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York Journals

First Capitol

Best of IgoUgo

A travel journal to York by aku

Heritage Rail Trail Photo - Heritage Rail Trail County Park, York, Pennsylvania More Photos
Quote: The city of my youth redeems itself.
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First Capitol Best of IgoUgo

Overview

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As a teenager I thought my hometown of York PA was dreadful. In recent years, I've learned its actually not such a bad place after all. York is a quirky place, full of Pennsylvania Dutch farms, highly successful industry, exceedingly beautiful parks, and a city - home to the garden variety of urban problems familiar to much larger cities. There's all sorts of endearing, albeit at times odd, attractions to see including Three Mile Island, York Barbell Weighlifting Hall of Fame, Harley Davidson, The Great York Interstate Fair and The Haines Shoe House. Not to be overlooked is York's national historical value as laying claim to being the Nation's first capitol – it was in York in 1777 that the Continen...Read More
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An historic 11-story hotel, the Yorktowne is located in downtown York, one block from the city center square. The hotel is maintained with the flavor of hotels of the 1920s, when the Yorktowne was originally opened. The hotel''s guest registry includes Ella Fitzgerald, Richard Nixon, Frank Sinatra, and Margaret Thatcher. As the most elegant hotel in the city, many performers to the nearby Strand Capitol for Performing Arts are hosted by the Yorktowne during their stay in the area. Rooms and suites are nicely appointed with period furniture. Comfy king size beds come with a surplus of 6 pillows for slumbering enjoyment. Since the hotel is the tallest building downtown, many rooms have excellent ...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on February 19, 2001

Yorktowne Hotel
48 East Market Street
York, Pennsylvania 17401
(717) 848-1111

Left Bank Restaurant & Bar Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "The Left Bank"

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The Left Bank is really a surprising little gem for York -- definitely in terms of innovative cuisine, but also attitude and ambiance. If you have one chance to eat one dinner in York, go here. The substantial dinner menu offers lots of seafood and steak entrees -- clearly, the chef has paid attention to current trends in big city dining, but creates dishes with his own ideas as well. We ordered two appetizer specials - fried calamari with a fresh house chutney that was deliciously spicy, and enormous sea scallops prepared with an equally innovative and different pepper sauce. Even with a jumble of calamari, there was care taken in the presentation of the dish. For an appetizer, order the crab chowde...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on July 20, 2000

Left Bank Restaurant & Bar
120 N George Street
York, Pennsylvania 17401
(717) 843-8010

Blue Moon Cafe Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant

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The Blue Moon Cafe has been around for quite awhile... their eclectic bistro with a 'healthy' menu (with things like veggie burgers and ratatouille) was actually considered revolutionary for the area back in the 1980s. Since the lunch menu hasn't changed much in the past 10 years, I've basically lost interest in the options. However, a first time visitor will find the menu selections better than average than the local heavy Pennsylvania Dutch diner type cuisine, unless you're into potpie and hog maw. Solo and group exhibitions of local artists' work, sometimes really bad, sometimes great, adorn the walls of this old converted victorian-era storefront. High ceilings, mismatched flatware, and good jazz ...Read More

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on July 20, 2000

Blue Moon Cafe
361 West Market Street
York, Pennsylvania 17401
(717) 854-6664

Heritage Rail Trail Photo - Heritage Rail Trail County Park, York, Pennsylvania
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This bike trail is part of redeemed York for me. The rail trail is a 10-foot wide gravel covered path for biking, walking, and horseback riding. If you begin in York City, you'll see an interesting and quick natural progression from city to industry to farmland. The trail follows sections of the south branch of Codorus Creek and is also home to the Howard Tunnel, the oldest operational tunnel in the nation. Currently under restoration along the trail are several historic train stations. President Lincoln allegedly rode the railroad here on his route to deliver the Gettysburg Address. Elmer's Grocery, a quirky and cool general store lost in a time warp in Seven Valleys, PA is a good place to stop for a...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on June 26, 2000

Heritage Rail Trail County Park
West Market Street / Pershing Avenue
York, Pennsylvania
(717) 840-7440

Central Market Photo - Central Market House, York, Pennsylvania
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A rich part of York's social and historic tradition is the tri-weekly Central Market. "Market Day" was originally established by the PA legislature as far back as the late 17th century. York's Central Market is housed in an enormous and beautiful century-old market house downtown. Beneath lovely fifty foot high wooden rafters, about seventy vendor stands grace the market floor which is supervised by an old fashioned "market master." Stands are run by local and longstanding family farms (often of the Mennonite order) selling fresh grown produce, poultry, meats, baked goods, etc. The market retains its old-fashioned flavor even with its newer additions of ethnic stands, offering Thai, Middle Eastern, an...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 22, 2000

Central Market House
34 West Philadelphia Street
York, Pennsylvania 17401
(717) 848-2243

Haines Shoe House Best of IgoUgo

Attraction

The Shoe House Photo - Haines Shoe House, York, Pennsylvania
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A must see for shoe fetishists or kitschy Americana enthusiasts! The Shoe House is a local architectural oddity with plenty of site history. The giant boot with windows fascinated me as a child, and honestly, it's still as intriguing to me as an adult because it’s just so strange. Strategically visible from Route 30, and with the official address of Shoe House Road (off of East Market Street, a.k.a. Lincoln Highway ), the footwear -inspired structure was the original marketing ploy of Mahlon ‘The Shoe Wizard’ Haines, a local shoe store proprietor. (Later, Mr. Haines went into development, hence the 'Haines Acres' region of East York). Built in the late 1940s, its initial use was supposedly for h...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on October 26, 2000

Haines Shoe House
197 Shoe House Road At Route 30
York, Pennsylvania
(717) 840-8339

Hardshell Crabs Best of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

steamed crabs Photo - York, Pennsylvania
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Yorkers, despite being landlocked, and not exactly near the Chesapeake Bay indulge in the summer ritual of eating steamed blue crabs quite voraciously. Several little roadside shops come to life exclusively for the summer crab season, and local taverns and seafood stores begin steaming dozens of crabs to order starting around late May through September. The quintessential crab seasoning ingredient is Old Bay -- a piquant mixture of celery salt, cayenne, cloves, ginger, bay leaves, and paprika plus a few other random others. In addition, taverns usually add their own special ingredients, often generous additions of rock salt which add to the overall pucker to the seasoning. This summer, Kelly's Inn...Read More

About the Writer

More York Journals

Dining in York, PA
Rails to Trails

York Tips & Stories

Hardshell Crabs

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