Pennsylvania's Susquehanna capital — Civil War crossroads and Three Mile Island nuclear drama
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania, sitting on the broad Susquehanna River backed by blue Appalachian ridges. The Pennsylvania State Capitol, completed in 1906 with a dome modeled on St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, is arguably the most beautiful state capitol in the US — its grand staircase echoes the Paris Opéra, and its interior is lavished with Violet Oakley's extraordinary murals. City Island in the middle of the Susquehanna offers a minor league baseball park, kayak launches, and views of the bridge. Three Mile Island nuclear plant, site of the 1979 partial meltdown that changed Ame…
Harrisburg was the site of a key Civil War engagement: in June 1863, Confederate forces under Jubal Early briefly occupied nearby York and threatened Harrisburg itself before turning south toward the engagement that became the Battle of Gettysburg. The city's industrial history — Bethlehem Steel, the railroad hub at Enola, Hershey Chocolate Company 15km east — defined Pennsylvania's 20th century. The Three Mile Island accident on 28 March 1979 was the worst commercial nuclear power plant accident in US history; the partial core meltdown created a national crisis, prompted mass evacuations, an…