The Historic Zembo Shrine Center in Harrisburg

When I was a teenager I attended my very first circus performance at the historic Zembo Shrine Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and it's an experience that I'll never forget. I can vividly remember most of the performances that I saw that day. It was such a positive experience for me as a child, that I've become a big fan of attending circus performances all over the east coast.

Once I became a parent...I wanted to share my love for the circus with my daughter. During her childhood we took her to the Zembo Shrine several times to see it. After the performances, we would head out to dinner as a family and rehash everything that we saw. Those times that we spent together as a family are memories that I will always treasure.

Fast forward 25 years and our family still loves going to the circus. Now that we've got two young grandchildren in our lives, we're looking forward to taking them to their very first circus performance within the next few weeks.Thank you Zembo Shrine for all of the fond memories!

On a recent visit to uptown Harrisburg we passed by the historic Zembo Shrine Center and I took that opportunity to grab a few photographs. As you can see...the building is absolutely gorgeous! The architecture is done in a Middle East style and that's clearly evident inside and out. The building was built in 1928-1929 and was designed by architect, Charles Howard Lloyd.

There is a statue that sits out in front of the building called "The Silent Messenger" and the dedication plaque says "Zembo Shriners Helping Children Dedicated By Zembo Nobles and Their Ladies 2008". The statue depicts a Zembo Shriner holding a young child.

If you're unfamiliar with the uptown area, you'll find the Zembo Shrine Center (some of the locals call it the Zembo Shrine Temple) located at the intersection of Third and Division Streets. Throughout the year they host a wide variety of different events, expo's and shows. A lot of them are open to the public (with an admission fee or ticket purchase) and other's are for members only. A parking lot is right across the street, so attending events is convenient.

We wanted to share just a little bit of history on the building today with our blog readers and show you a few photographs that we took. Right in front of the building is a gorgeous statue and an information plaque that will give you some additional history on the building.  If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend that you visit. The architecture is absolutely gorgeous!