Hello Fodor’s

So, my story is I live in Montreal, but help my mom out around the house in the DC suburbs over the summer. She went to the beach this past week with my brother and his family, so I used this week instead to redeem some Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Status benefits. I went back and forth in my mind about how I wanted to do that but eventually landed on this:

July 29 Richmond VA- Harrisburg PA Amtrak Northeast Regional and Keystone Trains
July 29-31 Harrisburg PA
July 31 Harrisburg- Lancaster Amtrak Keystone
July 31-Aug 2 Lancaster PA (then return to DC)

*Amtrak Trains*

I love trains, I don’t know quite why, but I do. After visiting a dear college friend in Richmond VA, I upgraded from coach to business to Philadelphia with a Select Status coupon and then used a Select Status lounge pass to wait for the Keystone to get to Harrisburg. Business class is nice for the extra leg room and complimentary nonalcoholic beverages. The Metropolitan Lounge in Philadelphia has nonalcoholic drinks and mostly pre-packaged snacks; if using a lounge pass, NYC has the best lounge, although I was glad for a more comfortable seat for waiting as 30th Street Station was super busy on Tuesday with numerous people sitting on the floor.

While I had passed through Harrisburg by train and bus and been on the highway on the outskirts of Harrisburg, I had never walked around and explored the city before. This trip was to rectify that and also to tour the State Capitol building, which had been recommended to me by a Fodor’s regular poster. Rather than do 4 days in Harrisburg, a 2 night-2 night split Harrisburg-Lancaster sounded most appealing to me with the goals I had, as I have also never visited Lancaster either.

*Coming Up Next: Harrisburg. Impressions of the city and activities: State Museum of Pennsylvania, PA State Capitol Tour, Harris (Cameron) House.

I always love your trip reports and can't wait to hear more.
It will be interesting to see you you got around Lancaster without a car.

*Harrisburg Impressions*

I lived in Baltimore City only two hours away from Harrisburg back in the early 2000s and in some ways I was reminded of Maryland’s largest city walking the streets of the Pennsylvania capital, but on a smaller scale. Yes, there were signs of urban decay with closed storefronts even on busy 2nd street, with more than a handful of itinerants seemingly aimlessly wandering around. Broad Street Market was a sadder looking affair than some of bustling Baltimore markets, although it seemed like their A/C was not functioning properly, so I might have hit it at an unusual moment. Like Baltimore though, there were streets where I was seduced by the architecture which told of a storied past, my favourite being State Street between Front and Third Street with handsome churches, appealing looking row homes and pleasant restaurants/cafes.

Harrisburg’s Front Street had some handsome homes that told a less sung tale of 19th and 18th century America. One beautiful one was owned by Ulysses S. Grant’s Secretary of War, J. Donald Cameron and a second was the William Maclay home, owned by the “first U.S. senator”. Maclay was so-named because Pennsylvania was the first state to elect senators and his name was chosen before the second PA senator. According to a plaque, he was critical of Washington and Jefferson.

The Susquehanna River provides a scenic backdrop as one walks on the grassy paths adjacent Front Street, although my favourite view of the Susquehanna was from City Island, as one gets
both river and cityscape from there. The arched concrete bridges over the river, especially when seen from the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge, also are a sight to behold. Pity it was quite muggy, I imagine on a beautiful fall day that walking over to City Island might be a quite fun thing to do—I understand there’s mini golf and a train on the island; as for me, my main appreciation of the island was of the shaded paths and river views. I hope the Pride of Susquehanna boat will return to doing rides to the island again one day?

TripAdvisor wags do not have much good to say about downtown Harrisburg and nearly put me off but perhaps my years living in Baltimore prepared me more than others for eastern US urban decay alongside a certain stateliness. I truly would have been glad to see the city just for what I’ve mentioned so far but did not find it recommendable to all. However, the city has a pièce de resistance that would make me even recommend a visit to just about anybody…coming up…

*Coming Up: Activities in Harrisburg: State Museum, Capitol and Harris House

*State Museum*

The State Museum is right next to the Capitol building and has a variety of themed sections. I only managed to see 2 floors of the 3 floors, given that I has signed up for a 12 Noon Capitol visit. The museum was excellent, one of the better ones of its kind, with areas looking at Native American history, William and Hannah Penn, revolutionary war, civil war history, mid 20th century African American segregation in Levittown, Highland Pool (Pittsburgh)and Girard College, industry from all over PA, iconic PA women and probably others I’m forgetting. Don’t ask me how I got this far in life without knowing this, but I only realized while there that the man on Quaker oat boxes is William Penn. Also, I did not know that Planter’s peanuts (courtesy of some Italian immigrants), Slinky and San Giorgio (pasta) hail from Pennsylvania. Hershey I knew but did not know the company has been around since the 1890s—I enjoyed seeing some of the early Hershey boxes.

*State Capitol*

Unbeknownst to me, Harrisburg had to fight a bit to retain capital status, with Philadelphia patriots pushing at times for the capital to be moved to PA’s largest city, especially in the aftermath of Lancaster’s brief stint as capital in the early 19th century. The current Capitol building is Pennsylvania’s third, with the first destroyed in a fire during winter in the late 19th century. The night before my visit, the outside of the Capitol struck me as quite unique, with openings (windows?) in the dome making the dome appear to me like a woman’s swim cap from the 1920s, studded with diamonds all the way around.

The exterior is lovely, matching those of the most magnificent Capitol buildings I have seen in the US, with remarkable sculptures of 27 figures. But oh the interior! The Pennsylvania Capitol building now becomes the 10th for which I’ve done a tour of the inside (and the 13th that I’ve seen the outside—3 sadly I did not tour for a variety of reasons). All the state houses and provincial legislatures I have seen so far have had great art, architecture and beauty, and tours given by knowledgeable guides have always been excellent. The PA Capitol building interior however is in another stratosphere, so much so that I think it to be one of the greatest building interiors I’ve seen in the United States. And Teddy Roosevelt it seems was similarly moved, describing the building as “the handsomest he ever saw”. I would recommend a visit to any remotely in the area to make an effort to head out that way.

I should have known I was in for something special at the Capitol even signing up. Usually visiting a state Capitol, I just go, getting in the next available tour slot (usually it’s on the hour in late morning and early afternoon); with Pennsylvania, one is recommended to sign up online and I noticed there were relatively few slots available to see the building, even on a random Wednesday. It turns out, I picked a good time to go as House, Senate and Supreme Court were out of session. Of note, the PA Capitol has a nice cafe and gift shop, not necessarily on offer in all Capitol buildings.

I wish I could explain what made it so incredible. Sure I could use words like sweeping marble staircase, beautiful floor mosaics, circular ceiling paintings and floor-to-ceiling wall paintings in the legislature, magnificent chandeliers and tall dramatic statues, circular stain glass windows by William B. Van Ingen, who studied under Louis Tiffany, paintings with almost hidden messages by Violet Oakley. But words fail to capture the sheer majesty of it all.

*Harris House/Cameron House*

The house was extended and modified under Simon Cameron, Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of war, so consequently had a later 19th century and even early 20th from Cameron’s grandson look to it than what one might expect for a home built by the founder of Harrisburg, John Harris Jr. in the 18th century. The docent was terrific & very knowledgeable about Harrisburg history in addition to the various owners of the Harris home—I very much enjoyed the tour.

*Coming up: Lancaster PA, where I have recently arrived. Downpours have prevented me from doing much so far, but should have some more to report before in the upcoming days*

Fountain in front of Pennsylvania State Capitol

Main hall. PA State Capitol

House of Representatives PA State Capitol

Harrisburg skyline from City Island

Bridges over the Susquehanna

Early Hershey’s Kiss container

Took me a moment to realize this man reading a newspaper by the Riverwalk was actually a statue and art.

William Maclay House

Nice pictures, Daniel,it is always interesting to read your TRs. It is good to see these ppl aces through your eyes.

As usual, I am loving your trip report.
I have lived in PA my entire life and have never visited the Capitol building!
The entry hall reminds me of the entrance to Founders Hall at the Milton Hershey School.

The Rotunda at Milton Hershey School in Founders Hall is an impressive architectural feature, but its design is not directly inspired by the Capitol Building in Harrisburg.
Instead, the Founders Hall building, including its dome and Rotunda, draws inspiration from the Pantheon in ancient Rome. It incorporates both classical and contemporary design elements, aiming to be a source of inspiration for the future while commemorating the past. The dome itself is quite large, measuring 74 feet from the floor to the interior ceiling.

Schmerl—Thank you. I’ve been doing pretty well without a car in Lancaster so far, with a hotel right near the Central Market—I have one activity planned where I’ll be using an Uber. I realize that my visit may be different from that of others as many use Lancaster as a base to explore the country surrounding. Lancaster is so different from Harrisburg and also not what I was expecting at all—will report back later as I have plenty to tell.

emalloy—I always appreciate your comments. Thank you!

Your shots of the Capitol. are stunning, Daniel. Thanks for this TR.

My preconceived notion of Lancaster was really far removed from the reality of what Lancaster is. I imagined the market as being a more open air or tent kind of deal with the sound of Amish arriving by clip clopping horses pulling buggies. I was picturing a town with lots of wooden homes and kind of spread out. Those of you in the know will immediately know that I was WAY off…

*The Reality of Downtown Lancaster*

Lancaster feels quite urban, but not in a somewhat deserted way like Harrisburg; in fact, Lancaster does not feel much like Harrisburg at all, which is kind of amazing given how close they are. Lancaster is quite bustling, with a varied immigrant and multiethnic population and significant tourism. There were large wedding parties at my hotel which seemed solidly upper middle class, speaking to the perception of Lancaster as a romantic wedding destination.

Other thoughts formulated as I walked around. At my first meal at the House of Pizza, I felt the clientele there had a feel that I wanted to describe as “Jersey” or “Joizy” in manner of dress and way of speech and that was an element of the city too. There is a compactness to the city too, with much in a reasonable walking distance, alleviating my concern about sprawl. Founded in the mid 1700s, this is a venerable old US city, an especially important inland city at the time of the revolution, accessible to Philadelphia early on via a toll road, capital of Pennsylvania from the end of the 18th century until 1812 and capital of the US for one day!

*Historic Walking Tour*

My expectation of a city with wood structures was miles off—during a historic walking tour, I learned that Lancaster is known as the City of Brick! My first night in Lancaster in fact, I felt I could have been in Society Hill Philadelphia or South End Boston, such were the charming brick row homes, especially along Orange Street near Lime and Shippen Streets, but also in other areas of Old Lancaster in easy walking distance from Penn Square by the Central Market. The walking tour by the way was a great way to get introduced to the city, leaving from the Marriott lobby and led by a knowledgeable man in 18th century garb. Interestingly, he was from Lancaster but had an accent that reminded me of the Baltimore accent. Highlights of the tour were walking into a courtyard by the oldest tobacconist in the US beside the Demuth Museum and learning about those buried at the St. James Cemetery including wealthy Lancaster iron manufacturer Robert Coleman, whose daughter Anne was seriously courted by later president James Buchanan, but is said to have broken the engagement off as she believed Buchanan to be after her money. Losing Anne is said to be a reason Buchanan remained a bachelor, and he still remains the only bachelor US president.

*Central Market*

The Central Market is only open Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 6am to 3pm. The building for the market is quite handsome with pointy turrets and the market has been continuously operating since the 1700s. While there are several Amish stands for one’s shoo fly pie needs and quality jams and produce, there are other options too including a popular sub stand, and another with empanadas, to name two that I remember. Definitely a special place and experience.

*Wheatland*

I also took an Uber out to Wheatland, a house where president James Buchanan lived with his niece Harriet Lane and his talented artist nephew Buck Henry. The tour was given by a guide in 19th century hoop skirt. Unlike some house museums, a sizeable number of items on display actually belonged to either Buchanan or Harriet Lane. Harriet Lane had much tragedy in her life, being orphaned, losing husband and her only two children, but on the other hand, she also had incredible travels thanks to her uncle’s ambassadorship amongst other reasons and got to meet Queen Victoria and corresponded with the sovereign throughout her life.

*Photos of Lancaster and Final Thoughts to Come*

William Penn Square. Lancaster Central Market at right.

Lancaster Central Market Interior

Wheatland, James Buchanan home

James Buchanan’s carriage

Thanks Tdudette— I’ve discovered that stunning places often can make for stunning photos even if they don’t fully capture the essence of a place.

*Harrisburg and Lancaster*

Leaving Lancaster, I can see now why I had a vision of the city being smaller and primarily made of wood, as some of the smaller communities surrounding Lancaster do have wooden homes with plenty of barns. You really can’t see the heart of Lancaster from the train routes passing through.

This was a very worthwhile trip having only 4 days from the DC area. From the PA Capitol to the Susquehanna River to experiencing the history, architecture and markets of Lancaster, not only were good times had but I feel I have ended this week a bit wiser to this part of the world than at the beginning.

Wishing you all happy summer travels!

Bravo as always, Daniel. Where to next??

Wonderful report once again Daniel.
I have been to the Lancaster area many times, but have never been in "downtown" Lancaster.

Thanks Tdudette! Ideas abound!

schmerl—That’s so interesting. A fellow on the historic Lancaster walking tour from New Jersey said he’d been to the surrounding area numerous times but that it was his first into the historic center of Lancaster. Not everyone seeks out places evoking life in late 1700s/1800s US, but for those that do, central Lancaster is a worthy stop. Closest parallel I could think of is something like Old Town Alexandria or Fredericksburg VA, minus the river, with a bit of a Joizy twist (or what seemed in my ignorance to be Jersey, but is SE Pennsylvania).

Downtown Lancaster might leave some disappointed who want to glimpse Amish living. Although I will say, buying shoo fly pie, jams and pretzels, I enjoyed speaking with the bonneted Amish women vendors at the Lancaster Central Market. (There were some Amish men in straw hats at another stand selling grain-fed meat, I just didn’t use that stand.). I appreciated the earnestness and genuine responses, which seemed more human and acknowledging of my existence than many interactions in this day and age. For example, when I asked one how she was doing today, she said with cheer that it was such a glorious morning, made you want to get up and live and work! I agreed about the morning and commented that the previous days had been quite muggy and the temperatures made you want to cherish the day! I’ve seen but I don’t think I had ever spoken to an Amish person before.

Thanks for your comments!

Thanks for this report Daniel. I've visited downtown Lancaster but never Harrisburg.

"Not everyone seeks out places evoking life in late 1700s/1800s US, but for those that do, central Lancaster is a worthy stop"

For those who do, may I recommend a visit to the Mercer Museum in Doylestown PA. Mr Mercer was an anthropologist, archaeologist, tile maker and amateur architect, who assembled a collection of 18th and 19th century artifacts and tools, all pre-industrial. I visited a month or so ago, having heard about Mercer and his projects when reading American Ramble by the late Neil King Jr. A very thoughtful and well-written book.

Thanks for the report, Daniel.
We have driven past Harrisburg many times on our way to/from MD to visit family but have never stopped to see the sights. This makes me think it might be a good place to break up our next trip.

I thought Wheatland was an interesting site in Lancaster. Buchanan was certainly not our greatest president. My husband and I have gotten interested in another important (and much more admirable) politician from Lancaster, Thaddeus Stevens. A museum about him and his long-time partner Lydia Hamilton Smith is scheduled to open soon.

The area around Lancaster is beautiful. When we were there over Thanksgiving we stopped at the large Farmer's Market in Bird-in-Hand which had a lot of tourists but also local shoppers, many arriving in buggies.

Fra_Diavolo—Thank you for your response. Doylestown has been on my radar for some time but never have quite made a visit happen. I do seem to find myself in Center City Philadelphia once every several years, so maybe the Mercer Museum will give me that extra push?

vttraveler— Thanks as always. Maybe the Bird-in-Hand market is more what I was visualizing. Wheatland was interesting, and to me it was as much the story of the niece Harriet Lane (and to a lesser extent the nephew Buck Henry) as it was James Buchanan. Buchanan seemed to have led a relatively quiet life there after the presidency and I had no idea that he was appreciated by Queen Victoria during his time in the UK and was posted in Moscow for a stint. This house museum along with the Pierce Manse in Concord, Abraham Lincoln’s house in Springfield and the Andrew Johnson birthplace in Raleigh have all brought into focus different facets for me of the goings-on in leadership mid 19th century US around the Civil war. For others thinking of Wheatland I forgot to say, it’s maybe a half hour walk to downtown from Wheatland and while I went by Uber, I walked back passing some gorgeous and sometimes quite grand homes on Marietta Ave.

If you are thinking if stopping in Harrisburg, do check out the PA Capitol website a day or few beforehand to see if your visit works with an available time slot to visit the Capitol, as that to me is the activity there you wouldn’t want to miss. I believe the Capitol website has instructions on parking too— which I didn’t pay attention to as I walked from my downtown hotel.

Daniel -- thanks for the Harrisburg advice.

FYI I have posted some information about the Haskell library in Derby Line/Stanstead on your thread on the Canadian forum. The building has become quite famous in recent months

Vttraveller—You’re welcome. And thank you for updating about the Haskell Library.