Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-10-09
Ehrntng Glrat

Inc continued move of business up
| second street and the projects hear6
for establishing more apartment housee
on Third street fronting on Capitoz
Park bring to mind how the char
acteristics of thoroughfares often
change and then change back again,
Likewise the last of the old-fashioned
cellar doors on Front street demon
strates that the best laid plans are
overturned in the march of events.
When John Harris laid out this city
with the assistance of his gifted SON
in-laW, William Maclay, he Is said to
nave had some doubts about Front
street being business street and in
cIned to the belief that it would be the
pleasure or promenade section of the
| town. 1t is said that the original city
Pianher had this idea because of the
shallowness of the Susquehanna. But
business overruled the fears of the
founder and Front street became the
center OF commerce and Second street
| below Market developed into one Of
the chief residential sections of Har-
flSburg, the highway where men of
substance resided. while Market street
soon after became lined with houses
standlng apart instead of being built
up ciose together as was the case on
south Second. Second above Market
WAS business section. the borough
Offices being located between Walnut
ana Locust, according to q report of a
IRE which caused some of the early
records to be destroyed. Early news
papers tell of business places and
taVerns, which were part of business
IN those days to an extent we do not
cream OF to-day. on Second. and of
encfcachment on Market. Early lists
Oh oh i oiiiGlais . OF the State government
snow that quite number resided at
boarding houses on Third street, which
began to be built up after the COM
pletion of the Capitol in 1921. In due
course OF time Second and Third
streets became more and more rest
Dental and business centering about
the Square went out Market street.
then up Third a bit and on Walnut
and Chestnut.
The only one of the old-style cellar
doors, above referred to, that remains
Is at the Kelker house. now the home
or the Dauphin County Historical So
ciety, which under the terms of the
donation of the property maintains it
as 1t was bequeathed. The old cellar
aoors % at the Kerr house on South
front street are being taken away and
those at the Pearson and Harris houses
| nave recently gone. The Harris house
at Front and Cherry, one of the old
| log houses, is the home of the only
ilneal descendant of the founder of
| found at other residences and a few of
| remains of other cellar doors of the
| KIND down which we used to slide
| Wnen we were youngsters are to be
the older houses have big spaces under
the sidewalks where goods used to be-
stored. The trace of the Front street
cellaIways attracts little attention now
but in old times such things were very
important. One of the best examples
OF the ancient business cellarway was
at the Haldeman house, on North
Front street just above Market, which
was remodeled some years ago by the
| late Levi Is. Alricks. This cellar door
was lined with big blocks of stone and
there were heavy iron rings set in them
so that the boxes and barrels and bales
could be lowered or brought up
Old letters and newspapers tell of
| the arrival of the barges from up the
river with lumber hides, pelts and
later on anthracite coal and vegetables
| These articles were unloaded here and
Carlisle and other places, although
some of the craft. known as "arks,"
| went on down the river When the
harges went back they took the pro-
visions, clothing material and other
| things which were brought here by
| stages and wagons from Philadelphia
and which We're stored in big quanti-
ties in the houses along Front street.
| For a time Lebanon iron was shipped
| from warehouses in Harrisburg to
| Pittsburgh and western towns, some
going by horses and some being taken
up the Juniata by the "arks."
-
Early advertising was not on an ex-
| tensive scale in Harrisburg newspapers
and the total amount carried in some
| issues of the newspapers published
here one hundred years ago was hardly
as big as one of the big stores some
times runs here in a single issue. From
the notations of the arrival and de-
parture of stages and pack trains and
| boats it would seem that this city was
| then as now central point of dis
| trihution for a large section of the
State. Some of the early travellers said
that Harrisburg was town of taverns
and warehouses and that it sat upon
| 'he roads to the north. the south, the
"nst and the west, with the river as an
| adjunct.
| n. V. Babcock, the Pittsburgh busi4
| nessman. who was here Saturday, is a,
| nillionaire several times over and in
| tcrcsted in lumber steel and other en-
| torprises. He has been frequently men,
| toned for high office, but has only ac-
copted elections as national delegate.