About Harrisburg
The satellite view shows Harrisburg, the county seat of Dauphin County and the capital of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, one of the Mid-Atlantic states in the northeast of the
United States. The city is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania, about 80 mi (130 km) north of
Baltimore, and 107 mi (172 km) west of
Philadelphia PA.
Downtown Harrisburg with Pennsylvania State Capitol in the background.
Image: Rina Pitucci
The city began its existence as a trading post in 1719. The town was incorporated
in 1791, and in 1812 it became Pennsylvania's state capital. Ten years later in 1822, the state capitol was completed; it burned to the ground in 1897.
Today the core city of Harrisburg has a population of about 49,200 inhabitants, in the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan area live about 565,000 people (in 2018).
The city is a regional center
for trade, warehousing, and distribution. Largest employers are the state government, the US Federal government, Giant Food Stores, the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts.
The city is home to several institutions of higher learning, like the Dixon University Center (
www.dixonuniversitycenter.org), the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (
www.harrisburgu.edu), and the Penn State Harrisburg (
harrisburg.psu.edu).
Harrisburg highlights:
Historic places:
Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex (
www.pacapitol.com), the Beaux-Arts style statehouse was completed 1906, home to the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Fort Hunter Mansion (
forthunter.org), the Archibald McAllister House is a 19th-century mansion built on a bluff overlooking the Susquehanna River; it is now a museum surrounded by a park.
Museums:
The
State Museum of Pennsylvania (
statemuseumpa.org) is located near the Capitol; the museum covers Pennsylvania's history from prehistoric times up to current events.
The
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts (
www.whitakercenter.org), is a museum with an IMAX theater; it combines science and performing arts under one roof.
The
Susquehanna Art Museum (
www.susquehannaartmuseum.org) SAM is Central Pennsylvania’s only dedicated art museum.
Libraries:
State Library of Pennsylvania (
www.statelibrary.pa.gov), Pennsylvania's state library is one of the largest research libraries in the Commonwealth, located on the grounds of the State Capitol Complex.
Farm Shows:
Showtime! The final drive of the 2018 Junior Market Hog Show at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. These days, junior livestock competitions have become serious business. [1]
Image: PA FarmShow
Pennsylvania Farm Show (
www.farmshow.pa.gov) in the Farm Show Complex and Expo Center (
pafarmshowcomplex.pa.gov), is the largest indoor agricultural fair held in the United States, with 300 commercial and 10,000 competitive exhibits. Some highlights of the annual show are, an open meat goat show, a Sheep-to-Shawl competition, tractor square dance, celebrity cow milking, butter sculptures, and various horse pulling competitions.
Shopping:
Colonial Park Mall (
www.colonialparkmall.com), a shopping mall in Lower Paxton Township with 80 stores and services.
Amusement parks:
Hersheypark (
www.hersheypark.com), a family theme park with more than 45 attractions, situated in Hershey, about 15 miles (24 km) east of Harrisburg.
Sports:
FNB Field is a baseball park located on City Island; it is the home field of the Harrisburg Senators (
www.senatorsbaseball.com).
Giant Center (
www.giantcenter.com) is a multi-purpose arena in Hershey, home to the Hershey Bears (
www.hersheybears.com) ice hockey team.
Incidents:
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant
Image: Z22
Southeast of Harrisburg International Airport you can see "Three Mile Island", known for the worst civilian nuclear accident in the United States - until now.
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown in reactor number 2 on 28 March 1979, that resulted in the destruction of the reactor and the release of radioactive gases and radioactive iodine into the environment. The cleanup at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant took 14 years with a price tag of $1 billion.
Just zoom in to see Pennsylvania State Capitol, the Beaux-Arts style building houses the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
The page shows a city map of Harrisburg with expressways, main roads, and streets; zoom out to find the location of
Harrisburg International Airport (
IATA code: MDT), 12 mi (20 km) by road, southeast of the central business district and the location of the Capital City Airport, about 5.5 mi (9 km) by road, southeast of the central business district.
To find a location use the form below.