City Island (Pennsylvania)

Last updated
City Island
Area of Harrisburg
Harrisburg Panorama.jpg
A panorama of Harrisburg, showing the northern end of City Island
Coordinates: City Island (Pennsylvania)
CountryUnited States
State Pennsylvania
County Dauphin County
City Harrisburg
Area
 • Land63 acres (25 ha)
ZIP Code
17101
Area code(s) 717 and 223

City Island is a mile-long island in the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg and Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is used mainly for leisure and sports activities. Its previous names have included Turkey Island, Maclay's Island, Forster's Island and Hargast Island. The island can be reached from either side of the Susquehanna River by Market Street Bridge or, from the Harrisburg side and by pedestrians and cyclists only, by Walnut Street Bridge.

Contents

History

The island contains archaeological remains of the Susquehannocks and the Iroquois tribes, who at one time established seasonal settlements here. During the initial development of Harrisburg, the island was only able to be reached by boat or fording in low waters, until 1817 when the Camelback Bridge, site of the present-day Market Street Bridge, was completed. [1]

During the American Civil War, Camp Necessity was formed on City Island in 1863 for Union troops to stage additional defense as Confederate troops threatened invasion of the area during the Gettysburg Campaign. Then in 1865, Camp Keystone was formed on the island, as Camp Curtin was overflowing with returning troops. [2]

c. 1910 Postcard depicting Island Park ballfield and track field located south of the Market Street Bridge. IslandPark1910.png
c. 1910 Postcard depicting Island Park ballfield and track field located south of the Market Street Bridge.

Though originally used for truck farming, amateur games of baseball were played here as early as the 1880s. In 1903, the Harrisburg Athletics professional baseball team and Harrisburg Giants Negro league arrived at Island Park on City Island. Satchel Paige played games at Island Park through the Negro leagues, which were held on the island through 1957. [3] The original Harrisburg Senators played in the Eastern League starting in 1924. Playing its home games at Island Field, the team won the league championship in the 1927, 1928, and 1931 seasons. Babe Ruth famously played a game at Island Park in 1928 when the New York Yankees came to Harrisburg to scrimmage against the original Senators. [4] The Senators played a few more seasons before flood waters destroyed Island Field in 1936, effectively ending Eastern League participation for fifty-one years. In 1940, Harrisburg gained an Interstate League team affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the team remained in the city only until 1943, when it moved to nearby York and renamed the York Pirates.

With the onset of the City Beautiful Movement in the 1900s, the City Island Filtration Plant was constructed. The plant drew water from the river, filtered it into concrete reservoirs (which now define the edge of the Skyline Sports Complex), and pumped it by tunnel laid under the river to the Old Waterworks at Front and North Streets, which then pumped the water to the reservoirs up in Reservoir Park. The Flood of 1972 resulting from Hurricane Agnes destroyed the Filtration Plant, leaving the DeHart Dam to supply water to the city. [5]

By the 1980s, concerts were held in the old field leftover from athletic events, such as Metallica (July 12, 1989) and Grateful Dead (June 22, 1983 and June 23, 1984). However, part of the field which was used for concerts would become the new Riverside Stadium (now FNB Field) in 1987.

Layout and attractions

2018 PASDA Imagery of City Island City Island, Harrisburg PASDA Image 2018.png
2018 PASDA Imagery of City Island
Cafe Huey, food vendor, July 2021 City Island Riverside Harrisburg July 2021.jpg
Cafe Huey, food vendor, July 2021

The Market Street Bridge spans across the southern area of the island, under which are the parking areas. Most of the attractions are on the northern area of the island, where roads wind around the island.

The island is the site of FNB Field, the home of the Harrisburg Senators minor baseball team, and the former home of Penn FC, a professional soccer team. It also features the Skyline Sports Complex, which is the home of the Central Penn Piranha, a semi-professional football team which belongs to the North American Football League. The complex is open year-round to the public, and provides a multi-purpose sports field, sand volleyball courts, and a fitness center. [6]

The island also provides family-based amusements such as the 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge [7] City Island Railroad (complete with a Crown Metal Products steam locomotive), carousel, Pride of the Susquehanna paddle-wheel riverboat, [8] horse-drawn carriage rides, miniature golf, a replica of John Harris Sr.'s fur-trading post, a riverside village-style playground, three boat marinas, and a concrete beach. [6]

Events

The island is home to many events, including Harrisburg's Independence Day Celebration, Kipona Festival, Cultural Fest, Harrisburg Marathon, Armed Forces Day, Penguin Plunge and others.

Participants jump in the Susquehanna River during the annual Penguin Plunge to raise money for the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, January 2020 Penguin Plunge on City Island, Harrisburg January 2020.jpg
Participants jump in the Susquehanna River during the annual Penguin Plunge to raise money for the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, January 2020

Canceled projects

City Island was the proposed location of:

Related Research Articles

Quad Cities Metropolitan area in the United States

The Quad Cities is a region of cities in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are the center of the Quad Cities metropolitan area, which as of 2013 had a population estimate of 383,781 and a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) population of 474,937, making it the 90th-largest CSA in the nation.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Capital city of Pennsylvania, United States

Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of the 2020 census, Harrisburg is the 15th largest city in Pennsylvania.

Harrisburg Senators Minor League Baseball team

The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field, located on City Island in Harrisburg, which opened in 1987 and has a seating capacity of 6,187 people.

Penn FC Football club

Penn FC was an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the United States soccer league system. In October 2018, the club formally announced it will not participate in the 2019 season and would have resume play in 2020 as a member of USL League One, a league in the third tier.

FNB Field Baseball park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

FNB Field is a baseball park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, located on City Island, in the Susquehanna River. It is the home field of the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A Eastern League affiliate of the Washington Nationals, and was the home stadium of Penn FC of the USL. The original structure was built in 1987 and it was called Riverside Stadium until 2004. Currently, the ballpark has a capacity of 6,187 people. The ballpark received a $45 million renovation that began in 2008.

Uptown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Neighborhood of Harrisburg in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States

Uptown is the only neighborhood in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania which was completely developed in the 20th century.

Skyline Sports Complex

Skyline Sports Complex is a sports complex/stadium on City Island, along the Susquehanna River, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Department of the Susquehanna was a military department created by the United States War Department during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Its goal was to protect the state capital and the southern portions of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and to deny the Confederate army passage across the vital Susquehanna River.

History of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Aspect of US history

The history of Harrisburg, the state capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, has played a key role in the development of the nation's industrial history from its origins as a trading outpost to the present. Harrisburg has played a critical role in American history during the Westward Migration, the American Civil War, and the Industrial Revolution. For part of the 19th century, the building of the Pennsylvania Canal and later the Pennsylvania Railroad allowed Harrisburg to become one of the most industrialized cities in the Northeast.

Sports in South Central Pennsylvania

Sports in South Central Pennsylvania are a long-held tradition and culture, such as the professional baseball teams who "barnstormed" their way through Lancaster County's farmland in the early 1900s, to Milton S. Hershey's creation of the Hershey B'ars hockey club in 1932, to canoe races held on the Susquehanna River each summer during Kipona in Harrisburg. Listed below are some sports teams that are currently based in the region:

South Central Pennsylvania Place in Pennsylvania, United States

South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of western Schuylkill and southern Northumberland counties are also located in South Central Pennsylvania. Despite the designation "South Central Pennsylvania," many of the counties are geographically located in the southeastern portion of the state. Lancaster, with a population of 59,322, is the largest city in the region, and the second largest metropolitan area. Harrisburg, with a population of 49,528, is the second largest city in the region, and has the largest metropolitan area with a population of 643,820 people, and is the capital of Pennsylvania. York is the other significant city in the region. The Harrisburg-Lancaster-York television market is the 39th largest market in the United States.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, was the capital of the second largest state in the Union. Located at the intersection of important railroads, Harrisburg was an important supply and logistics center for the dissemination and transportation of materiel for Northern armies. Tens of thousands of new recruits were mustered into service and/or drilled at a series of Harrisburg-area United States Army training camps, including the sprawling Camp Curtin. Confederate forces under Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell threatened Harrisburg during the June 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, but did not launch any serious efforts to take the city due to being recalled towards Gettysburg by General Robert E. Lee. Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin ordered local workers to erect a series of forts and earthworks to protect the city of 13,000 residents.

Philadelphia Union Association football club in Major League Soccer

The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 as an expansion team. The club's home stadium is Subaru Park, a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania on the banks of the Delaware River.

Timeline of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania history

This is a timeline of the major events in the history of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and vicinity.

Camp Curtin Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

Camp Curtin Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, also known as Curtin Heights Church and Camp Curtin Memorial-Mitchell United Methodist Church, is a historic Methodist Episcopal church located in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

The 2016 season is the Harrisburg City Islanders's 13th season of competitive soccer - its thirteenth season in the third division of American soccer and its sixth season in United Soccer League since the league was first created with the City Islanders as one of the original 10 founder-members.

The Harrisburg Senators was originally a name given to several minor league baseball clubs between 1893 and 1952. The name is also currently used by the modern-day team in the Double-A Eastern League, since 1987.

<i>Pride of the Susquehanna</i> Diesel-powered paddle-wheel riverboat

Pride of the Susquehanna is a diesel-powered paddle-wheel riverboat owned and operated by the Harrisburg Area Riverboat Society non-profit, moored at City Island, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on the Susquehanna River during its annual operational period.

References

  1. ↑ "City Island" . Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  2. ↑ Keener-Farley, Lawrence; Schmick, James (2008). "Civil War Harrisburg: A Guide to Capital Area Sites, Incidents and Personalities". Camp Curtin Historical Society (2nd ed.).
  3. ↑ "Harrisburg Giants' Standout Jim Weedon, 94 – La Voz Latina Central" . Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  4. ↑ "Babe Ruth playing on Island Field 1928". The Evening News. 1928-06-27. p. 19. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  5. ↑ Beers, Paul (2011). City contented, city discontented : a history of modern Harrisburg. Midtown Scholar Press. p. 271. ISBN   978-0-9839571-0-2. OCLC   761221337.
  6. 1 2 "Visiting Harrisburg: City parks at-a-glance". City of Harrisburg. Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  7. ↑ City Island Railroad
  8. ↑ "Pride of the Susquehanna". Harrisburg Area Riverboat Society, Inc. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  9. ↑ "Corridor One -- The Project". Capital Area Transit. Archived from the original on 2009-06-27. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  10. ↑ Luciew, John (12 March 2009). "Reed to throw in towel on Sports Hall of Fame". Patriot-News. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.