HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Executive Mansion

Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

The second official Governor's residence occupied a site across this street. Originally a private home acquired in 1864, it was altered and enlarged by many of its occupants. In the 1880's, it was referred to as "Keystone Hall." After 96 years of use, it was demolished in 1960.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

Across this street once stood Pennsylvania's second official Governor's residence, a private home acquired by the state in 1864 and reshaped over the decades by the many governors who lived there. Grand enough by the 1880s to be called "Keystone Hall," it served the Commonwealth's chief executives for 96 years before it was demolished in 1960.

Why it matters

For nearly a century it was the domestic seat of Pennsylvania's governors, a witness to the state's political life from the Civil War era through the mid-twentieth century.

Own a business near here? Add it to the map.

Related events

  • ยท Keystone Hall

Themes & tags

Nearby & related markers

Grace Methodist Church

Harrisburg, PA ยท est. 1968

When fire destroyed Pennsylvania's state capitol on February 2, 1897, the work of government could not simply stop. This Harrisburg church opened its doors as the temporary home of the state legislature while a magnificent new capitol rose to replace the ruined one. For a time, laws for one of the nation's largest states were debated beneath its roof.

Public Sector Unionism

Harrisburg, PA ยท est. 2005

The long campaign to give Pennsylvania's public employees a voice culminated in Act 111 of 1968 and Act 195 of 1970, which opened collective bargaining to tens of thousands of state and local workers. That victory capped a struggle stretching back to the 1930s โ€” one restricted by legislation in 1947 and only partly recognized in 1957 โ€” before the reforms of the late 1960s finally took hold.

State Capitol

Harrisburg, PA ยท est. 1953

After fire consumed the old brick statehouse in 1897, Pennsylvania set out to build a capitol worthy of an industrial powerhouse. Architect Joseph M. Huston designed the grand Beaux-Arts building raised here between 1902 and 1906, crowned by a dome inspired by St. Peter's in Rome. Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker presided over its dedication on October 4, 1906.

Camel Back Bridge

Harrisburg, PA ยท est. 1953

In the young republic's canal-and-turnpike age, crossing the wide Susquehanna at Harrisburg meant building something ambitious. Theodore Burr, a master bridge engineer whose truss patents shaped early American spans, designed this long covered wooden bridge, raised between 1813 and 1817. Its humped profile earned it the affectionate nickname "Camel Back," and it carried traffic โ€” rebuilt more than once โ€” until floodwaters finally doomed it in 1902.