Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Harrisburg (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Pennsylvania State Capitol, Cathedral of Saint Patrick, and State Museum of Pennsylvania. Also, be sure to include Fort Hunter Mansion and Park in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Harrisburg (Pennsylvania).
Table of Contents
Pennsylvania State Capitol
State government office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania located in downtown Harrisburg which was designed by architect Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative Renaissance themes throughout. The capitol houses the legislative chambers for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. It is also the main building of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex.
The seat of government for the state was initially in Philadelphia, then was relocated to Lancaster in 1799 and finally to Harrisburg in 1812. The current capitol, known as the Huston Capitol, is the third state capitol building built in Harrisburg. The first, the Hills Capitol, was destroyed in 1897 by a fire. The second, the Cobb Capitol, was left unfinished when funding was discontinued in 1899.
President Theodore Roosevelt attended the building's dedication in 1906. After its completion, the capitol project was the subject of a graft scandal. The construction and subsequent furnishing cost three times more than the General Assembly had appropriated for the design and construction; architect Joseph Huston and four others were convicted of graft for price gouging.
The Pennsylvania State Capitol is often referred to as a "palace of art" because of its many sculptures, murals and stained-glass windows, most of which are Pennsylvania-themed or Pennsylvanian-made. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006; the boundaries of the designation were expanded to include the Capitol Complex in 2013 with the capitol as a contributing property.[1]
Address: Third Street, 17101 Harrisburg
Cathedral of Saint Patrick
Cathedral in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Cathedral of Saint Patrick is a cathedral of the Catholic Church in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Harrisburg and is the seat of its bishop. It is a contributing property in the Harrisburg Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.[2]
Address: 212 State St, 17101 Harrisburg
State Museum of Pennsylvania
Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The State Museum of Pennsylvania is a non-profit museum at 300 North Street in downtown Harrisburg, run by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to preserve and interpret the region's history and culture. It is a part of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex. While it is officially named the State Museum of Pennsylvania, members of the public, as well as official publications, sometimes refer to the facility as the William Penn Memorial Museum; the museum's central hall features a large statue of Penn.[3]
Address: 300 North St, 17120-0101 Harrisburg
Fort Hunter Mansion and Park
Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Archibald McAllister House, now officially known as Fort Hunter Mansion, is a historic home located on the Susquehanna River approximately 6 miles north of downtown Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It consists of a 2-story, 2-room stone "cabin' built in 1787, to which was added in 1814 a 2 1/2-story, five-bay wide stone dwelling in the Federal style. The mansion has an overall "T"-floorplan, with the 2 1/2 story 1814 addition in front and the original 1787 cabin and an attached, woodframe summer kitchen built in the mid- to late-19th century to the rear. The mansion features a front portico with Tuscan order columns above which is a Palladian window on the second floor. The entry door has a semi-circular fanlight and sidelights with thin wooden ribbing.
The house is open as a 19th-century historic house museum and 40 acre park.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It is located in the Fort Hunter Historic District.[4]
Address: 5300 N Front St, 17110-1718 Harrisburg
St. Stephen's Episcopal Cathedral
Cathedral in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. St. Stephen's Episcopal Cathedral is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church in the United States. It is the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and is the seat of its bishop. The Cathedral, Cathedral House and Chapter House are located on Front Street in Downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna River. St. Stephen's School is just around the corner on Cranberry Street. The nave of the church was constructed in 1826 and can seat about 300 people. St. Stephen's became the diocesan cathedral on January 27, 1932. The church is a contributing property in the Harrisburg Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.[5]
Address: 221 N Front St, 17101-1407 Harrisburg
City Island
Island in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. City Island is a mile-long island in the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg and Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is used mainly for leisure and sports activities. Its previous names have included Turkey Island, Maclay's Island, Forster's Island and Hargast Island. The island can be reached from either side of the Susquehanna River by Market Street Bridge or, from the Harrisburg side and by pedestrians and cyclists only, by Walnut Street Bridge.[6]
Harris Tower
Harris Switch Tower, also known as HG Tower or Harris Tower, is an interlocking tower in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. The tower was built in 1929 by the Pennsylvania Railroad and remained in operation until it was closed in 1991 by Amtrak. Harris was purchased by the local chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in 1992 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.[7]
Address: 637 Walnut Street, Harrisburg
Susquehanna Art Museum
Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Susquehanna Art Museum is a non-profit art museum in the United States, located in Midtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the state's capital.[8]
Address: Harrisburg, 1401 North Third Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102
Broad Street Market
Farmers' market in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Broad Street Market, opened in 1863, is located in the Midtown neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Originally established on Broad Street by the Verbeke family, it is today one of the oldest continuously operating farmers markets in the country.[9]
Address: 1233 N 3rd St, Harrisburg (Midtown)
Pennsylvania National Fire Museum
Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania National Fire Museum is a museum devoted to fire fighter heritage in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The museum has an outstanding collection of artifacts from the hand-drawn equipment, extensive collection of vintage fire apparatus, artifacts, pictures and information about the history of fire fighting in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States.
The museum is housed in the former 1899 Victorian firehouse Reily Hose Company No. 10, of the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire.[10]
Address: 1820 N 4th St, 17102-1501 Harrisburg (Midtown)
Market Square
Tourist attraction in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg's Market Square is located in Downtown Harrisburg at the intersection of 2nd and Market Streets. The square was created in 1785. Since then, it has traditionally been the navigational center of the city, and since the 1980s has undergone a revival with several new commercial, residential and retail spaces either planned or built. It is one block from Riverfront Park and the Market Street Bridge, which crosses over the Susquehanna River.[11]
Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center
Building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, alternatively the House of Music, Arts & Culture, is a multidisciplinary arts and cultural center located in Midtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is located in the historic Police Athletic League building, which originally served as a Jewish Community Center about one mile from the Pennsylvania State Capitol complex.[12]
Address: 1110 N 3rd St, 17102-2018 Harrisburg (Midtown)
Simon Cameron House
Museum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Simon Cameron House, also known as John Harris Mansion and the Harris–Cameron Mansion, is a historic house museum at 219 South Front Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Built in 1766 and frequently extended and altered, it is one of Harrisburg's oldest buildings, and is nationally notable as the summer residence of Simon Cameron, an influential Republican Party politician during and after the American Civil War. The house and family items were donated to the Historical Society of Dauphin County in 1941, which now operates it as a museum. The mansion was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975, and is located in the Harrisburg Historic District.[13]
Address: 219 S Front St, 17104-1619 Harrisburg
Walnut Street Bridge
Bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Walnut Street Bridge also known as The People's Bridge, is a truss bridge that spanned the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania until 1996. Built by the Phoenix Bridge Company in 1890, it is the oldest remaining bridge connecting Harrisburg's downtown and Riverfront Park with City Island. Since flooding in 1996 collapsed sections of the western span, it no longer connects to the West Shore. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. A 2014 Cross-River Connections Study notes that the bridge currently serves as an "important bicycle and pedestrian link between City Island and downtown Harrisburg, connecting the city and the Capital Area Greenbelt to special events on City Island."[14]
Rockville Bridge
Arch bridge in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The Rockville Bridge is the longest stone masonry arch railroad viaduct ever built, with forty-eight 70-foot spans and a total length of 3,820 feet. The bridge crosses the Susquehanna River about 5 miles north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The eastern end is in Rockville and the western end is just south of Marysville.
Completed in 1902 by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it remains in use today by the Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak's Pennsylvanian route.
The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1979.[15]
National Civil War Museum
Museum in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The National Civil War Museum, located at One Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is a permanent, nonprofit educational institution created to promote the preservation of material culture and sources of information that are directly relevant to the American Civil War of 1861–1865, and the aftermath period of the war as related to Civil War Veterans' service organizations, including the Grand Army of the Republic, United Confederate Veterans and the Daughters of the Confederacy to 1920. The museum also serves as the National Headquarters for the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic. In 2009, the museum became affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.[16]
Address: 1 Lincoln Cir, 17103-2411 Harrisburg
State Street Bridge
Bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The State Street Bridge, also known as the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Bridge, is a 1,312-foot concrete, deck arch bridge that spans Pennsylvania Route 230 and Paxton Creek in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The bridge was completed in 1930 and was intended to be the principal entrance into downtown Harrisburg and the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex from the east.
The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1988, and was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in 1997.[17]
Address: State St, 17101 Harrisburg
Pennsylvania Governor's Residence
Government office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Governor's Residence is the official residence of the governor of Pennsylvania, in the Uptown neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The neo-Georgian residence was built from 1966 to 1968 and designed by George M. Ewing, heading an architectural firm in Philadelphia. The mansion is currently only used for official functions and meetings, because Governor Tom Wolf commutes from his private residence in nearby Mount Wolf.
The seven-bay brick front has a wide projecting pedimented central bay, in which a Palladian window perches on a pedimented doorway. The mansion is home to two Steinway grand pianos used for concerts and to entertain dinner guests. Every holiday season the house is opened for special tours.
The mansion is located adjacent to the Susquehanna River and flooding has proven to be a significant hazard. Water intrusion in the basement area is a frequent issue and the mansion has been evacuated three times since its construction due to serious inundation. The first and most serious time was during Hurricane Agnes in 1972 when then-Governor Milton Shapp and his wife Muriel had to be rescued by boat. The most recent was 2011 during Tropical Storm Lee.[18]
Address: 2035 N Front St, 17102 Harrisburg (Midtown)
Harrisburg Cemetery
Cemetery in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg Cemetery, sometimes referred to as Mount Kalmia Cemetery, is a prominent rural cemetery and national historic district in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, located at 13th and Liberty streets in the Allison Hill/East Harrisburg neighborhoods of the city. It was officially founded in 1845, although interments took place for many years before. The cemetery is also the burial ground for American Revolutionary War soldiers. The caretaker's cottage was built in 1850. It was designed by famed 19th Century architect, Andrew Jackson Downing, in the Gothic Revival style.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[19]
Address: 521 N 13th St, 17103-1304 Harrisburg
Market Street Bridge
Arch bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Market Street Bridge is a stone arch bridge that spans the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania. The current structure is the third bridge built at its current location and is the second oldest remaining bridge in Harrisburg. The bridge carries BicyclePA Route J across the river.
The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1988 and was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in 1997.[20]
Salem United Church of Christ
United church of christ in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Salem United Church of Christ, formerly known as Old Salem Reformed Church, is a historic Reformed church at 231 Chestnut Street in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The church was built in 1821–1822, and is a two-story brick building in a Classical style. It features a large square bell tower topped by a domed cupola. The tower is flanked by two, three-story towers with stepped gables. A two-story, Sunday school annex was built to the rear of the church in 1862.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[21]
Address: 231 Chestnut St, 17101 Harrisburg
Holocaust Memorial for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The Holocaust Memorial for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a Holocaust memorial at Front and Sayford Streets along Riverfront Park, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was conceived by a committee of Holocaust survivors in 1992 representing the Jewish Community Center of Harrisburg. In light of publicity given to the U.S. Holocaust Museum, a group of survivors that had lived in the Harrisburg area pressed for a local memorial. It was designed by David Ascalon for $200,000 on a site designated by the City of Harrisburg along the public park land adjacent to the Susquehanna River. The Memorial was dedicated in 1994. An annual Yom Hashoah observance is held at the site.[22]
Reservoir Park
City park in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Reservoir Park is the oldest and largest municipal public park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and occupies approximately 85 acres in the Allison Hill neighborhood of the city. Reservoir Park is also home to the National Civil War Museum and provides the setting for many of Harrisburg's most popular outdoor festivals and performances. The park is part of the Capital Area Greenbelt, a 20-mile greenway surrounding portions of the city.[23]
Address: 100 Concert Dr, 17103 Harrisburg
Cumberland Valley Railroad Bridge
Bridge in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Cumberland Valley Railroad Bridge is a currently unused railroad bridge.
The bridge links downtown Harrisburg, City Island, and the western suburbs of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. The bridge was originally constructed by the Cumberland Valley Railroad as part of the mainline from Harrisburg to Hagerstown via Chambersburg. The Cumberland Valley Railroad itself was leased as a subsidiary by the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The first crossing, a wooden covered bridge, began construction in the summer of 1836 and opened on January 16, 1839. It was destroyed by fire on December 4, 1844. The four eastern spans remained, but were washed away during the spring floods in 1846.
A second crossing in a slightly different location began construction on February 3, 1845, and was completed in 1846. This bridge had an upper deck for railroad traffic, and a lower deck for pedestrian and wagon traffic. Use of the lower deck was discontinued when the bridge was strengthened in 1850. The bridge's latticework timbers were removed and replaced with heavier braces from 1855 to 1856, and new wooden arches were built in 1872. From 1880 to 1886, the piers beneath the bridge were gradually replaced, allowing it to carry much heavier traffic.
Construction on an open iron truss bridge parallel to the existing wooden span began in September 1886. The work was done by the Union Bridge Company and the Edge Moore Bridge Company. The new bridge, whose eastern piers were 4 feet (1.2 m) higher than the old span's, opened in July 1887.
The present concrete structure was completed about 1916. Although the majority of the bridge has been abandoned for rail use over the past several decades, it has been suggested the bridge become the principal crossing for the Corridor One rail commuter system to serve the renewed rail needs of the metropolitan area and of Harrisburg's west shore. With its standing ownership agreements, this plan faces major challenges as the bridge is currently shared among three owners. Two of these are the railroads on either side which continue to operate on the tracks immediately off of the bridge on either side. The third owner is Capital Area Transit which currently does not own any property with immediate access to the bridge. Immediately to the south of the Cumberland Valley Bridge, a similar iron truss structure was erected in 1891 by the Reading Company, originally known as the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad.[24]
Riverfront Park
Park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Riverfront Park is a public park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that spans beside the Susquehanna River.
The park runs parallel to the Susquehanna River between the shoreline and Front Street, from Vaughn Street at the north to Paxton Street at the south. It includes a concrete waterfront esplanade as well as greenspace on the riverbank first developed during the City Beautiful Movement in the early 20th Century. Riverfront Park offers picturesque views of the river, City Island, Wormleysburg and Blue Mountain in the distance. Riverfront Park is also part of the larger Capital Area Greenbelt and maintains bike lanes and paved paths. Along the park are many statues, memorials, a series of exercise pits, gardens, public art installations, and a Harrisburg Centennial time capsule. Special areas include the Sunken Gardens, gravesite of John Harris Sr. and Kunkel Memorial Plaza.[25]
Wildwood Park
Park in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Wildwood Park is a public park and nature sanctuary in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The 229 acre park is known for its 90-acre shallow lake with over 6 miles of trails and mile-long boardwalk over the wetlands. The park is located within the city limits of Harrisburg; however, it is administered and maintained by the Dauphin County Parks and Recreation Department. Wildwood Park runs parallel to the Paxton Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River, on the northern side of Harrisburg and adjacent to the main campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College. Wildwood Park is also part of the Capital Area Greenbelt.[26]
Address: 100 Wildwood Way, 17110-2914 Harrisburg
Dauphin County Courthouse
Building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Dauphin County Courthouse is a government building of Dauphin County located in the county seat, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 2, 1993.[27]
Gamut Theatre Group
Concerts and shows, Theater
Address: 605 Strawberry Sq, 17101-1821 Harrisburg
Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse
Building in Dauphin County. The Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse at 228 Walnut Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is a twelve-story courts facility located in the central business district of the city. The building, built in 1966, is named for former President Ronald Reagan. It was officially renamed on March 9, 2004. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania, is housed within the building.[28]
Harrisburg Historic District
Harrisburg Historic District is a national historic district located at Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 340 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site in a 19th-century residential area of Harrisburg. It contains the original core of the city. Located in the district is Harris Park, which unifies the district. Notable buildings include the Y.M.C.A. William Maclay Mansion, Grace Methodist Church, St. Stephen's Episcopal Cathedral, St. Michael's Lutheran Church, Cathedral of Saint Patrick and the Unit Row Houses. The John Harris Mansion is located in the district and listed separately.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[29]
German Evangelical Zion Lutheran Church
Church. German Evangelical Zion Lutheran Church, now known as Tabernacle Baptist Church, is a historic Lutheran church at Capital and Herr Streets in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The church was built in 1886, and is a two-story brick building in a modified Gothic style. It features a three-story square bell tower with large oval windows and brick tracery. Attached to the church by a one-bay, two-story section is a three-story brick parsonage built in 1897.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[30]
Zembo Shrine
The Zembo Shrine Building, also known as the Zembo Mosque, is a Masonic building located in the Uptown neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is significant architecturally as an example of Moorish Revival architecture. Construction on the edifice was started in 1928, and opened the building in 1930.
The building was to be sold in 2018 to TempleLive LLC. The initial asking price was $950,000. According to news reports, the building was to be sold by the Zembo Shriners in order to facilitate the organization's mission of raising money for 22 children's hospitals. However, that sale fell through when the Beaty Group was unable to integrate the venue with other regional performing arts establishments. In late February 2022, the Board of Directors of Zembo Shriners announced that the building was no longer for sale and it would remain with the Fraternal organization.
Zembo Shrine is affiliated to Shriners International, a Masonic order and a philanthropic organization.[31]
Address: 2801 N 3rd St, 17110 Harrisburg (Uptown)
Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge
The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge carries Norfolk Southern rail lines across the Susquehanna River between Cumberland County, Pennsylvania and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Some of its concrete piers encase stone masonry piers from an earlier truss bridge on this site, completed in 1891 by the Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh Railroad, which was then acquired by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad to connect its Harrisburg and Lurgan lines. The current structure was constructed from 1920 to 1924 by replacing the trusses with concrete arches one track at a time. The bridge has fifty-one concrete arches, three more than the nearby Rockville Bridge.[32]
William R. Griffith House
William R. Griffith House, also known as Cathedral House and Cathedral House of St. Stephen's Episcopal Cathedral, is a historic home located at Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1840 and 1843, and is a three-story, three-bay wide brick dwelling in the Greek Revival style. The front block measures 28 feet by 40 feet, with a narrower rear block measuring 15 feet by 50 feet. It features a front portico with freestanding Ionic order columns.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[33]
Old Midtown Historic District
The Old Midtown Historic District is a historic district in the Midtown neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The district is located from Forster to Verbeke, and Front to Third street. It represents the first urbanized neighborhood in the city of Harrisburg. The Historic Harrisburg Association first lobbied for its creation in 1974. The area of Third street near Verbeke is known as the Historic Midtown Market District and is home to many unique boutiques, galleries and shops. Former Harrisburg Mayor William K. Verbeke is the namesake for Verbeke Street and first bought and developed the area.[34]