333 Market Street

333 Market Street. . At 341 feet in height, 333 Market Street represents the pinnacle of Harrisburg's robust skyline and is not only the city's tallest building, but also the tallest of any building located between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Built in 1977 as part of the first generation of new development in Center City under the Harristown Urban Renewal Plan, 333 Market Street followed shortly after the construction of Phase I of Strawberry Square in fulfilling the strategy of locating expanding state office space in the Central Business District, rather than in areas involving the demolition of neighborhoods north of the Capitol Complex. This strategy would further increase downtown's workforce population, a key to the city's economic revitalization. The south side of the 300 Block of Market Street between Dewberry and Fourth Streets was traditionally laden with retail and commercial establishments. At its eastern end stood the original Metropolitan Hotel built in 1908 which was expanded several years later and renamed the Governor Hotel. The Harrisburg YWCA temporarily occupied the structure in the 1970's before moving into new quarters. While all other buildings on this block were demolished for the new skyscraper, the Governor Hotel was spared and now serves as apartments for senior citizens. Buildings replaced by 333 Market included the popular 150-room William Penn Hotel, built in 1922, and the original Davenport Restaurant that grew into a national food service chain operating under several familiar trade names. Today, 333 Market Street, as home to the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Banking and supported by the abutting 1,088-car Chestnut Street Parking Garage, well illustrates the intensity of Harrisburg's modern Center City development.