{"nrhp_refnum":"76001632","name":"Harrisburg Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Camp Curtain Fire Station","Harrisburg Central Railro"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Bounded roughly by Forster, 3rd, Hanna Sts. and the Susquehanna River","address_restricted":false,"city":"Harrisburg","county":"Dauphin County","state":"PA","lat":40.25838876250006,"lon":-76.88086122730091,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-01-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A multi-block historic district of approximately 500 structures, mostly 19th-century residential and mixed buildings, in the city of Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, around Harris Park on the Susquehanna River. Roughly one-half to two-thirds of the structures date from before 1900.","why_significant":"The district contains the original core of the city and illustrates its social, political and industrial development after Harrisburg became the state capital. It includes homes of statesmen, politicians and businessmen, including the Cameron mansion, and it is unified by Harris Park, which the nomination describes as one of the oldest public parks in the United States. The mixture of Federal and Victorian-era architecture is presented as a notable example of urban architecture in a 19th-century city.","narrative":"Harrisburg's historic district covers about twenty blocks of the city's oldest residential core, with roughly 500 structures, many of them brick or stone and dating from the late 18th to late 19th century. Federal-era houses stand alongside Victorian row houses, producing a streetscape of mixed architectural styles. Harris Park, a wooded area of several acres overlooking the Susquehanna River, unifies the district and contains the grave of John Harris, the original settler at the site, for whom the city is named. The district reflects Harrisburg's growth after it became the state capital in 1812, when politicians, lawyers, judges, bankers and manufacturers built homes here. The Cameron mansion, an outstanding example of later Victorian architecture, was home to Simon Cameron, a Civil War Secretary of War and U.S. Senator. The park is regarded as one of the oldest public parks in the country.","period_of_significance":"c.1760-1900","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian, Federal and Victorian styles","criteria":[],"status_note":"Most structures are described as in good or fair condition, with some intrusions such as modern office buildings, parking lots and a motel; a historic district zoning ordinance and Architectural Review Board are noted.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.106704-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/76001632.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001632/ad598d7290-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001632/ad598d7290-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Harrisburg_PA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Jared Kofsky/PlaceNJ.com</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Harrisburg_PA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995819","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrisburg_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15223090"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/dauphin-county/harrisburg-historic-district-76001632/"}