What the Hell Happened to Pennsylvania? Episode 3 - Harrisburg, PA

How can the state capital look like this? It's terrible looking!

For this episode of dashboard tours, the goal was to find the worst neighborhoods in the state capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. It was a cloudy day, and the streets were sorta empty, which meant we could get into some of the worst areas unseen. It was in mid March at about 2 in the afternoon.

Harrisburg is widely known as one of the worst places you can live in Pennsylvania, and that’s saying something, because there are TONS of really bad cities in this state. Crime, poverty and drug use are rampant here, and as you’ll see, some of these hoods are some of the worse areas in the state. For the drive, we’ll be spending a lot of time around the Camp Curtain neighborhood in Uptown, an area notorious for the highest amounts of crime and blight.

Here’s the rest of the worst parts of Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.

#pennsylvania #harrisburg

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[markpreston]

1 - Welcome to Harrisburg, it's nice to have you. 2 - That's not Camp Curtain, that's Allison Hill. 3 - Selective attention changes the way you perceive a place. If you seek out a steaming turd, you're probably going to find a steaming turd. It seems you already decided the narrative of Harrisburg before you arrived. You missed many wonderful places and people. 4 - We have many challenges and it's not paradise. 5 - Grass is always greener. 6 - I have a cat 😺 7 - I will now like my own comment.

[badazzh]

First of all, please know what you're talking about when, posting such things. You were NOT in the "Camp Curtin area of Harrisburg. You were in the Allison Hill section.
Yes, I agree that, certain parts Harrisburg look AWFUL & the crime is RIDICULOUS. I grew up in Harrisburg, was raised on 2400 block of Reel Street. We had a beautiful tree lined street. There were pretty lawns & some yards like, ours had pretty hydrangea bushes. Mostly all of the residents were homeowners & two parent families. Harrisburg didn't start to go downhill until the drug scene took over.
For outsiders looking in, Harrisburg isn't as bad as it's being made out to be. There are great people here trying to make our city better instead of looking for, everything that's wrong. There are beautiful neighborhoods here. You don't have to leave the city to, find a great place to, live here. Yes, Harrisburg desperately needs help. It also meeds to be loved back to make it a better city. We need people in office that, actually care about the WHOLE city & not the affluent & influential.

[alex_]

Harrisburg born and raised here. I recognize all these different spots around the city. Honestly despite all the flaws Harrisburg has I love the city and it’s people, most people are very friendly. Feel free to ask any questions about Harrisburg if you have any. I also agree with the comments that say they’re only showing the worst parts of the city and it gives a false image

[tamarahillhouse]

This is my hometown born and raised. Like any city it has it's goods and its bad parts. I can say it's very rundown in the city. But in the burbs you will find more beautiful tree lined area's. This video is very deceptive because he is not driving on major streets. He's in alleys and side streets. The city has very large and affordable homes. The crime is high but you can get a job and be on your feet rather quickly. This also looks like a very dreary day. It looks and feels very different in the summer months. Bottom line it needs some work but hey what city doesn't.

[cherylcampbell]

I do love the old homes. They have so much character. Not like the cookie cutter homes in the west.

[OldSchoolMARINE]

Born and raised in Harrisburg. 63 years old, and I find that its not WHERE you live and walk, it is HOW you live and walk. 1:: Mind your business and handle your business. 2:: Show respect. 3:: Dont act like a victim... street survival where ever you live.

[HemlockRidge]

NOT Camp Curtain in the pix. There was even a banner that said "Allison Hill". ALSO, I'm quite sure that if you go into declining neighborhoods, and drive down back alleys, any city will look like this.

[cailwi]

There are quite a few areas that look just like you show, but there are of course also many others, and noteably there are a few who are slowly coming back a bit. The city is totally bankrupt (mis-management mostly), but also all the corporations moving out to the suburbs, draining the city of much needed capital. So they cannot do much. 

They invested a bit into improvements on Third street, and I hope they continue by turning the square in front of Midtown bookstore into a much needed downtown square area, instead of the forelorn area it is now. It looks like that is the direction they are going, and that would be really good for this city. Put a few restaurants, etc on the two sides that have nothing useful, and you can make that a downtown hangout. But yes, there are a lot of rundown areas to go still in Harrisburg.
But finally, I do feel that it is at least moving in the right direction again. Hope it continues.

[dexmcgee]

All in all Harrisburg the river the bridges are beautiful. It is a beautiful quaint friendly city. I love it here.

[charlesstone]

BS. He had do his best to find bad areas. I can take you around the same general areas and you'll see nice houses, yards and clean streets. It's easy to find ugly when you are looking for it and have an audience who needs to have something to look down on.

[michaelwhiting]

It seems like about 3 mile outside of every center city is blighted . All the cities are rotting and decomposing and it like no one in power in any city cares. America is dying a steady slow death. Since nonthing is made in America anymore there are fewer jobs. With education on a steady decline and city crime on a rapid increase. America can’t last many more years. God Bless America because we need it.

[robertwhaley]

It's a real shame what has happened to Harrisburg in the last couple of decades. I've lived there since '84 and my family has lived there all my life. I remember what it was like in the '70s when the steel mill was still running. Night and day.

[thecherrypieshow]

And now I'm even more depressed...
I was born in Harrisburg hospital and lived there and around there most of my 36 years of life.
13th street and Hall Manor are really garbage.
Now, I live in Lancaster Pennsylvania which is another pile of poop...

Love your content, thanks for at least putting the truth out of how the place really is.
By the way, make sure you drive with your doors locked.
Thanks Nick ❤️
Be safe and whoop whoop from Pennsylvania.

[ameliarhodes]

So sad! I love the character of the neighborhood. But the neglect is clear. As is the amateurish repairs, to say nothing of boarded windows and abandoned buildings. Those are/were basically historic homes that would have been beautiful if maintained. I'm sure it's the same old story, loss of manufacturing and other jobs, taxes being raised beyond reason, loss of a workforce population, and everything falls to entitlement culture and people blind to decay because in many cases they don't know better (and never will).

[flitetym]

I’ll tell you what’s happened to Harrisburg (and countless other cities like it): the mass exodus of city planners, and their replacement by “community organizers.”

If you strip away the add-on structures and cheap façades, you’ll find a metropolis that people were once proud of. Beneath the spray paint and plywood, you’ll find ornate building structures which show that they were designed and constructed by skilled artisans for a proud people that took “ownership” of their neighborhoods.

If a neighborhood displays a decline, it’s reflective of the human decline behind it.

One more thing that I’ve mentioned before: the clearest sign of a declining culture is the absence of mothers with their infants. If you don’t see them, you’re in a death trap … get the hell out of there ASAP.

[martinasmolka]

I live in another part of PA, near Philly. You think Harrisburg is bad. You should see Trenton the Captial of NJ across the river from Philly. This would be perfect for an episode of dashboard tours.

[donaldprice]

Thanks Nick, Harrisburg has been subpar for a few years. They do seem to be trying to pick it up. I am very fortunate to live in Lancaster. It's beautiful here with great people and long history!!! Keep these great videos coming. Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

[lcinflorida]

Egads some of that was sad to see. Thank you for the show, sir Nick!!

[denisechristiansen]

It’s a shame. You can see what a beautiful city it once was.

[jfgreen]

I’m from New York, I’ve lived outside of Harrisburg since 1991. It’s gotten better overall over the years. Much more to do, racially integrated, restaurants, bars, farmers market, etcetera, and way more affordable than New York City, or most cities.