wrecking ball.

So, Mother Nature wasn’t only to blame for Harrisburg’s downfall. That’s shared by the changing economy and politicians and by just regular people.

As I write this column, it’s a gorgeous, sunny summer day, so unlike the relentless rains of 45 years earlier. Bells ring from one of the many churches that line State Street. Streams of people walk past, returning to work, going to lunch, stopping for coffee. Tourists take pictures of the vista bookended by the state Capitol, the dome set off by deep blue skies and puffy white clouds.

With the city so busy and beautiful, I can’t help but be optimistic.

Harrisburg will never get back what it lost. The “real Shipoke” and the old 8th ward and Senate Theater are gone forever. They live on only in images—and in the memories of a dwindling number of people.

But we can fill in the blanks. The renewal of Harrisburg has begun, but there’s so much more to do, with empty lots and fields abundant in almost every neighborhood. With so much of this once-dense city still underbuilt and under–populated, Agnes can continue to claim victory.

As I watch people walk up from the riverfront, I think about the first settlers here, who came ashore not far from where I sit. They and their followers built Harrisburg from the ground up. It’s now up to us to take on their good work, marginalized by men and washed away by the waters.

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Fixing History: Harrisburg begins to replace, refresh historical signs.

July 27, 2017 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg recently replaced some of its damaged historical signs, including this one in Riverfront Park.

On a visit to Harrisburg’s Riverfront Park, you may have wondered about the history of your surroundings—the story behind such prominent structures as the Walnut Street Bridge and the J. Donald Cameron Mansion.

The information is there for you. It’s just been hard to read on the soiled, bleached, tagged and damaged historical markers scattered throughout the park and the city.

The city administration now has begun to freshen up Harrisburg’s history by replacing many of the Plexiglas-covered signs that offer information on everything from Governors’ Row to the Hope Fire Station.

“Many were in terrible shape,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “Over the years, they had been covered in graffiti and damaged from sun bleach.”

The signs themselves aren’t actually very old. Part of the “Harrisburg History Project,” they were installed between 2002 and 2004 at 113 locations throughout the city. However, by 2015, they already were in such poor shape that Historic Harrisburg Association placed them on its list of preservation priorities.

“We were delighted when we started seeing the new signs appearing,” HHA Executive Director David Morrison said today. “They’re a wonderful asset to the city.”

In June, the city replaced about 30 signs, part of a duplicate set it received along with the project 15 years ago. Over the years, the duplicates apparently had been moved from one storage facility to another, and, through administration turnover, had been forgotten about, Papenfuse said.

“Security rediscovered them, and we put them out,” he said.

Unfortunately, the rest of the duplicate set is missing. Papenfuse believes these signs were used for other purposes—for instance, mounted as part of other historical displays during the Reed administration.

This worn and vandalized sign, which tells the story of Verbeke Street, awaits replacement.

“We don’t have a complete set,” he said.

Not all of the signs need to be replaced, as some are still in good shape, Papenfuse said. He added that he hopes to find funds to replace the others. In addition to the signs, some of the metallic, podium-style stands have suffered damage and need to be replaced. In fact, over the years, some units have been removed entirely after getting hit by cars or otherwise destroyed.

But, to Morrison, 30 new signs is a good start.

“This is wonderful,” he said. “We’d love to see it completely restored.”

Author: Lawrance Binda

Happy Weekend!

What are you doing this weekend?

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