Harrisburg

Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the county seat of Dauphin County. It is the largest city in the HarrisburgCarlisle metropolitan statistical area, also known as the Susquehanna Valley. Harrisburg experienced the Three Mile Island accident on March 28, 1979, in nearby Middletown. The Pennsylvania Farm Show, the largest indoor agriculture exposition in the United States, was first held in Harrisburg in 1917 and has been held there every early-to-mid January since then. In 2010, Forbes rated Harrisburg as the second-best place in the U.S. to raise a family. The city is located 83 miles (134 km) miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania's third-largest city, and 107 miles (172 km) northwest of Philadelphia, the state's largest city. In 1791, Harrisburg became incorporated, and in October 1812 it was named the Pennsylvania state capital, which it has remained ever since. In 1822, the impressive brick capitol was completed for $200,000. It was selected partly because of its strategic location, where the river flowed through the small state legislature. The area was an important resting place and crossroads for Native American traders, as the trails leading from the Delaware to the Ohio rivers intersected there. The first European contact with Native Americans in Pennsylvania was made by the Englishman, Captain John Smith, who journeyed from Virginia up the Susqueshanna River in 1608.

History

Harrisburg is the primary city name, but also Linglestown, Lower Paxton, Paxtonia, West Hanover are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Harrisburg. Harrisburg's site along the Susquehanna River is thought to have been inhabited by Native Americans as early as 3000 BC. It was settled as a trading post in 1719 at a location important to Westward expansion. The assembling here of the highly sectional Harrisburg Convention in 1827 led to the passage of the high protective-tariff bill of 1828. In 1839, William Henry Harrison and John Tyler were nominated for president and vice president of the United States at the first national convention of the Whig Party. 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. The city was also a vital link between the Atlantic coast and the Midwest, with several railroads running through the city and spanning the Susquesa River. The Pennsylvania Canal was built in 1834 and coursed the length of the town. The grandeur of the Colonial Revival capitol dominated the quaint town. No factories were present but there were blacksmith shops and other businesses. The streets were dirt, but orderly and platted in grid pattern. The residential houses were situated on only a few city blocks stretching southward from the capitol. They were mostly one story. The town was a scenic, pastoral town, typical of most of the day: compact and surrounded by farmland. The area was a notable stopping place along the Underground Railroad, as persons escaping slavery utilized theSusqueh Hanna River to access food and supplies before heading north towards Canada.

Geography

Harrisburg is located at 40°1611N 76°5232W (40.269789, -76.875613) in South Central Pennsylvania, within a two-hour drive of the metro areas of Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia and New York. The city is the county seat of Dauphin County. The hottest month of the year is July with a daily mean temperature of 77.5 °F (25.3 °C). Summer is usually hot and humid and occasional heat waves can occur. In some winters snowfall totals can exceed 40 inches (102 cm) while in other winters the region may receive very little snowfall. The largest snowfall on a calendar day was recorded on January 23, 2016, with 26.4 inches (107 cm) recorded at Harrisburg International Airport. Overall Harrisburg receives an average of 29.9 inches (75.9 cm) of snow per winter. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Harrisburg was 22.30 °C (30.6 °F) on January 21, 1994. July is the wettest and February the driest months, though July is clearly the most clearly driest in July. 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). The city limits fall with the "Cfa" Humid suptropical climate classification, while the suburban areas and rural surroundings fall just into the "Dfa"humid continental climate classification.

Cityscape

Downtown Harrisburg, which includes the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex, is the central core business and financial center for the HarrisburgCarlisle metropolitan statistical area. There are over a dozen large neighborhoods and historic districts within the city. Harrisburg's architecture spans over 200 years of evolving construction and design and thus contains a breadth of various architectural styles. The state capitol is only the third-tallest building of Harrisburg. The five tallest buildings are 333 Market Street with a height of 341 feet (104 m), Pennsylvania Place with aheight of 291 feet (89 m), the Pennsylvania state Capitol with a Height of 272 feet (83 m) and the Fulton Bank Building with aHeight of 255 feet (78 m) Harrisburg is home to the Pennsylvaniastate Capitol. Completed in 1906, the central dome was modeled on that of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Rome. The building was designed by Joseph Miller Huston and is adorned with sculpture, most notably the two groups, Love and Labor, the Unbroken Law and The Burden of Life, the Broken Law by sculptor George Grey Barnard. The city is also home to murals by Violet Oakley and Edwin Austin Abbey; tile floor by Henry Mercer, which tells the story of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Six Municipal Historic Districts, multiple National Historic District, and Architectural Conservation Overlay Districts have in turn have been established to preserve and guide any new development of areas with respect to their character.Harrisburg is the seat of government for Dauphin County and the Commonwealthof Pennsylvania.

Demographics

The six largest ethnic groups in the city are: African American (52.4%), German (15.0%), Irish (6.5%), Italian (3.3%), English (2.4%) and Dutch (1.0%). While the metropolitan area is approximately 15% German-American, 11.4% are Irish-American and 9.6% English-American. Since the 1950s, Harrisburg, along with other northeastern urban centers large and small, has experienced a declining population that is ultimately fueling the growth of its suburbs. The very first census taken in the United States occurred in 1790. At that time Harrisburg was a small, but substantial colonial town with a population of 875 residents. With the increase of the city's prominence as an industrial and transportation center, Harrisberg reached its peak population build up in 1950, topping out at nearly 90,000 residents. The city has one of the largest Pennsylvania Dutch communities in the nation, and also has the nation's ninth-largest Swedish-American communities in. the nation. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.15. The median income for the city was $26,920, and the median income was $29,556. 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. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

Economy

Harrisburg is the metropolitan center for some 400 communities. Its economy and more than 45,000 businesses are diversified with a large representation of service-related industries. The largest employers, the federal and state governments, provide stability to the economy. The region's extensive transportation infrastructure has allowed it to become a prominent center for trade, warehousing, and distribution. According to the Region Economic Development Corporation, the top employers in the region are: HP Inc., IBM, Hershey Foods, Harsco Corporation, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Rite Aid Corporation, Tyco Electronics, Gannett Fleming, and Volvo Construction Equipment. The state's capital is home to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, which has more than 1,000 employees. The city is also home to a number of private-sector companies, including Ahold Delhaize, ArcelorMittal Steel, HP Inc. and IBM, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services, which employs more than 2,000 people. It is the state's largest employer, followed by the University of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania State University, with about 1,200 employees. It also has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, at 6.7%. The state has the highest percentage of women in the workforce, at 8.8%. The city's unemployment rate is 3.7 percent. The top 10 employers in Harrisburg are: Ahold, HP, IBM, Hartsco, Rite aid, Gannonett Fleming and Tyco.

People and culture

Downtown Harrisburg has two major performance centers. The Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is the first center of its type in the United States where education, science and the performing arts take place under one roof. The Forum, a 1,763-seat concert and lecture hall built in 193031, is a state-owned and operated facility located within the State Capitol Complex. In 2004, Harrisburg hosted CowParade, an international public art exhibit that has been featured in major cities all over the world. Harrisburg notably is home to large events occurring throughout the year which attracts visitors from across the country and internationally. The annual Pennsylvania Farm Show held at the Pennsylvania Farm show Complex is the largest agricultural exhibition of its kind in the nation. Motorama, the nation's largest all-indoor motorsports event, is held annually and features over 2,000 racers. The Ice & Fire Festival, occurring each March downtown, exhibits ice sculptures, fire dancers, food trucks, and an ice skating rink with live music. Kipona Festival, inaugurated in 1916 and held each Labor Day Weekend, celebrates the Susquehanna River as a three-day festival on Riverfront Park and City Island with food, fireworks, live music, canoe races, and family carnival activities. The Greenbelt Tour de Belt is a weekend-long series of bike-related events and an art show and craft breweries put on each summer by Dauphin County. The East Coast Brew Series, a summer pop-up concert, features national music acts each summer.

Sports

Harrisburg is the hub of professional sports in South Central Pennsylvania. The city has three professional baseball teams, the Harrisburg Senators, the Lancaster Barnstormers, and the York Revolution. The Senators are the oldest team of the three, with the current incarnation playing since 1987. The team won the Eastern League championship in the 1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 seasons. In 1940, Harrisburg gained an Interstate League team affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates; however, the team remained in the city only until 1943, when it moved to nearby York and renamed the York Pirates. The current Harrissburg Senators, affiliated withThe Washington Nationals, have won theEastern League Championship in the 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 seasons. They are the only team to have played at Island Field, which was destroyed by flood waters in 1936. They have also won the Interstate League championship three times, in 1940, 1941, and 1942. The York Pirates have won two Interstate League championships, in 1941 and 1942, and one in 1943. The Harrisburg Nationals have won three Interstate League titles, in 1991, 1992, and 1994. They were the first team to do so since the league was founded in 1894. The Washington Nationals are the current owners of the Senators, who play at Nationals Park. The Nationals are affiliated with Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker and are based in Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. They play in the National League East division, which includes the New York Mets.

Government

Harrisburg has been served since 1970 by the "strong mayor" form of municipal government, with separate executive and legislative branches. The city had 424 full-time employees in 2019 (Water and Sewer employees were transferred to Capital Region Water effective 2013). The current mayor of Harrisburg is Wanda Williams whose term expires January 2026. The Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex dominates the city's stature as a regional and national hub for government and politics. All administrative functions of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are located within the complex and at various nearby locations. Due to Harrisburg's prominence as the state capital, nearly every agency for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is located in the courthouse. A large retired military population resides in South Central Peoria, which is also located in Harrisburg. Harrisburg has taxed land at a rate six times that on improvements since 1975, and this policy has been credited with reducing the number of vacant structures located in downtown Harrisburg from about 4,200 in 1982 to fewer than 500 in 1995. The trial court of general jurisdiction for Harrisburg rests with the Court of Dauphin County and is largely funded and operated by county resources and employees. Nearly two dozen local Pennsylvania jurisdictions, such as Harrisburg, use two-rate property taxation in which the tax on land value is higher and the taxon improvement value is lower. The state's Act 47 Harrisburg Strong Plan provisions since 2011 provide for municipalities that are in a state akin to bankruptcy.

Transport

Harrisburg is served by Harrisburg International Airport (MDT), which is located southeast of the city in Middletown. Capital City Airport (CXY), a moderate-sized business class and general aviation airport, is located across the Susquehanna River in the nearby suburb of New Cumberland, south of Harrisburg. Capital Area Transit (CAT) provides public bus and paratransit service throughout the greater metropolitan area. Construction of a commuter rail line designated the Capital Red Rose Corridor (previously named CorridorOne) was planned to link the city with nearby Lancaster until plans went dormant in 2011. Public transit provider in York County, Rabbit Transit, operates its RabbitEXPRESS bus service from York via Route 83N and from Gettysburg via Route 15N which serves both downtown Harrisburg and the main campus for Harrisburg Area Community College. Curbside intercity bus service is also provided by Megabus from the parking lot of the Harrisburg Mall in nearby Swatara Township, with direct service to Philadelphia, State College, and Pittsburgh. They connect Harrisburg to other Pennsylvania cities such as Allentown, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, Scranton, and Williamsport, and York and nearby, out-of-state cities like Baltimore, Binghamton, New York, Syracuse, and Washington, D.C., plus many other destinations via transfers. In early 2005, the project hit a roadblock when the Cumberland County commissioners opposed the plan to extend commuter rail to the West Shore. In 2006, a second phase of the rail project designated CorridorTwo was announced to the general public.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania = 15.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 67. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 41. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Harrisburg = 4.1 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 50,099 individuals with a median age of 35.2 age the population dropped by -3.98% in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 6,174.26 residents per square mile of area (2,383.98/km²). There are average 2.28 people per household in the 20,060 households with an average household income of $31,255 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 11.70% of the available work force and has dropped -4.74% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 18.82%. The number of physicians in Harrisburg per 100,000 population = 334.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Harrisburg = 39.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 33.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 125. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 193. 86 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 23.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 47, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania which are owned by the occupant = 34.95%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 61 years with median home cost = $78,610 and home appreciation of -1.56%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $15.32 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $6,271 per student. There are 14.6 students for each teacher in the school, 756 students for each Librarian and 434 students for each Counselor. 5.01% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 8.57% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 5.67% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).