Harrisburg Pennsylvania received a charter to be a city on March 19, 1860. This March, the city celebrates its 150 anniversary and many activities are planned to mark the occasion.
The two most prominent activities include the “Paint the Town” murals project and the Landmark Banners project. Throughout the city, murals will be painted to commemorate historical events, neighborhood culture, and social issues from Midtown to Allison Hill and Uptown to Shipoke. The first mural was unveiled on August 31, 2009 and is located at 1633 North 3rd Street. Ophelia Chambliss created the first mural entitled “Mending Hearts, Minds, and Communities.”
The Landmark Banners project actually started last summer, with banners depicting historical landmarks hanging around the city. The landmarks, some of which no longer exist in Harrisburg, commemorate important buildings and areas of the city. The banners were removed for the winter, but will return to light posts in the summer of 2010. The images depicted on the banners came from the Harrisburg City Archives, Dauphin County Historical Society, Historic Harrisburg Association, and the Pennsylvania State Archives. You can see where the banners are and learn more about them on an interactive map located on the Celebrate Harrisburg website.
The Harrisburg SusqueCentennial will also be providing free workshops on genealogy for residents of Harrisburg. These workshops will not only help families trace their personal history, but will also help build the history of Harrisburg through their research. The Institute for Cultural Partnership is helping sponsor the sessions. For more information on dates and locations, visit the webpage.
The Harrisburg SusqueCentennial currently is seeking volunteers to help assist in the programs and projects dedicated to the celebration. Go online for a selection of needs – Administrative Support, Production Assistance, Researcher, or Transcription. Volunteers help make events like this possible, so please consider giving of your time. Sign up here.
For more information on Harrisburg's SusqueCentennial, visit the website.