The Chester Way Walking Tour of the Capitol Complex
Use the mobile version of Harrisburg Historical to take a walking tour of the capitol complex and explore the historical landmarks of the long civil rights movement. Participants will engage with the places where Harrisburg's influential African American leaders and community members lived, worked, and advocated for civil rights in Pennsylvania’s capital region. This fully immersive experience features ten selected stops across the entire Capitol Complex.
Throughout the tour, you’ll engage with powerful narratives of perseverance and resilience, highlighting both triumphs and challenges in the history of Black civil rights. The tour is organized chronologically and spatially to tell a broad story from the 1850s to 2020. The tour seeks to revive and celebrate these often-overlooked stories, bringing them back into the public consciousness.
Tour Stops: 10
Tour Duration: 1:15-1:30
Distance: 1.3 miles
ADA Accessible
Directions: Start the tour at the blue Pennsylvania Historical Marker located to the right of A Gathering at the Crossroads monument. Each story contains directional information to guide you to the next location on the tour. Please note that the directional details in each story correspond to the following stop. You may read full version essays, or listen to brief audio abstracts of each story.
Related: This walking tour marks a subset of a fuller tour, The Chester Way: Harrisburg's Centuries Long Quest for Civil Rights. Another related tour, currently under development, is The Old Eighth Ward: The Vanished Neighborhood of the Pennsylvania State Capitol.
Harrisburg's Role in the Underground Railroad
Located at the blue Pennsylvania historical marker to the right of the Gathering of the Crossroads Monument
Welcome to the "Chester Way: Capitol Complex Walking Tour." The blue Pennsylvania historical marker marks the first location of this tour. After you finish this story, please remain at the same location to read or listen to the second story, "Douglass at the Dauphin County Courthouse."
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Douglass at the Dauphin County Courthouse
Located at the blue Pennsylvania to the right of the Gathering of the Crossroads Monument
Read the story of listen to the story. After finishing this story, head northeast on Walnut Street past the Forum Auditorium and walk around the bend to Seventh Street, stopping in front of the blue historical marker titled "U.S. Colored Troops Grand Review." This will be your third stop on the tour. Read or listen to the story.
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The US Colored Troops Grand Review
Located at the blue Pennsylvania historical marker sign on North 7th Street at the far end of the Forum Auditorium building
After finishing this story, turn left and walk westward on South Street, keeping the Forum Building and the Pennsylvania State Library on your left and Soldiers' Grove on your right. Stop at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue to read or listen to the fourth story, "Harrisburg's African Methodist Episcopal Churches."
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Harrisburg's African Methodist Episcopal Churches
Located on the corner of the Forum Building at the intersection of South Street and Commonwealth Avenue
After finishing this story, turn right and head north along Commonwealth Avenue. Keep the Capitol building on your left and Soldiers' Grove on your right. Continue across North Drive and stop just before the Pennsylvania Treasury building. Read or listen to the fifth story, “The Lincoln Street School.”
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The Lincoln Street School
Located at Commonwealth Avenue and North Drive at the southwest corner of the Finance Building
After finishing this story, turn around, head back south, and cross Commonwealth Avenue at the raised pedestrian crosswalk that leads to the Capitol Fountain. Stop at the fountain to read or listen to the sixth story, “Black Politics and City Beautiful.”
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Black Politics and City Beautiful
Located before the fountain just below the State Capitol
After finishing this story, climb the steps above the fountain and then walk north along the Capitol East Wing until you reach the northeast corner of the Capitol building. Stop at the corner, look out toward Soldiers' Grove, and then read or listen to the seventh story on "The Demolition of the Old Eighth Ward."
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The Demolition of the Old Eighth Ward
Located at the northeast corner of the Capitol building overlooking Soldiers' Grove
After finishing this story, descend the stairs to Commonwealth Avenue, walk north past the Finance Building, and cross North Street until you are parallel with the Pennsylvania Judicial Center. Read or listen to the eighth story on the tour, “The Phyllis Wheatley YWCA.”
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The Phyllis Wheatley YWCA
Located on Commonwealth Avenue in front of the western end of the Pennsylvania Judicial Center
After finishing this story, head west on North Street toward Third Street, walk southward along the front of the Capitol, and then cross Second Street at one of the designated pedestrian crossings. Walk west to 225 State Street. Read or listen to the ninth story on the tour, “K. Leroy Irvis vs. the Moose Lodge."
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K. Leroy Irvis vs. the Moose Lodge
Located at 225 State Street just past Susquehanna Street
After finishing this story, walk back to the first stop. Cross Third Street via a designated pedestrian way. Turn right, walk along Third Street, turn left on Walnut, and head east. After passing beneath the Strawberry Square pedestrian walkway, you will see "A Gathering at the Crossroads" monument.
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A Gathering at the Crossroads
Located on Walnut Street at the bronze Commonwealth Monument statue group
A Gathering of the Crossroads Monument where you currently stand, concludes the Chester Way Capitol Complex Walking Tour. Thank you for your participation.
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The Chester Way Walking Tour of the Capitol Complex was written, edited, and produced by Messiah University students in 2024-2025 through the support of a Humanities Research for the Public Good Grant of the Council of Independent Colleges generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The grant application, titled “The Chester Way,” marked a collaborative initiative of Messiah University's Center for Public Humanities, McCormick Riverfront Library of the Dauphin County Library System, and the IIPT-Commonwealth Monument Project, a project sponsored by The Foundation for Enhancing Communities. This walking tour is a subset of a fuller tour titled The Chester Way: Harrisburg's Centuries Long Quest for Civil Rights. Visit that tour for a full list of credits and acknowledgements.
The idea of a walking tour was initially developed by Alexandra Shehigian in summer 2024. Jake Kocher wrote, developed, and walked the full version of the tour in fall 2024 for a Humanities Projects practicum at Messiah University. David Pettegrew supervised the project. J.T. Crocenzi and the Center for Public Humanities Fellows Program collaborated. For an overview of the creation of the walking tour, see Jake Kocher's Progress Update: Harrisburg Historical Walking Tours by Messiah University.