The Capital Area Greenbelt is a 20-mile scenic trail connecting five communities. It grew from an early plan by landscape architect Warren Manning, who in 1901, during the City Beautiful movement, envisioned tree-lined carriage drives linking a necklace of parks. Progress stopped during the Great Depression for nearly 70 years until dedicated volunteers revitalized the trail in 1990. Along the route are scenic views, historic bridges, and the Susquehanna River, including the Walnut Street bridge, City Island, and Italian Lake. Riverfront Park, the crown jewel of Manning's plan, was built in 1906 as a 3.5-mile riverside park with a stepped riverbank, a carriage path along the lower bank, and a tree-lined upper footpath, and it includes gardens, public art, and memorials such as John Harris' burial place, Peace Gardens and Holocaust statuary, and Mira Dock's historic marker and home. City Island, once a longtime Native American gathering place, was the largest of 11 original public playground parks and later drew notable figures including Satchel Paige, Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe, and the Grateful Dead. Italian Lake, completed in the 1920s as Manning's last major and most formal Harrisburg landscape design, became known for its formal gardens, Japanese bridge, Dance of the Eternal Spring fountain, and summer concerts.
