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Glass slide of a back yard lot before and after cleaning and planting, Harrisburg, PA, circa 1910.
flipFlip to Susquehanna riverfront at Calder and Reily Streets, Harrisburg, PA, 1900.
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 Two black and white photographs sit side-by-side. The first shows a back yard in neglect and disrepair. The second photo shows a number of boys working a nice garden in the same backyard space

Credit: Courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Archives

In the early 1900s, urban reformers led major campaigns to make Americans cities healthier and more livable. By 1915, the Harrisburg plan, which included the construction of a water treatment plan, sewer lines, 900 acres of new city parks, public lakes, athletic fields, and playgrounds, had won national attention.

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