Broad Street Market is full of history, food and fun
People come from near and far to shop, eat, take photos and to have a day in the city
By Gabryelle Breski
Knightly News Reporter
gabryelle.breski@mymail.centralpenn.com
HARRISBURG — The Broad Street Market is a treasure trunk of collective and individual memories, local history and of Harrisburg communities.
And this piece of Harrisburg’s history continues to serve people of the city and the surrounding area.
The market once was home to over 725 vendors between the two buildings, a landmark at 1233 N. 3rd Street, in the heart of the city’s Midtown neighborhood. A wood frame once stood between the structures for people to pass through and to provide space for vendors, according to the market’s website.
In 1974, Broad Street Market was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The market has been open since 1860.
Market consultant David K. O’Neil led the change in the market being run by the community. This movement created the Broad Street Market Corp., a private nonprofit organization. The market is no longer owned or controlled by the city, Harrisburg government spokesperson Matt Maisel told The Knightly News.
The market is a community event, such as 3rd in the Burg, the third Friday of every month, when people from the city and the metropolitan area celebrate the arts and creativity in Harrisburg by visiting galleries, museums and other cultural and social locales.
According to the Broad Street Market’s Facebook page, for Martin Luther King Day, in January, the market held a reading for the day of the book “A Place to Land,” about King’s “I Have a Dream Speech,” for children in the community.
The Broad Street Market has more support through the Friends of the Market group to help promote the fresh-food market and the community.
A part of the renewed mission statement states, “To maintain an environment that recognizes and celebrates the diversity of the citizens of the City of Harrisburg and fosters their social and economic interaction.”
If you go
The Broad Street Market is open:
- Thursday and Friday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Saturday, 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.
It is at 1233 N. 3rd Street, in Harrisburg.
For more information about vendors, visit https://broadstreetmarket.org/vendors/.
More details on the history of the Broad Street Market can be found on the website under the About tab.
Breski is president of The Knightly News Club @ Central Penn College, which provides content for The Knightly News blog. She is a regular contributor to The Knightly News. Breski wrote this story for a journalism class being taught this term by Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi, who is co-adviser of the club and blog editor. Comment or story idea? Contact KnightlyEditors@CentralPenn.Edu. Lear-Olimpi edited this story.
