Two former U.S. Philadelphia may be the largest population center in the state, but it is located in the far southeastern corner, roughly 360 miles from Erie, PA, up in the northwestern corner. [58] With the increase of the city's prominence as an industrial and transportation center, Harrisburg reached its peak population build up in 1950, topping out at nearly 90,000 residents. The Cumberland Valley lies directly to the west of Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River, stretching into northern Maryland. The improvements included upgrading the electrical catenary, installing continuously welded rail, and replacing existing wooden railroad ties with concrete ties. The Sentinel, which is published in Carlisle, roughly 20 miles west of Harrisburg, serves many of Harrisburg's western suburbs in Cumberland County. The state capitol is only the third-tallest building of Harrisburg. The line was electrified in the 1930s, with the wires reaching Harrisburg in 1938. [82] During this same period of time between 1982 and 1995, nearly 4,700 more city residents became employed, the crime rate dropped 22.5% and the fire rate dropped 51%.[82]. The federal government, including the military, is the top employer in the metropolitan area. The first time during the 1862 Maryland Campaign, when Lee planned to capture the city after taking Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, but was prevented from doing so by the Battle of Antietam and his subsequent retreat back into Virginia. [64], Several organizations support and develop visual arts in Harrisburg. During part of the 19th century, the building of the Pennsylvania Canal, and later the Pennsylvania Railroad, allowed Harrisburg to become one of the most industrialized cities in the Northeastern United States. Each contained a maze of buildings; conveyances for moving the products; large yards for laying down equipment; and facilities for loading their product on trains. It would take close to two weeks to make the journey in the era of the horse-drawn carriage. Finally, after four years of construction, the capitol building you see today was dedicated in 1906. New York: The Academy of Political Science 172-179. Also, Harrisburg is home to Harrisburg Christian School, founded in 1955.[101]. Dauphin County Government Complex, in downtown Harrisburg, serves the administrative functions of the county. A multi-year restructuring plan is aimed at making the district a model for urban public schools. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1981 to 2010. These improvements increased train speeds to 110 mph along the corridor and reduced the travel time between Harrisburg and Philadelphia to as little as 95 minutes. In its heyday Steelton was home to more than 16,000 residents from 33 different ethnic groups. Harrisburg was an ancient Native American crossroads, but the town was first laid out by John Harris, Jr. and William Maclay (later a US Senator) in 1785. Harrisburg was the first municipality ever in the history of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be charged with securities fraud, for misleading statements about its financial health. The Keystone Corridor between Harrisburg and Philadelphia was improved in the mid-first decade of the 21st century, with the primary improvements completed in late 2006. Mira Lloyd Dock spearheaded the movement with an impressive speech before the city's Board of Trade. Harrisburg has a variable, four-season climate lying at the beginning of the transition between the humid subtropical and humid continental zones (Köppen Cfa and Dfa, respectively). Harrisburg is the capital mostly due to its central location between the two largest cities in Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Harrisburg was first settled by John Harris in the early 18, century, and to this day he is buried and memorialized in front of, , located on the Susquehanna River. [48] Spring is also a nice time of year for outdoor activities. Although the meltdown was contained and radiation leakages were minimal, there were still worries that an evacuation would be necessary. Harrisburg replaced Lancaster as the capital of Pennsylvania in 1812. For every 100 females age 13 and over, there were 84.8 males. Since 1931, The Forum has been home to the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra. They were mostly one story. Center City Harrisburg, which includes the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex, is the central core business and financial center for the greater Harrisburg metropolitan area and serves as the seat of government for Dauphin County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. [11] In 1839, Harrison and Tyler were nominated for President of the United States at the first national convention of the Whig Party of the United States, which was held in Harrisburg. It was developed in the late 19th century and offered affluent Harrisburgers the opportunity to live in the suburbs only a few hundred yards from their jobs in the City. Missing audits and convoluted transactions, including swap agreements, make it difficult to state how much debt the city owes. Harrisburg is the location of over a dozen large bridges, many up to a mile long, that cross the Susquehanna River. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Harrisburg is 107 °F (42 °C) on July 3, 1966. [25] The city agreed to a plea bargain to settle the case. It was partly because of its strategic location that the state legislature selected the small town of Harrisburg to become the state capital in 1812. About 23.4% of families and 24.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.9% of those under age 13 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over. During the American Civil War, Harrisburg was a significant training center for the Union Army, with tens of thousands of troops passing through Camp Curtin. In 2003, SciTech High, a regional math and science magnet school (affiliated with Harrisburg University), opened its doors to local students. This is a list of AM stations in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania metropolitan area: Several feature films and television series have been filmed or set in and around Harrisburg and the greater Susquehanna Valley. The Skirmish of Sporting Hill took place in June 1863 in Camp Hill, just 2 miles (3 km) west of Harrisburg. [38], After two years of negotiations, in August 2013 Receiver Lynch revealed his comprehensive voluntary plan for resolving Harrisburg's fiscal problems. Despite thirty years of mismanagement and corruption under Mayor Stephen Reed, which led to the city filing for bankruptcy in 2011, Forbes named Harrisburg the 2nd best place in America to raise a family in 2010. Given this importance, Philadelphia was one of the nation’s capitals during the Revolutionary War, and served as temporary U.S. capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction. The Rabbi David L. Silver Yeshiva Academy, founded in 1944, is a progressive, modern Jewish day school. [19], Stephen R. Reed was elected mayor in 1981 and served until 2009, making him the city's longest-serving mayor. The school district provides education for the city's youth beginning with all-day kindergarten through twelfth grade. The United States military has a strong historic presence in the region. Completed in 1906, the central dome rises to a height of 272 feet (83 m) and was modeled on that of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Rome. Harrisburg has several monthly community newspapers, including MODE Magazine (publishing since 1996), Urban Connection, and TheBurg. [92] The Harrisburg Intermodal Yard (formerly called Lucknow Yard) is located in the north end of Harrisburg, approximately 3 miles north of downtown Harrisburg and the Harrisburg Transport Center, while the Rutherford Intermodal Yard is located approximately 6 miles east of downtown Harrisburg in Swatara Township, Dauphin County. Harrisburg area is part of the Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York media market which consists of the lower counties in south central Pennsylvania and borders the media markets of Philadelphia and Baltimore. Harrisburg played a notable role in American history, during the Westward Migration, the Civil War, and the Industrial Revolution. Between 2004 and 2006, Harrisburg gained 22 people. The region's extensive transportation infrastructure has allowed it to become a prominent center for trade, warehousing, and distribution.[62]. Harrisburg is also the home of the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show, the largest agricultural exhibition of its kind in the nation. There were no planes or cars in those days, so transportation to and from a, Despite thirty years of mismanagement and corruption under. Various important government meetings began to be held here, an organized infrastructure was established and plans for a State House were drawn and discussed. The median age was 33 years. The Patriot-News, which is published in Cumberland County, serves the Harrisburg area and has a tri-weekly circulation of over 100,000. Scholarships, funded by businesses, are available to attend another public school district or a private school. Widener Law Commonwealth’s location as the only law school in the capital of the nation’s fifth most populous state presents a world of opportunities for our students. What is the Meaning Behind the Flag of India? A local urban sketching group, Harrisburg Sketchers, convenes artists monthly.[65]. While praised for the vast number of economic improvements, Reed has also been criticized for population loss and mounting debt. Harrisburg is also known for the Three Mile Island accident, which occurred on March 28, 1979, near Middletown. [34] The City Council opposed the new receiver's plans for tax increases and advocated a stay of the creditor lawsuits with a bankruptcy filing, while Mayor Thompson continued to oppose bankruptcy. This location played an important part in its selection as the capital of Pennsylvania in 1812. In 2010 Forbes rated Harrisburg as the second best place in the U.S. to raise a family. An international tourist destination, Hersheypark is home to more than 75 rides and attractions, including 13 roller coasters. Harrisburg has been an important transportation center since the days of riverboat traffic. 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