The Riverfront Park of today began as part of the late 1890s nationwide urban renewal effort called the City Beautiful Movement. In Harrisburg this effort was led by Mira Lloyd Dock.
Though Harrisburg was the capital of Pennsylvania, most of the streets were unpaved and littered with trash and the banks of the Susquehanna were a convenient dumping ground.
In 1898, Dock became a founding member of the Harrisburg Civic Club. In 1899 she began giving lectures featuring a magic lantern show. The magic lantern was the precursor to the slide projector and she used it to show images of picturesque European cities alongside images of Harrisburg. These images made a powerful statement. They not only showed what Harrisburg had become, but what it could be.
Her efforts led to the mayor establishing a permanent committee to look into what could be done to improve the city. In 1902, that committee became the Harrisburg League for Civic Improvements and they promoted a $1,090,000 bond for civic improvements which the city residents passed by a 2-1 vote. Three more bonds were approved between 1906 and 1914 leading to the pavement of 70 miles of streets and reaching their goal of 1 acre of park for every 100 city residents.
Today more than 2.5 million people attend festivals, concerts, and other events each year. Families stroll along the river on warm summer evenings, sports lovers cross the Walnut Street Bridge to attend minor league ball games on City Island, and city residents and visitors alike enjoy the beauty that was in part achieved by Mira Lloyd Dock and the powerful impact of her magic lantern photography show.
