Historic Midtown Market District

Historic Midtown Market District. . Just prior to the Civil War, Harrisburg's northern development reached only as far as North Street, although its northern boundary extended to Herr Street under an annexation to the original Borough in 1838. In 1860, Harrisburg was incorporated as a City with its newly annexed territory extending all the way to Maclay Street. That same year, as neighborhoods were expanding up to Verbeke Street, the original stone building of the Broad Street Market opened. The Market became the catalyst to the growth and development of N. Third Street and to its subsequent urbanization as a secondary business district to that of the downtown. By the early 20th Century, the District sported movie theaters, department stores, a host of restaurants and general retail shops. It was a central destination for celebrations and events. The District was particularly enhanced by the construction at 1224 N. Third Street of the six-story Commercial Bank Building in 1908, later to become the Furlow Building. First a bank on the ground floor, and later a "Five and Ten," the structure was an early mid-rise, with fashionable upper story apartments, one of the first luxury apartment buildings to be erected in the City. Although the District suffered from neglect and resulting removal of substandard buildings in the 1970's, the area has now emerged in budding renewal bordered by contemporary, upscale town homes and the Old Midtown and Fox Ridge Historic Districts. , Left Photo , N. Third Street in 1915 looking north with the Commercial Bank Building at left. , Top Right Photo , 1915 postcard view looking south on N. Third Street with Broad Street Market at left. , Bottom Right Photo , Celebratory arches adorn the intersection of N. Third and Verbeke Streets during "Old Home Week" in 1905.