Hard to believe it’s been five years since the fall of Dewey’s Dry Dock led to the revitalization of downtown Harrisburg. Half a decade has passed since 5:01 (now Texas Hold’em) opened its doors with a relatively upscale (remember, this is downtown Harrisburg 2001) bar / restaurant upstairs and the world’s smallest dancefloor downstairs. Madonna’s “Tell Me” (Ultimix) and Daft Punk’s “One More Time” anchored the soundtrack, and the severely underpowered air conditioning (a tradition that carried over into the opening days of Eclipse) meant that walking outside into the 40-degree October air to cool off wasn’t that big of a deal.

2001 also brought the introduction of the first nightclub in the “new” downtown Harrisburg — Eclipse. Dragonfly (smell the paint!) followed six months later. Mars and Noma followed suit in the summer of 2002. Zephyr was shuttered, but brought back to life as Fisaga, and later again as Zephyr. Storefront by storefront, liquor license by liquor license, a handful of investors and developers ensured that Second Street would never be the same again. Bit by bit, the revitalization of downtown Harrisburg spread in nearly all directions from Second & Walnut Streets. Molly Brannigan’s, Ceoltas, KoKoMo’s, Max’s, Maxine’s, Zia’s, Palumbo’s, Second Street Pizza, 202 Locust … all names that would spring up and become commonplace among downtown revelers. Even long-time staples like Stock’s and Zembie’s managed to hang in and become part of “the new downtown”.

Looking back, it feels like the fervor that swallowed us whole in 2001 is beginning to creep back in. This summer may be the next “summer of ‘02″.
So what’s next? We have a superclub coming along Cameron (in theory, anyway, although it’s more likely that Frost will open tomorrow). Fisaga may be shutting their garage doors for good (or not). Dragonfly has a trick or three up its sleeve. The Quarter is set to open Any Day Now ™, catering to the adult (30+ crowd). Tom Sawyer Entertainment Complex is set to open soon, and as long as they have honey dipped chicken, I’m game. Max’s has just introduced outdoor seating, returning a bit of class to Second Street. And just maybe, if we’re really lucky, half of the cookie-cutter “OMG PARTY BAR” venues will flame out (Hardware, Eclipse, and all venues ending with “saloon” or “tavern”, I’m looking at you here).

Some people will tell you that downtown is dead and will never come back. Generally, these are the same people who simultaneously proclaim how terrible Harrisburg / Central Pennsylvania is at the top of their lungs AND remain in the area. Others will tell you that downtown has been getting steadily better every year of the millennium. Still others (myself included) will tell you that downtown’s greatness ebbs and flows on a continual cycle, and that right at this moment the dam is about to burst.

Even at its worst, downtown Harrisburg is still far better than what most cities have. New York is great, but good luck walking from club to bar to restaurant to bar to lounge to bar to bar to bar to club to bar to lounge to restaurant (and if you think downtown’s 2am gridlock is bad, try New Jersey at 5am). We can park, walk less than a block, grab dinner at Zembie’s, walk to Noma for martinis and soundtrack, cross over to Max’s for People Your Age ™, trek back down to Molly’s for drink specials and comraderie with total strangers, de-smoke at Cafe Fresco, pick up wings at KoKoMo’s, visit Eclipse, immediately head next door to Dragonfly, make last call at The District, nail a slice of Grandma Pizza at Palumbo’s, and hail a cab with your obnoxious friends for a 3am run to CPD for baklava. Having done all that, you’ve still only tapped about a third of what downtown has to offer, and haven’t even glimpsed the “off-Second” venues. Then there’s the west shore, and the rest of Harrisburg, and …

Downtown Harrisburg nightlife, despite its flaws and oddities, is still incredible. It’s easy to become burned out when you’re downtown every single weekend for years on end, but if you step back and look at the big picture, we have a lot going for us. The new downtown is speeding towards its ten-year anniversary and shows no signs of slowing down. What will be new then? Who will still be standing?