Harrisburg, PA is not half as
shitty as some claim. True, its glory days are long past (
pop. 100,000 in the mid-50s), but it is currently in the midst of a mini renaissance. Harrisburg hit rock
bottom in the middle 70s, back when the West Shore stayed away.
Today Second Street has become "restaurant row," the center of the city'
s nightlife. City Island, once little more than pavement and drug deals, now houses a stadium, marina, and picnic areas. Mid-town Harrisburg is being revitalized as a cultural district. While this may be a too obvious attempt to bring culture to Harrisburg, culture is there if you
dig for it (poetry thurdays at the Susquehana Art Museum, midtown theatre, several underground theatres).
Until you've eaten a meal of cold
rice noodles and jasmine tea outside of 2nd Wok under the pink and
blue glow of flourescent lights, you
don't know shit about Harrisburg.
