Riverfront Park (Harrisburg)
| Riverfront Park | |
|---|---|
 Facing west toward the Susquehanna River with a view of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge | |
 | |
| Location | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 40°16′03″N 76°53′33″W / 40.2674°N 76.8925°W |
| Area | approx. 47.88 acres (19.38 ha) |
| Established | 1912 |
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 the I-83 John Harris Bridge 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 by Warren H. Manning as one of the first riverfront reclamations by American cities.[1] Riverfront Park overlooks 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.
Festivals and events[edit]
Riverfront Park plays host to many of Harrisburg's yearly festivals and events such as Kipona, Harrisburg Independence Day Celebration, ArtsFest, Woofstock Dog Festival, Pennsylvania Pump Primers' Antique Fire Apparatus Show & Muster, and the Pride Festival of Central PA.
Memorials[edit]
| Memorial[2] | Dedicated |
|---|---|
| Holocaust Memorial for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | 1994 |
| PennDOT Workers' Memorial | 2002 |
| World War I Buddy Monument | 1922 |
| Women's World War I Memorial | Unknown |
| POW-MIA Monument | Unknown |
| Vietnam Veterans Monument | 1986 |
| Dr. Charles B. Fager Jr. Memorial (Principal of Harrisburg Technical High School) | 1984 |
| Firefighters' Memorial | 1924 |
| Submarine Veterans Memorial | Unknown |
| Workers Memorial/AFL–CIO | 1990 |
| City Beautiful Movement | 1991 |
References[edit]
- ^ Muller, Edward K. (November 2012). "Urban Blueways: John Ormsbee Simonds and Riverfront Planning". Journal of Planning History. 11 (4): 308–329. doi:10.1177/1538513212445163. ISSN 1538-5132. S2CID 146966925.
- ^ "Monuments and memorials in Harrisburg". pennlive. 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
