Harrisburg

Images of America: Pennsylvania

by Linda A. Ries

A frontier town, crossroads of commerce, state capital, business center, and “City Beautiful,” Harrisburg has been and remains all these and more. Its heritage of steel, iron, railroads, canals, business, and government, along with the diverse peoples who helped create it, is collected in this volume, which explores the vast history of this unique Pennsylvania city through the medium of historical photographs. Many images presented in Harrisburg have never before been published and have been carefully selected from the vast collections of the Historical Society of Dauphin County and the Pennsylvania State Archives. From the ever-changing Capitol Complex to the Lochiel Train Wreck, the Civil War, Hurricane Agnes, and Three Mile Island, the images demonstrate the response to these events by Harrisburg’s resilient citizens. Changes through technology, transportation, recreation, and lifestyles have also altered the city over the years. Some buildings and sites no longer exist; some are still standing. Most of the images were made by Harrisburg’s late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century photographers and are presented here for the education and enjoyment of longtime residents, visitors, and the just plain curious.

Genres: Local History, History, Photography

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2000

Reviews

[Patrick Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been a fan of the "Images of America" series, being a fan of history, I love the old photos that are presented in the series. This book was particularly interesting to me because I am a native of the city profiled and know exactly what it looks like now along with the verbal and written history of what it had looked like before. Now, I have the visual format to file in my mind with what I knew.

I would have preferred to see some more of the downtown area and the old 8th ward however I realize it's hard to cover everything.

Amazing series, very good book.

[michelle]

Excellent historical representation of Historical Harrisburg.