Midtown Scholar: A Sense of Place in Harrisburg

Since it was named the state capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg has had a rich history. From being a stop on the Underground Railroad to the yearly Great American Outdoor Show to the accident on Three Mile Island, the state capital has a lot of stories to tell. This is highlighted through all of the museums, theaters, and bookstores there are within twelve miles of the city. An example of this is an independently owned small bookshop called Midtown Scholar Bookstore. Midtown Scholar sells new, rare, and used books, and has a café. They have tables and seats throughout the store for people to sip their coffee while they browse books and meet their friends.

Within the neighborhood, there are several other options specifically for entertainment that make Harrisburg the community it is. Four blocks away from Midtown Scholar is the Midtown Cinema, and three blocks the other way is the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center. Down the road and across the bridge from Midtown Scholar is FNB Stadium, where the double-a affiliate of the Washington Nationals, an MLB team, plays. Harrisburg being an entertainment-based neighborhood is interesting when you consider the demographics. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the American median household income was $76,330 while the Harrisburg median income was $44,444. Bills, food, and just the general cost of living are a lot of money these days. This means that the average Harrisburger doesn’t have much money after expenses or the time to enjoy all of the entertainment options that the city has to offer. This leads me to believe that Harrisburg relies on tourists and their dollars to keep its economy going. This is when places like Midtown Scholar Bookstore help boost the economy. They have events, most notably author readings and signings frequently. One of the big events that is happening soon is the 2023 Harrisburg Book Fair. It is an event where all book lovers come together at Midtown Scholar for tent sales, author signings, workshops, and children’s programs. While this event brings in a lot of people from all over Pennsylvania, it also gives an opportunity for people who usually don’t have the extra money for a book to still enjoy reading, literature, and being surrounded by likeminded people.

While looking around the neighborhood, I also noticed that other places have festivals and activities for not only tourists but also locals of Harrisburg. The Midtown Cinema features “Music on the Patio” which is free for all to enjoy. The Harrisburg Senators, the double-a affiliate of the Washington Nationals does a lot of community outreach specifically with youths in the area. The team puts on free baseball clinics so that kids can get some exercise and socialize with the players. At the end of the clinic, the team gives every child a wiffleball, a bat, and a free ticket to a Senators game. This gives the opportunity to go to a game where some kids would never even think about going out to the ballpark with their friends or family and having fun with other kids from the community. The players visit hospitals to deliver customized hospital gowns to sick children. Miller explains, “Stone was interested in the ways in which urbanites could be more tightly bound to their communities through the relationships they established with the personnel of retail stores.” Harrisburg exemplifies this quote, and it doesn’t stop just at retail stores.

Furthermore, Cresswell describes what the feeling of “place” is. He mentions the feeling of moving into college for the first time and decorating your dorm how you like it. He says, “Thus the space is turned into your space. Your place.” While Harrisburg’s economy is set up and depends on tourism, that is not how the city survives. It survives because of Harrisburgers sense of community. It survives because locals can go down to Midtown Scholar on a Saturday morning, buy a cup of coffee from the café, sit at one of the beautiful wooden tables, and read the week’s newspaper. It survives because they can tell their stories in books and museums, both consumed because tourists want to know more about the city. It survives because the people of Harrisburg have made it their place.  

Sources

Cresswell, Tim. Place: a short introduction. Blackwell Publishing, n.d..Harrisburg Book Festival, www.hbgbookfest.com/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

“Harrisburg Senators Visit Kids at UPMC Children’s Harrisburg.” UPMC, www.upmc.com/media/news/central-pa/2023-news-releases/040523-harrisburg-senators-visit-kids-at-upmc-childrens-harrisburg. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

“Harrisburg.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 17 Sept. 2023, www.britannica.com/place/Harrisburg-Pennsylvania.

Midtown Scholar Bookstore-Cafe, www.midtownscholar.com/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. University of Chicago Press, 2007.

Person, Elise. “Harrisburg Senators and Central Penn College Baseball Team up in a Free Clinic for Kids.” WHP, WHP, 11 June 2023, local21news.com/news/local/harrisburg-senators-and-central-penn-college-baseball-team-up-in-a-free-clinic-for-kids.

U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Harrisburg City, Pennsylvania, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/harrisburgcitypennsylvania/PST045222. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

Map courtesy of Jessica Branche

Pictures

Gornall, Jonathan. “Shelf Awareness for Tuesday, April 9, 2019.” Shelf Awareness, www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3469#m44012. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

“Midtown Scholar Bookstore Café.” Visit Hershey & Harrisburg – Things To Do In Pennsylvania – Visit Pennsylvania, www.visithersheyharrisburg.org/listings/midtown-scholar-bookstore-caf%C3%A9/707/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.