{"nrhp_refnum":"83002238","name":"Old Downtown Harrisburg Commercial Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Dewberry, Chestnut, Blackberry, and S. 3rd Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Harrisburg","county":"Dauphin County","state":"PA","lat":40.25999847800006,"lon":-76.87925327646829,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-07-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A commercial historic district in downtown Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, made up of buildings facing South Third Street between Market and Chestnut Streets and those on the north side of Chestnut Street between South Third and Dewberry Streets, plus warehouses on a portion of Blackberry Street. The buildings are mainly late 19th and early 20th century brick commercial blocks.","why_significant":"The district is described as the last remnant of the low-scaled, contiguous commercial development that once characterized downtown Harrisburg. Its buildings form a cohesive streetscape that was absorbed into commercial growth spun off from Market Street after an 1873 fire and the 1875 Old State Printing Office. The nomination also notes its association with local businesses and contractors of the 1890s through 1930s.","narrative":"Facing South Third Street and the north side of Chestnut Street in downtown Harrisburg, this district is built mainly of brick in the latter 19th and early 20th centuries, with most buildings three stories high and structurally joined. Its styling draws on the late Victorian, Mediterranean, Italianate, and Eastlake modes, with bay windows, bracketed cornices in wood and tin, and corbelled brick cornices. The area originated in early 19th century townhouse rows laid out as part of the borough of Harrisburg. After a fire on the west side of South Third Street in 1873, a six-story printing office building was erected in 1875, and low-scaled commercial buildings followed. Lots kept their original frontage widths, so the streetscape remains intimate and varied. Around the 1890s and early 1900s, the buildings housed professional offices and a range of shops, and the district is regarded as the last intact piece of old downtown Harrisburg.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian, Mediterranean, Italianate, and Eastlake styling","criteria":[],"status_note":"Upper stories principally intact; ground floors altered in places; several buildings recently refurbished, others stabilized but not worked upon; several warehouses and certain upper floors vacant.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.952173-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/83002238.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83002238/7e5575f2cd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83002238/7e5575f2cd-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Downtown_Harrisburg_Commercial_Historic_District_Nov_10.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Downtown_Harrisburg_Commercial_Historic_District_Nov_10.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84003198","name":"Old Downtown Harrisburg Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/old-downtown-harrisburg-commercial-historic-district-boundary-increase-84003198/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995793","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Downtown_Harrisburg_Commercial_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7083869"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/dauphin-county/old-downtown-harrisburg-commercial-historic-district-83002238/"}