TheBurg

06.17 | theburg | 19 But then a Sept. 1 banner headline proclaimed "Riverside Citizens Oppose Annexation" (above a photo captioned "Uncle Sam Cocks His Big Guns for the Boches"). e fight to block codification of a City Council vote seen as "railroaded" seemed to be on, until the city solicitor announced that the ordinance had been signed into law, making it irreversible. With the painful news, some argued for withdrawing their opposition. Others wanted to keep up the fight. And then things got heated. Professor George Hill, a teacher and annexation supporter, argued that "bugaboos" like the higher taxes feared by opponents might never materialize. A certain W.H. Bishop seemed to think that Professor Hill was calling Mr. Bishop and his fellow opponents "bugaboos." A "wordy battle" ensued. "Come out here in the hall and settle it," Professor Hill suggested to Mr. Bishop. Mr. Bishop declined the offer but "politely went on with his criticism." Howard Parker shook his head as he shared news accounts of the near-altercation. "is is so frickin' Harrisburg," he said. "It just is." WiLd WASte In September 1917, the hamlet of Riverside joined the city of Harrisburg, and life went on. A school that started as a one-room schoolhouse in 1905 grew into a modern school "heated by a furnace in the basement!" recalled one student. A fire company formed in 1915 and built its firehouse, long a community center, in 1923. "It is situated in a northern part of the city in a district in which there are fine homes, hence they are always willing to do all they can for the welfare of the community," the company boasted. Corner drug stores served cherry cokes. ere were barbershops and salons, churches and markets. e Riverside Baseball Team gathered for a team picture in 1921. e "wild, wild waste" known as Italian Park, where gypsies encamped every year, became Italian Lake in 1919, beginning a string of up-and-down years for a park where residents today walk their dogs, admire azalea blooms in the spring, and jog up and down the hillside. By 2013, Riverside School had come down, making way for Chisuk Emuna's beautiful synagogue, now a polling place and R.U.N. meeting spot. e city's northward march culminated in completion of the imposing, now vacant William Penn High School in 1926. e last anyone heard of plans for the school, a developer was considering its use for senior-living apartments. In the eyes of developers, classrooms make perfect apartments, said Harrisburg School Board Vice President James ompson. But they found no uses for the auditorium, gym and the campus' separate career school building. "People will come in and look at it and try to make the numbers work," ompson said. "I'm always the optimist. Somebody will find the right use for it, but the building needs work." Plus, developers hungrily eye the acreage and sports fields on the William Penn campus, but the district "would like to preserve the land," ompson said. "I think we owe it to the community and to the neighborhood to preserve the land for current and future recreational needs." LiFe ChANgeS Keeping pace with the rest of the city, Riverside's 2017 home sales have been brisk, said RE/MAX realtor Ray Davis. "Riverside" isn't a name that prospective homebuyers instantly recognize, but just as in 1905, the neighborhood offers "a natural progression" in city dwelling, he said. "You have buyers in Midtown who eventually want a yard, want the parking," said Davis. "at causes them to move up because their needs change. e parking and the yard for the dog or the kids become a little more important than the walkability of downtown. Life changes." Another thought struck Davis, a realtor for 20-plus years. In many other city neighborhoods, houses are similar, and so, for instance, a young adult or middle- ager with durable knees can manage Midtown's three-story rowhomes. Riverside, though, is "one of the few neighborhoods where you have some single-level homes. You have Cape Cods. You have two stories and three stories. You have some large homes. You have smaller homes." Diversity is a hallmark of all city neighborhoods, he continued, but Riverside's is "a different kind of diversity." "e housing inventory there is really diverse, which I think adds to the diversity of the people who live there," he said. "You have price, size, style. It's as assorted as the people." at's my Riverside. Curious? Cross Division Street and come explore for yourself. Just be sure to bring your own coffee. To learn more about the Riverside neighborhood, visit the Riverside United Neighbors website at www.riversideunitedneighbors.com. Riverside Elementary, 1936. Riverside Fire House, 1923.

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