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Scranton is a city in the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the
2020 U.S. census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming Valley, and the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 562,037 as of 2020. It is the sixth largest city in Pennsylvania. The contiguous network of five cities and more than 40 boroughs all built in a straight line in Northeastern Pennsylvania's urban area act culturally and logistically as one continuous city, so while the city of Scranton itself is a smaller town, the larger unofficial city of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre contains nearly half a million residents in roughly 200 square miles. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is the cultural and economic center of a region called Northeastern Pennsylvania, which is home to over 1.3 million residents. Scranton hosts a federal court building for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The city is conventionally divided into nine districts: North Scranton, Southside, Westside, the Hill Section, Central City, Minooka, East Mountain, Providence and Green Ridge, though these areas do not have legal status. The city is the geographic and cultural center of the Lackawanna River valley (a local name for a small part of the Wyoming Valley) and Northeastern Pennsylvania, as well as the largest of the former
anthracite coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the high ...
mining communities in a contiguous quilt-work that also includes Wilkes-Barre, Nanticoke,
Pittston Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The city gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal ...
, and Carbondale. Scranton was incorporated on February 14, 1856, as a borough in Luzerne County and as a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
on April 23, 1866. It became a major industrial city and a center of mining and railroads; it attracted thousands of new immigrants. It was the site of the Scranton General Strike in 1877. People in northern Luzerne County sought a new county in 1839, but the Wilkes-Barre area resisted losing its assets. Lackawanna County did not gain independent status until 1878. Under legislation allowing the issue to be voted by residents of the proposed territory, voters favored the new county by a proportion of 6 to 1, with Scranton residents providing the major support. The city was designated as the county seat when Lackawanna County was established in 1878, and a judicial district was authorized in July 1879. The city's nickname "Electric City" began when electric lights were introduced in 1880 at the
Dickson Manufacturing Company Dickson Manufacturing Company was an American manufacturer of boilers, blast furnaces and steam engines used in various industries but most known in railway steam locomotives. The company also designed and constructed steam powered mine cable ...
. Six years later, the United States' first streetcars powered only by electricity began operating in the city. Rev. David Spencer, a local Baptist minister, later proclaimed Scranton as the "Electric City". The city's industrial production and population peaked in the 1930s and 1940s, fueled by demand for coal and textiles, especially during World War II. But while the national economy boomed after the war, demand for the region's coal declined as other forms of energy became more popular, which also harmed the rail industry. Foreseeing the decline, city leaders formulated the Scranton Plan in 1945 to diversify the local economy beyond coal, but the city's economy continued to decline. The
Knox Mine disaster Knox may refer to: Places United States * Fort Knox, a United States Army post in Kentucky ** United States Bullion Depository, a high security storage facility commonly called Fort Knox * Fort Knox (Maine), a fort located on the Penobscot River i ...
of 1959 essentially ended coal mining in the region. Scranton's population dropped from its peak of 143,433 in the
1930 census The United States census of 1930, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during ...
to 76,089 in the 2010 census. The city now has large health care, academic, and manufacturing sectors. Scranton is located north of Allentown, north of Philadelphia, and northwest of New York City.


History


Pre-industrial (1776–1845)

Present-day Scranton and its surrounding area had been long inhabited by the native Lenape tribe, from whose language "Lackawanna" (or ''lac-a-wa-na,'' meaning "stream that forks") is derived. In 1778, Isaac Tripp, the area's first known white settler, built his home here; it still stands in North Scranton, formerly a separate town known as Providence. More settlers from Connecticut came to the area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries after the American Revolutionary War, as their state claimed this area as part of their colonial charter. They gradually established mills and other small businesses in a village that became known as Slocum Hollow. People in the village during this time carried the traits and accent of their New England settlers, which were somewhat different from most of Pennsylvania. Some area settlers from Connecticut participated in what was known as the Pennamite Wars, where settlers competed for control of the territory which had been included in royal colonial land grants to both states. (This claim between Connecticut and Pennsylvania was settled by negotiation with the federal government after independence.)


Arrival of industry (1846–1899)

Though
anthracite coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the high ...
was being mined in Carbondale to the north and Wilkes-Barre to the south, the industries that precipitated the city's early rapid growth were iron and
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
. In the 1840s, brothers Selden T. and
George W. Scranton George Whitfield Scranton (May 11, 1811 – March 24, 1861) was an American industrialist and politician, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from March 4, 1859, until his death in 1861. Moving to Penns ...
, who had worked at
Oxford Furnace Oxford Furnace is a historic blast furnace on Washington Avenue, near the intersection with Belvidere Avenue, in Oxford, Oxford Township, Warren County, New Jersey. The furnace was built by Jonathan Robeson (c. 1695–1766) in 1741 and produced ...
in Oxford, New Jersey, founded what became Lackawanna Iron & Coal, later developing as the Lackawanna Steel Company. It initially started producing iron nails, but that venture failed due to low-quality iron. The Erie Railroad's construction in New York State was delayed by its having to acquire iron rails as imports from England. The Scrantons' firm decided to switch its focus to producing T-rails for the Erie; the company soon became a major producer of rails for the rapidly expanding railroads. In 1851, the Scrantons built the
Lackawanna and Western Railroad __NOTOC__ Lackawanna (; from a Lenni Lenape word meaning "stream that forks") is the name of various places and later businesses in the mid-Atlantic United States, generally tracing their name in some manner from the Lackawanna River in Pennsylvani ...
(L&W) northward, with recent Irish immigrants supplying most of the labor, to meet the Erie Railroad in
Great Bend, Pennsylvania Great Bend is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Scranton. According to 2020 Census data, Great Bend's population was 634, down 13.6% from 2010. Great Bend sits along the Susquehanna River, less than two miles ...
. Thus they could transport manufactured rails from the Lackawanna Valley to New York and the Midwest. They also invested in coal mining operations in the city to fuel their steel operations, and to market it to businesses. In 1856, they expanded the railroad eastward as the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...
(DL&W), in order to tap into the New York City metropolitan market. This railroad, with its hub in Scranton, was Scranton's largest employer for almost one hundred years. The Pennsylvania Coal Company built a
gravity railroad A gravity railroad (American English) or gravity railway (British English) is a railroad on a slope that allows cars carrying minerals or passengers to coast down the slope by the force of gravity alone. The speed of the cars is controlled by a bra ...
in the 1850s through the city for the purpose of transporting coal. The gravity railroad was replaced by a steam railroad built in 1886 by the Erie and Wyoming Valley Railroad (later absorbed by the Erie Railroad). The Delaware and Hudson (D&H) Canal Company, which had its own gravity railroad from Carbondale to
Honesdale Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census. Honesdale is located northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recrea ...
, built a steam railroad that entered Scranton in 1863. During this short period of time, the city rapidly transformed from a small, agrarian-based village of people with New England roots to a multicultural, industrial-based city. From 1860 to 1900, the city's population increased more than tenfold. Most new immigrants, such as the Irish, Italians, Jewish, and south Germans and Polish, were Catholic, a contrast to the majority-Protestant early settlers of colonial descent. National, ethnic, religious and class differences were wrapped into political affiliations, with many new immigrants joining the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(and, for a time in the late 1870s, the Greenbacker-Labor Party.) In 1856, the Borough of Scranton was officially incorporated. It was incorporated as a city of 35,000 in 1866 in Luzerne County, when the surrounding boroughs of Hyde Park (now part of the city's West Side) and Providence (now part of North Scranton) were merged with Scranton. Twelve years later in 1878, the state passed a law enabling creation of new counties where a county's population surpassed 150,000, as did Luzerne's. The law appeared to enable the creation of Lackawanna County, and there was considerable political agitation around the authorizing process. Scranton was designated by the state legislature as the county seat of the newly formed county, which was also established as a separate judicial district, with state judges moving over from Luzerne County after courts were organized in October 1878. This was the last county in the state to be organized. Creation of the new county, which enabled both more local control and political patronage, helped begin the Scranton General Strike of 1877. This was in part due to the larger Great Railroad Strike, in which railroad workers began to organize and participate in walkouts after wage cuts in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The national economy had lagged since the Panic of 1873, and workers in many industries struggled with low wages and intermittent work. In Scranton, mineworkers followed the railroad men off the job, as did others. A protest of 5,000 strikers ended in violence, with a total of four men killed, and 20 to 50 injured, including the mayor. He had established a militia, but called for help from the governor and state militia. Governor
John Hartranft John Frederick Hartranft (December 16, 1830 – October 17, 1889) was the United States military officer who read the death warrant to the individuals who were executed on July 7, 1865 for conspiring to assassinate American President Abraham Lin ...
eventually brought in federal troops to quell the strike. The workers gained nothing in wages, but began to organize more purposefully into labor unions that could wield more power. The nation's first successful, continuously operating electrified streetcar (trolley) system was established in the city in 1886, inspiring the nickname "The Electric City". In 1896, the city's various streetcar companies were consolidated into the Scranton Railway Company, which ran trolleys until 1954. By 1890, three other railroads had built lines to tap into the rich supply of coal in and around the city, including the Erie Railroad, the Central Railroad of New Jersey and finally the New York, Ontario and Western Railway (NYO&W). As the vast rail network spread above ground, an even larger network of railways served the rapidly expanding system of coal veins underground. Miners, who in the early years were typically Welsh and Irish, were hired as cheaply as possible by the coal barons. The workers endured low pay, long hours and unsafe working conditions. Children as young as eight or nine worked 14-hour days separating slate from coal in the breakers. Often, the workers were forced to use company-provided housing and purchase food and other goods from stores owned by the coal companies. With hundreds of thousands of immigrants arriving in the industrial cities, mine owners did not have to search for labor and workers struggled to keep their positions. Later miners came from Italy and eastern Europe, which people fled because of poverty and lack of jobs. Business was booming at the end of the 19th century. The tonnage of coal mined increased virtually every year, as did the steel manufactured by the Lackawanna Steel Company. At one point the company had the largest steel plant in the United States, and it was still the second largest producer at the turn of the 20th century. By 1900, the city had a population of more than 100,000. In the late 1890s, Scranton was home to a series of early
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
baseball teams.


Labor history

Given its industrial basis, Scranton has had a notable labor history; various coal worker unions struggled throughout the coal-mining era to improve working conditions, raise wages, and guarantee fair treatment for workers. The Panic of 1873 and other economic difficulties caused a national recession and loss of business. As the economy contracted, the railroad companies reduced wages of workers in most classes (while sometimes reserving raises for their top management). A major strike of railroad workers in August 1877, part of the Great Railroad Strike, attracted workers from the steel industry and mining as well, and developed as the Scranton General Strike. Four rioters were killed during unrest during the strike, after the mayor mustered a militia. With violence suppressed by militia and federal troops, workers finally returned to their jobs, not able to gain any economic relief. William Walker Scranton, from the prominent family, was then general manager of Lackawanna Iron and Coal. He later founded Scranton Steel Company. The labor issues and growth of industry in Scranton contributed to Lackawanna County being established by the state legislature in 1878, with territory taken from Luzerne County. Scranton was designated as the county seat. This strengthened its local government. The unions failed to gain higher wages that year, but in 1878 they elected labor leader Terence V. Powderly of the Knights of Labor as mayor of Scranton. After that, he became national leader of the KoL, a predominately Catholic organization that had a peak membership of 700,000 circa 1880. While the Catholic Church had prohibited membership in secret organizations since the mid-18th century, by the late 1880s with the influence of Archbishop
James Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as ninth ...
of
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
, it supported the Knights of Labor as representing workingmen and union organizing. The landmark Coal strike of 1902 was called by anthracite miners across the region and led by the
United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...
under John Mitchell. The strike was settled by a compromise brokered by President Theodore Roosevelt. A statue of John Mitchell was installed in his honor on the grounds of the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton, "the site of the Coal Strike of 1902 negotiations in which President Roosevelt participated. Because of the significance of these negotiations, the statue and the Courthouse were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. John Mitchell is buried in Cathedral Cemetery in Scranton."


Growth, prosperity and consequences (1900–1945)

By the United States Census of 1900, the population of Scranton was about 102,026, making it the third largest city in Pennsylvania and 38th largest U.S. city. At the turn of the 20th century, wealthy businessmen and industrialists built impressive
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
mansions in the Hill and Green Ridge sections of the city. Most were descended from colonists and belonged to the Republican Party. The industrial workers, who tended to be later immigrants from Ireland and southern and eastern Europe, were predominately Catholic. With a flood of immigrants in the market, they suffered poor working conditions and wages. In 1902, the dwindling local iron ore supply, labor issues, and an aging plant cost the city the industry on which it was founded. The Lackawanna Steel Company and many of its workers were moved to Lackawanna, New York, developed on Lake Erie just south of Buffalo. With a port on the lake, the company could receive iron ore shipped from the
Mesabi Range The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. ...
in Minnesota, which was being newly mined. Scranton forged ahead as the capital of the anthracite coal industry. Attracting the thousands of workers needed to mine coal, the city developed new neighborhoods dominated by Italian and Eastern European immigrants, who brought their foods, cultures and religions. Many of the immigrants joined the Democratic Party. Their national churches and neighborhoods were part of the history of the city. Several Catholic and
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
churches were founded and built during this period. A substantial Jewish community was also established, with most members coming from the Russian Empire and eastern Europe. Working conditions for miners were improved by the efforts of labor leaders such as John Mitchell, who led the
United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...
. The sub-surface mining weakened whole neighborhoods, however, damaging homes, schools, and businesses when the land collapsed. In 1913 the state passed the Davis Act to establish the Bureau of Surface Support in Scranton. Because of the difficulty in dealing with the coal companies, citizens organized the Scranton Surface Protection Association, chartered by the Court of Common Pleas on November 24, 1913 "to protect the lives and property of the citizens of the City of Scranton and the streets of said city from injury, loss and damage caused by mining and mine caves." In 1915 and 1917, the city and Commonwealth sought injunctions to prevent coal companies from undermining city streets but lost their cases. North Main Avenue and Boulevard Avenue, "both entitled to surface support, caved in as a result" of court decisions that went against civil authorities and allowed the coal companies to continue their operations. "The case of ''Penman v. Jones'' came out differently. The Lackawanna Iron & Coal Co. had leased coal lands to the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Co., an allied interest, which passed the leases on to the Scranton Coal Co. Areas of central Scranton, the Hill Section, South Side, Pine Brook, Green Ridge and Hyde Park were affected by their mining activities. Mr. Penman was the private property owner in the case. The coal operators were defeated in this case."Cheryl A. Kashuba, "Scranton takes on mining, cave-ins"
, ''The Times-Tribune,'' October 10, 2010, accessed May 23, 2016
The public transportation system began to expand beyond the trolley lines pioneered by predecessors of the Scranton Railways system. The
Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad The Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad, more commonly known as the Laurel Line, was a Pennsylvania third rail electric interurban streetcar line which operated commuter train service from 1903 to 1952, and freight service until 1976. Its main li ...
, commonly referred to as the Laurel Line, was built as an interurban passenger and freight carrier to Wilkes-Barre. Its Scranton station, offices, powerhouse and maintenance facility were built on the former grounds of the Lackawanna Steel Company, and operations started in 1903. Beginning in 1907, Scrantonians could also ride trolley cars to the northern suburbs of
Clarks Summit Clarks Summit is a borough in Lackawanna County, northwest of Scranton in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 5,108 at the 2020 census. It is also the northern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension, I-476. History T ...
and Dalton. They could travel to
Lake Winola Lake Winola is a public, glacial lake in Overfield Township, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The lake is composed of an eastern and western basin, separated by a peninsula entering the lake from north to south. The lake is manag ...
and Montrose using the
Northern Electric Northern Electric was an electricity supply and distribution company serving north east England. History It had its origins as the North Eastern Electricity Board, formed as part of the nationalisation of the electricity industry by the Elect ...
Railroad. After the 1920s, no new trolley lines were built, but bus operations were started and expanded to meet service needs. In 1934, Scranton Railways was re-incorporated as the Scranton Transit Company, reflecting that shift in transportation modes. Starting in the early 1920s, the
Scranton Button Company The Scranton Button Company was a United States, U.S. corporation, founded in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1885. For much of its early history it was controlled by Canadians, Canadian immigrant William Connell (Pennsylvania), William Connell (Septem ...
(founded in 1885 and a major maker of shellac buttons) became one of the primary makers of phonograph records. They pressed records for Emerson (whom they bought in 1924), as well as Regal, Cameo, Romeo, Banner, Domino, Conqueror. In July 1929, the company merged with Regal, Cameo, Banner, and the U.S. branch of
Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...
(makers of Pathé and
Perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection, completeness, excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film * Perfect (1985 film), ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * Perfect (2018 f ...
) to become the
American Record Corporation American Record Corporation (ARC), also referred to as American Record Company, American Recording Corporation, or ARC Records, was an American record company. Overview ARC was created in January 1929 by Louis G. Sylvester, president of Scran ...
. By 1938, the Scranton company was also pressing records for Brunswick, Melotone, and Vocalion. In 1946, the company was acquired by
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
, which continued to produce
phonograph records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove ...
through the end of the vinyl era. By the mid-1930s, the city population had swelled beyond 140,000 due to growth in the mining and silk textile industries. World War II created a great demand for energy, which led to the highest production from mining in the area since World War I.


Post–World War II (1946–1984)

After World War II, coal lost favor to oil and natural gas as a heating fuel, largely because the latter types were more convenient to use. While some U.S. cities prospered in the post-war boom, the fortunes and population of Scranton (and the rest of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties) began to diminish. Coal production and rail traffic declined rapidly throughout the 1950s, causing a loss of jobs. In 1954, Worthington Scranton and his wife, Marion Margery Scranton, contributed one million dollars to establish the Scranton Foundation (now the Scranton Area Community Foundation), which was launched to support charitable and educational organizations in the city of Scranton. The
Knox Mine Disaster Knox may refer to: Places United States * Fort Knox, a United States Army post in Kentucky ** United States Bullion Depository, a high security storage facility commonly called Fort Knox * Fort Knox (Maine), a fort located on the Penobscot River i ...
of January 1959 virtually ended the mining industry in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The waters of the
Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...
flooded the mines. The DL&W Railroad, nearly bankrupted by the drop in coal traffic and the effects of Hurricane Diane, merged in 1960 with the Erie Railroad. Demand for public transportation also declined as new highways were built by federal subsidies and people purchased automobiles. In 1952, the Laurel Line ceased passenger service. The Scranton Transit Company, whose trolleys had given the city its nickname, transferred all operations to buses as the 1954 holiday season approached; by the end of 1971, it ceased all operations. The city was left without any public transportation system for almost a year until the Lackawanna County government formed COLTS, which began operations in late 1972 with 1950s-era GM busses from New Jersey. Scranton had been the hub of its operations until the Erie Lackawanna merger, after which it no longer served in this capacity. This was another severe blow to the local labor market. The NYO&W Railroad, which depended heavily on its Scranton branch for freight traffic, was abandoned in 1957. Mine
subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...
was a spreading problem in the city as pillar supports in abandoned mines began to fail; cave-ins sometimes consumed entire blocks of homes. The area was left scarred by abandoned coal mining structures, strip mines, and massive culm dumps, some of which caught fire and burned for many years until they were extinguished through government efforts. In 1970, the Secretary of Mines for Pennsylvania suggested that so many underground voids had been left by mining underneath Scranton that it would be "more economical" to abandon the city than make them safe. In 1973, the last mine operations in Lackawanna County (which were in what is now
McDade Park McDade Park is a community park located in Scranton in Lackawanna County, in northeastern Pennsylvania. It is named after former U.S. Representative Joseph M. McDade. The park is located on of land, containing an outdoor pool, a fishing pond a ...
, and another on the Scranton/ Dickson City line) were closed. During the 1960s and 1970s, the silk and other textile industries shrank as jobs were moved to the South or overseas. In 1962, businessman Alex Grass opened his first "Thrif D Discount Center" drugstore on Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton. The store, an immediate success, was the progenitor of the Rite Aid national drugstore chain. During the 1970s and 1980s, many downtown storefronts and theaters became vacant. Suburban development followed the highways and suburban shopping malls became the dominant venues for shopping and entertainment.


Stabilization and restoration (1985–present)

Since the mid-1980s, the city has emphasized revitalization. Local government and much of the community at large have adopted a renewed interest in the city's buildings and history. Some historic properties have been renovated and marketed as tourist attractions. The
Steamtown National Historic Site Steamtown National Historic Site (NHS) is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located on in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). The museum is buil ...
captures the area's once-prominent position in the railroad industry. The former DL&W train station was restored as the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel. The
Electric City Trolley Museum The Electric City Trolley Museum is a transport museum located in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, next to the Steamtown National Historic Site. The museum displays and operates restored trolleys and interurbans on former lines of the Lackawanna ...
was created next to the DL&W yards that the Steamtown NHS occupies. Since the mid-1980s the
Scranton Cultural Center The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple (formerly the Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral) is a theatre and cultural center in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The Cultural Center's mission statement is "to rejuvenate a national architect ...
has operated the architecturally significant Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral, designed by Raymond Hood, as the region's performing arts center. The Houdini Museum was opened in Scranton in 1990 by nationally known magician Dorothy Dietrich. In 2003,
Hilton Hotels & Resorts Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton Worldwide, Hilton. The original company was founded by C ...
opened th
Hilton Scranton Hotel & Conference Center
at the corner of Adams Avenue & Lackawanna Avenue in the heart of downtown Scranton. Due to the rage for paranormal-themed televisions shows, a popular downtown historic Scranton Ghost Walk has been expanded to operate 365 days a year. Other attractions include the
Montage Mountain ski resort Montage Mountain is a ski area in Pennsylvania, located from downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania. It is located about northwest of Philadelphia and New York City. There are 26 trails, two terrain parks, and one of Pennsylvania's longest snow tubin ...
(formerly Snö Mountain), the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins; the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (formerly the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees and, before that, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons), AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees; and their PNC Field, and the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain concert venue. According to '' The Guardian'', the city was close to bankruptcy in July 2012, with the wages of all municipal officials, including the mayor and fire chief, being cut to $7.25/hour. Financial consultant Gary Lewis, who lives in Scranton, was quoted as estimating that "on 5 July the city had just $5,000 cash in hand." Since the revitalization began, many coffee shops, restaurants, and bars have opened in the downtown, creating a vibrant night-life. The low cost of living, pedestrian-friendly downtown, and the construction of loft-style apartments in older, architecturally significant buildings have attracted young professionals and artists. Many are individuals who grew up in Scranton, moved to big cities after high school and college, and decided to return to the area to take advantage of its amenities. Many buildings around the city that were once empty are currently being restored. Many of the restored buildings will be used to entice new business into the city. Some of the newly renovated buildings are already being used. File:Scranton_-_Scranton_Electric_Building_(48472743896).jpg, Scranton Electric Building File:Scranton_-_Scranton_City_Hall_(48472742281).jpg,
Scranton City Hall Scranton City Hall is located at Washington and Mulberry (US 11/ PA 307) streets in the downtown section of that city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is a three-story limestone ashlar Victorian Gothic Revival building with sandstone trim, de ...
Image:St._Peter%27s_Cathedral.JPG, St. Peter's Cathedral Image:Electric_City_Mural.JPG, Electric City Mural Image:First_Liberty_Building.JPG, First Liberty Building Image:Scranton_Post_Office.JPG, US Post Office and Federal Building File:Scranton_-_Scranton_Cultural_Center_(48472741161).jpg, Scranton Cultural Center Image:Brooks_Building.JPG, Brooks Building Image:Downtown_Scranton_at_night.JPG, Downtown Scranton at night File:Scranton_-_Scranton_Times_Building_(48472734656).jpg, ''Scranton Times'' Building File:Scranton_-_Radisson_Lackawanna_Station_Hotel_(48472745076).jpg, Lackawanna Station Hotel


Geography

Scranton's total area of includes of land and of water, according to the United States Census Bureau. Scranton is drained by the Lackawanna River. Center City is about 750 feet (229 m) above sea level, although the hilly city's inhabited portions range about from . The city is flanked by mountains to the east and west whose elevations range from .


Climate

Scranton has a humid continental climate ( Köppen ''Dfa''), with four distinct seasons. Summers have occasional heat waves bringing temperatures well above , while winters can have cold snaps bringing temperatures below . The monthly daily average temperature in January, the coldest month, is , while the same figure in July, the warmest month, is . Extremes in temperatures have ranged from down to on January 21, 1994; there is an average of 15 days of + highs, 39 days where the high fails to rise above freezing, and 3 days where the minimum is at or below . Precipitation is generally ''slightly'' greater during late spring and summer, while winter is generally the driest. On average, each month sees 10 to 13 days of precipitation, and the mean annual total is . Snowfall is variable, with some winters bringing light snow and others bringing numerous snowstorms. For the 1991–2020 period, snowfall has averaged per year, with January accounting for the most of the seasonal total; on average, the first and last dates of measurable (≥) snowfall are November 14 and March 31, respectively, with snow in October and April a rare occurrence.


Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 76,328 people and 31,039 households residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 83.1% White, 5.9% African American, 0.1% Native American, 4.7%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race make up 14.8% of the population. As of the 2010 census, there were 76,089 people, 30,069 households, and 18,124 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,006/mi2 (1,161/km2). There were 33,853 housing units at an average density of 1,342/mi2 (518/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.11% White, 5.45% African American, 0.23% Native American, 2.98%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.69% from other races, and 2.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race make up 9.90% of the population. The largest ancestry in the city is Irish, making up 26.5% of the population. There were 30,069 households, out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. The city had 36.7% of its households with single occupancy and 18.1% whose individuals was aged at least 65. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.01. The age distribution of the population included 20.8% under 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% at least 65. The median age was 39. For every 100 females, there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females aged at least 18, there were 83.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,805, and the median income for a family was $41,642. Males had a median income of $30,829 versus $21,858 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,174. Found below the poverty line are 15.0% of the population, 10.7% of families, 18.9% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those at least age 65. As of the 2006 American Community Survey, the average family size is 2.95. Of the population that's 25 years old and over, 83.3% of them have graduated from high school. 18.7% of them have a Bachelor's degree or higher. In labor force (population 16 years and over), 57.6% of them work. The per capita income (in 2006 inflation-adjusted dollars) is $17,187.


Arts and culture


Landmarks and attractions

Many of Scranton's attractions celebrate its heritage as an industrial center in iron and coal production and its ethnic diversity. The
Scranton Iron Furnaces The Scranton Iron Furnaces is a historic site that preserves the heritage of iron making in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania and is located in Scranton, near the Steamtown National Historic Site. It protects the remains of four stone blast furnaces ...
are remnants of the city's founding industry and of the Scranton family's Lackawanna Steel Company. The
Steamtown National Historic Site Steamtown National Historic Site (NHS) is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located on in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). The museum is buil ...
seeks to preserve the history of railroads in the Northeast. The
Electric City Trolley Museum The Electric City Trolley Museum is a transport museum located in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, next to the Steamtown National Historic Site. The museum displays and operates restored trolleys and interurbans on former lines of the Lackawanna ...
preserves and operates pieces of Pennsylvania streetcar history. Tourists may go for trolley rides from Downtown Scranton to PNC Field on Montage Mountain. The Lackawanna Coal Mine tour at
McDade Park McDade Park is a community park located in Scranton in Lackawanna County, in northeastern Pennsylvania. It is named after former U.S. Representative Joseph M. McDade. The park is located on of land, containing an outdoor pool, a fishing pond a ...
, conducted inside a former mine, describes the history of mining and railroads in the Scranton area. The former DL&W Passenger Station is now the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel. Museums in Scranton include the
Everhart Museum The Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science & Art is a non-profit art and natural history museum located in Nay Aug Park in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1908 by Dr. Isaiah Fawkes Everhart, a local medical doctor ...
in Nay Aug Park, which houses a collection of natural history, science and art exhibits; and the Houdini Museum, which features films, exhibits, and a stage show in a unique, century-old building.
Terence Powderly Terence Vincent Powderly (January 22, 1849 – June 24, 1924) was an American labor union leader, politician and attorney, best known as head of the Knights of Labor in the late 1880s. Born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, he was later elected mayor ...
's
house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
, still a private dwelling, is one of the city's many historic buildings and, with Steamtown, the city's other National Historic Landmark. In addition, The Lackawanna Historical Society, founded in 1886 and located at the George H. Catlin House in Scranton's Hill Section, focuses on the history of Lackawanna County. Tripp House, built by the Tripp family in 1771, is the oldest building in the city. The city's religious history is evident in the Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Ann, which draws thousands of pilgrims to its annual novena, and St. Stanislaus Cathedral, the seat of the
Polish National Catholic Church The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish-Americans. The PNCC is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church.http://www.saplv.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/ ...
in North America. The history of the founding of this denomination is tied to
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
immigration to Scranton in the late 19th century. Since the 1970s, Scranton has hosted ''La Festa Italiana'', a three-day Italian festival that takes place on
Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
weekend on the courthouse square. The festival originally took place around Columbus Day, but was moved because Scranton generally receives cold weather in October. Scranton's large Irish population is represented in the annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade, first held in 1862. Organized by the St. Patrick's Day Parade Association of Lackawanna County, it is the nation's fourth largest in attendance and second largest in per capita attendance. Held on the Saturday before Saint Patrick's Day, the parade includes more than 8,000 people, including floats, bagpipe players, high school bands and Irish groups. In 2008, attendance estimates were as high as 150,000 people. For recreation, there is
Montage Mountain Ski Resort Montage Mountain is a ski area in Pennsylvania, located from downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania. It is located about northwest of Philadelphia and New York City. There are 26 trails, two terrain parks, and one of Pennsylvania's longest snow tubin ...
, known as Sno Mountain for a short period, which rivals the numerous resorts of the Poconos in popularity and offers a relatively comprehensive range of difficulty levels. The
Steamtown Marathon The Steamtown Marathon is an annual marathon (26.2 mi or 42.2 km) in northeastern Pennsylvania, held the Sunday before Columbus Day. The race starts at Forest City High School in Forest City and finishes at Courthouse Square in downto ...
has been held each October since 1996 and finishes in downtown Scranton. Nay Aug park is the largest of several parks in Scranton and was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who also laid out Central Park in Manhattan, New York City. The city is the home to numerous artistic organizations, including th
Scranton Fringe Festival
(a performing arts festival held in the downtown section of the city in fall). Scranton's primary concert venue is the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain, a partially covered amphitheater that seats 17,500. Its summer concerts have included James Taylor, Dave Matthews Band, and many other musical acts.
Scranton Cultural Center The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple (formerly the Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral) is a theatre and cultural center in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The Cultural Center's mission statement is "to rejuvenate a national architect ...
at the Masonic Temple is an impressive piece of architecture which houses several auditoriums and a large ballroom. It hosts the Northeast Philharmonic, Broadway Theater and other touring performances. The tallest building in Scranton is the Scranton Times Tower, a lattice radio tower on the Times building, which is illuminated during Christmas season.


Libraries

The Lackawanna County Library System administers the libraries in Scranton, including the Albright Memorial Library, the Lackawanna County Children's Library and the Nancy Kay Holmes Library. As of 2008, Scranton libraries serve more than 96,000 people and have a circulation of over 547,000.


Sports

Scranton's professional sports date to 1887, when the minor-league Scranton Indians became the city's first professional baseball team. Many more followed, including teams in the
Pennsylvania State League The Pennsylvania State League was an American minor league baseball sports league that operated from 1892 to 1895, then became the first Atlantic League (1896–1900), Atlantic League. The league member teams were exclusively based in Pennsylvania ...
, Eastern League, Atlantic League, New York State League, New York–Penn League and the New York–Pennsylvania League. The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
play their home games at PNC Field in Moosic, south of Scranton. In football, the Scranton Eagles, a discontinued semi-pro/minor league team, dominated their Empire Football League, winning 11 championships. The former arena football Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, who played eight seasons at the
Mohegan Sun Arena The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features of configurable exhibition space and a clear span. It was built by the Perini Buil ...
, formerly Wachovia Arena, in Wilkes-Barre Township made the playoffs in their last six years of existence and contended for the
ArenaCup VIII The 2007 AF2 season was the eighth season of the AF2. It was preceded by 2006 and succeeded by 2008. The regular season began on Friday, March 30 and ended on July 28. The league champions were the Tulsa Talons, who defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scr ...
in 2007 and the
ArenaCup X The 2009 AF2 season was the AF2's 10th and final season. It was preceded by 2008. The regular season began on Friday, March 20 and finished on Saturday, July 25. The league champion was the Spokane Shock, who defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pi ...
in 2009, their final year, but lost both times. Another semi-pro/minor league team the North East Pennsylvania Miners of the [Big North East Football Federation started play in the area in 2007. The NEPA Shock are a Semi-Pro/Minor League team that currently operate out of the Dickson City borough. The Shock were established in 2012 and participate in arena style football as a member of the Great Eastern Football Association. Scranton previously had pro basketball teams, including the Scranton Apollos, Scranton Miners and Scranton Zappers. Syracuse Orange, Syracuse University men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim played for the Miners before turning to coaching. In 2012, the city played host to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Steamers of the Premier Basketball League. The team went inactive after that season, and no professional teams played in the city. In 2018, the Scranton Shamrocks joined the American Basketball Association (2000–present), once again bringing professional basketball to the region. Professional ice hockey arrived in 1999 when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League began play at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township. The team won conference championships in 2001, 2004, and 2008. The
Electric City Shock SC Below is a list of all the teams that ever have ever played, or will play, in the Men's Premier Soccer League (MPSL) or National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a s ...
semi-professional soccer team was founded in 2013 as part of the National Premier Soccer League. The team is on the fourth tier of the
American Soccer Pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...
and plays at the University of Scranton's Fitzpatrick Field. Watres Armory in Scranton hosted a World Heavyweight Championship fight between titlist Larry Holmes and challenger Lucien Rodrigues of France on March 27, 1983. Holmes retained his title via a unanimous 12-round decision without losing a single round in any official scorecard. Starting in 2014, Scranton also became home to the Skyliners Drum and Bugle Corps, a professional marching drum corps in the Drum Corps Associates circuit. They compete with other corps throughout the nation, as well as play multiple community parades, events and performances. The Skyliners have won numerous awards for their performances, including national and world open titles.


Education


Primary and secondary education

The city's public schools are operated by the Scranton School District (SSD), which serves almost 10,000 students. The city has two public high schools for grades 9–12: Scranton High School just northwest of the downtown and
West Scranton High School West Scranton High School, is a community-based school in the "West Side" neighborhood of Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of the oldest schools in the area, having opened to the public in 1935, first as a junior high facility and ...
located on the West Side of the city. The district also has three public middle schools for grades 6–8: Northeast Intermediate, South Scranton Intermediate, and West Scranton Intermediate. In addition, SSD maintains 12 public elementary schools for grades K–5. Scranton has two private high schools: Scranton Preparatory School, a private
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
school, and Yeshiva Bais Moshe, an
Ultra Orthodox Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
school. Holy Cross High School in Dunmore is a Catholic high school operated by the
Diocese of Scranton The Diocese of Scranton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church. It is a suffragan see of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, established on March 3, 1868. The seat of the bishop is St. Peter's Cathedral in th ...
that serves students in Scranton and the surrounding area. The diocese also operates several private elementary schools in the city. Protestant schools that serve the Scranton area include Abington Christian Academy, Canaan Christian Academy, The Geneva School, Summit Academy, and Triboro Christian Academy. The Pennsylvania Department of Education provides oversight for the
Scranton School for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children The Scranton School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children is a specialized private school located in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania serving deaf and hard of hearing students from Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, United States. Formerly administe ...
. The
Scranton State School for the Deaf Scranton State School for the Deaf (SSSD) was a residential school for the deaf established in 1880 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. Its students ranged in age from birth to 21. At the end of the 2008–09 school year, the school was turn ...
, a state-run school was replaced by the Scranton School for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children.
Penn Foster High School Penn Foster High School is a for-profit online high school based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The high school is regionally and nationally accredited and is the largest high school in the United States with over 60,000 students currently enrolled ...
, a distance education high school, is headquartered in Scranton. Merakey Education Center is a small private school located in North Scranton. Scranton, West Scranton, Scranton Prep and Holy Cross all compete athletically in Pennsylvania's Lackawanna League which is a part of District 2 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.


Colleges and universities

The city hosts five colleges and universities: The University of Scranton,
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) is a private medical school associated with the Geisinger Health System and located in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania. GCSOM offers a community-based model of medical education wit ...
,
Johnson College Johnson College is a private technical school in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Johnson College was founded in 1912 as a trade school by Orlando S. Johnson, a wealthy coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed ...
, Lackawanna College,
Marywood University Marywood University is a private Catholic university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Established in 1915 by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Marywood currently enrolls more than 2,800 students in a variety of undergraduate, gradu ...
, and two technical schools,
Fortis Institute Fortis College (also Fortis Institute and Fortis College of Nursing in some locations) is a Private for-profit college with multiple campuses throughout the United States. It was established in 2008 and is operated by Education Affiliates and owne ...
and The Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County. The
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
operates a
Commonwealth Campus The Pennsylvania State University is a geographically dispersed university system with campuses located throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. While the administrative hub of the university is located at its flagship campus, University Pa ...
,
Penn State Scranton Penn State Scranton (formerly known as Penn State Worthington Scranton) is a Commonwealth Campus of Pennsylvania State University located in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. The Scranton campus was named in memory of Worthington Scranton, a prominent indu ...
, north of the city, in the borough of Dunmore. LCCC, a community college operating out of Nanticoke in Luzerne County, operates a satellite campus at
The Marketplace at Steamtown The Marketplace at Steamtown (formerly The Mall at Steamtown) is a shopping mall in Scranton, Pennsylvania. United States. It was conceived in the mid-1980s as the keystone of downtown revitalization, though the project was not completed until 1993 ...
. Penn Foster Career School, a distance education vocational school, is headquartered in Scranton.


Media

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area is the 55th largest U.S. television market. Local television stations include: * WNEP-TV ABC affiliate * WBRE-TV NBC affiliate *
WYOU-TV WYOU (channel 22) is a television station licensed to Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with ...
CBS affiliate * WVIA-TV PBS affiliate *
WOLF-TV WOLF-TV (channel 56) is a television station licensed to Hazleton, Pennsylvania, United States, serving Northeastern Pennsylvania as an affiliate of the Fox network. It is the flagship property of locally based New Age Media, LLC, and is co-ow ...
FOX affiliate * WQMY MyNetworkTV affiliate * WSWB CW affiliate * WQPX Ion Television affiliate Local public-access television and government-access television (ECTV) programming is aired on
Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...
channels 19 and 21. Scranton hosts the headquarters of Times-Shamrock Communications, which publishes the city's major newspaper, '' The Times-Tribune'', a
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning broadsheet daily founded in 1870. ''Times-Shamrock'' also publishes the'' Electric City'', a weekly entertainment tabloid, and '' The Citizens' Voice'', a daily tabloid based in Wilkes-Barre. '' Times Leader'' is a daily paper that primarily covers nearby Wilkes-Barre. The ''Times Leader'' also publishes ''Go Lackawanna'', a Sunday newspaper serving Scranton and surrounding municipalities, and the ''Weekender'' is a Wilkes-Barre-based entertainment tabloid with distribution in Scranton. ''
The Aquinas ''The Aquinas'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Print editions are published every Thursday during the semester and distributed to buildings throughout the university's campus. History ''T ...
'' is the weekly
student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also repor ...
of the University of Scranton. ''The Scranton Post'' is a weekly general interest broadsheet which bills itself as the city's first online newspaper. There are several other print publications with a more narrow focus, including the ''Union News,'' ''La Voz Latina,'' and ''Melanian News.'' The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre radio market is ranked #71 in the country by
Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
.


Infrastructure


Transportation

The main highways that serve Scranton are Interstate 81, which runs North to
Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...
and Ontario and south to Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg and Tennessee; Interstate 84, which runs east to
Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...
and New England States; Interstate 380, which runs southeast to Pocono Pines and
Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
east to New York City and west to San Francisco; Interstate 476/ Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension, which runs south to Allentown and Philadelphia;
U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...
, which runs east to Carbondale/Honesdale and parallel to I-84 to New England States and west to Erie; and
U.S. Route 11 {{Infobox road , country=USA , type=US , route=11 , map={{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, frame-height=330, type=line, from=U.S. Route 11.map , map_custom=yes , map_notes=US 11 in red, US 11E in blue, US 11W in ...
, which runs parallel to I-81. Scranton's provider of public transportation is the
County of Lackawanna Transit System The County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS) is the operator of public transport for the city of Scranton urban area and its surrounding area of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. It began operations in 1972, largely using routes established by p ...
(COLTS). COLTS buses provide extensive service within the city and more limited service that reaches in all directions to Carbondale, Daleville,
Pittston Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The city gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal ...
, and
Fleetville St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Ro ...
. The other bussing company is the
Luzerne County Transportation Authority The Luzerne County Transportation Authority (LCTA) is the operator of mass transportation in the city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and portions of surrounding Luzerne County. Services provided by the LCTA replaced previously offered services of ...
(LCTA), which mainly runs through The Minooka section (closest to Luzerne County) and Downtown Scranton by The Mall at Steamtown. LCTA takes passengers from Scranton to the Mohegan Sun Pocono racino in Plains The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is located in nearby Avoca. The airport is serviced by American Airlines,
Regional Sky Regional Sky is an airline based at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport and headquartered in Avoca, Pennsylvania that flies scheduled commuter flights marketed by Public Charters, LLC as well as charter flights. History In April 2018, Re ...
and United.
Martz Trailways Martz Group is a bus company headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, operating intercity commuter buses, charter buses, and tours. The company operates Martz Trailways, which is a part of the Trailways Transportation System. Martz Trailways ...
and
Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
provide coach bus transportation from its downtown station to New York City, Philadelphia and other places in the Northeast. Private operators such as Posten Taxi and McCarthy Flowered Cabs service the Scranton area. They are hired by telephone through central dispatch and cannot be hailed on the street as in larger cities.


Railroads

Rail transportation, in both freight and passenger, were vital to the city's historic growth. The city was a hub, serving the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), the
Delaware and Hudson Railway The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...
, the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...
(DLW), the Erie Railroad, and the
Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad The Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad, more commonly known as the Laurel Line, was a Pennsylvania third rail electric interurban streetcar line which operated commuter train service from 1903 to 1952, and freight service until 1976. Its main li ...
(LWV), with routes radiating in all directions, to New York State's Southern Tier, to several points in Pennsylvania, and to parts in northern New Jersey. The CNJ station and the DLW station were the last to lose passenger service, in the early 1950s and in 1970, respectively. Freight rail remains important and vital even today in Scranton. The
Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
runs freight trains on the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western (DL&W) line between Scranton and Binghamton, having taken over operations from the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
(Delaware and Hudson Railway division) in 2015. The
Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad , sometimes shortened to Reading and Northern Railroad, is a regional railroad in eastern Pennsylvania. Its headquarters is in Port Clinton. The RBMN provides freight service on of track. Its mainl ...
serves the former DL&W Keyser Valley branch in the city. The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad, as designated operator of county-owned rail lines, oversees the former Delaware and Hudson line from Scranton north to Carbondale, the former DL&W line east to the Delaware Water Gap and the former Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad third-rail interurban streetcar line south to Montage Mountain, Moosic and the Minooka Industrial Track. These lines host the seasonal passenger trains of both the
Steamtown National Historic Site Steamtown National Historic Site (NHS) is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located on in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the site of the former Scranton yards of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). The museum is buil ...
and the
Electric City Trolley Museum The Electric City Trolley Museum is a transport museum located in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, next to the Steamtown National Historic Site. The museum displays and operates restored trolleys and interurbans on former lines of the Lackawanna ...
and are under the jurisdiction of the
Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority (PNRRA) is a bi-county creation of both Lackawanna and Monroe counties to oversee the use of common rail freight lines in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The designated freight operator of the Pe ...
. The PNRRA was created by Lackawanna County and
Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...
to oversee the use of common rail freight lines in Northeastern Pennsylvania, including one formerly owned by
Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
running from Scranton, through the Pocono Mountains towards New Jersey and the New York City market. One of its primary objectives is to re-establish rail passenger service to Hoboken, New Jersey and thence by connection to New York. Indeed, regular passenger train service to Scranton is slated to be restored under a plan to extend NJ Transit service from Hoboken via the Lackawanna Cut-Off. That project is ongoing as rail is being laid down in New Jersey. The trains would pass the Lackawanna Station building and pull in at a new Scranton station on Lackawanna Avenue along the northernmost track east of Bridge 60 (the railroad bridge over the Lackawanna River) and the Cliff Street underpass.


Fire department

The Bureau of Fire was incorporated as a paid service in 1901. It is a full-time service consisting of about 139
firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
s. Its headquarters is on Mulberry Street in Central City. The fire department has seven operating fire stations. It has nine firefighting vehicles, including five engines, two trucks (ladders), one rescue, and an assistant chief's vehicle.


Police

Police headquarters is located on North Washington Avenue in downtown Scranton. Special Units include Arson Investigations, Auto Theft Task Force, Child Abuse Investigation, Crime Scene Investigation, Criminal Investigation, Juvenile Unit, Special Investigations Unit, Special Operations Group (SWAT/SOG), Canine Unit, Community Development and Highway Unit. The Police department has recently opened two new satellite stations. The Highway Unit was relocated to one new station at N. Keyser Ave & Morgan Highway. The second was opened at the Valley View Housing complex. There are plans for at least one more, and possibly two.


Notable people


Arts

* J. Grubb Alexander, silent film screenwriter * Pete Barbutti, actor * Walter Bobbie, theatre director and choreographer * Alan Brown, filmmaker * Sonny Burke, big band leader * Mark Cohen, photographer *
Karl R. Coolidge Karl R. Coolidge (March 29, 1890 – March 2, 1964) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 73 films between 1913 and 1935. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * Riders of the ...
, screenwriter *
Ann Crowley Ann Crowley (1765 – 1826) was a British Quaker minister. Life Crowley was one of the eight daughters of William and Catherine Crowley. She was born on 8 May 1765 in Shillingford in Oxfordshire where her father was a maltster and mealman. Ann w ...
, singer and actress * Emile de Antonio, documentary film director and producer *
Carrie De Mar Carrie De Mar (April 1, 1875/76 - February 23, 1963)''American and British Theatrical Biography'' page 300 by J. P. Wearing c.1979 ISBN 0-8108-1201-0''Silent Film Necrology'', p.130 2nd edition c.2001 by Eugene M. Vazzana ISBN 0-7864-1059-0 was a ...
, actress, singer, and vaudevillian * Dorothy Dietrich,
stage magician Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...
,
escapologist Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and ot ...
, co-owner of Houdini Museum *
Margot Douaihy Margot Douaihy, Ph.D, is an American writer whose works include ''Scorched Grace'' (Gillian Flynn Books, 2023), ''Scranton Lace'' (Clemson University Press), ''Girls Like You'' (Clemson University Press), a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, ''Bandit ...
, writer and author * Cy Endfield, screenwriter, film and theater director, author, magician, and inventor * Ann Evers, film actress *
Wanda Hawley Wanda Hawley (born Selma Wanda Pittack; July 30, 1895 – March 18, 1963) was an American actress during the silent film era. She entered the theatrical profession with an amateur group in Seattle, and later toured the United States and Can ...
, silent film actress * Allan Jones, singer and actor * Jane Jacobs, writer and activist * Gloria Jean, singer and actress *
Stephen Karam Stephen Karam (born ) is an American playwright, screenwriter and director. His plays ''Sons of the Prophet'', a comedy-drama about a Lebanese-American family, and '' The Humans'' were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2012 and 2016, ...
, playwright and screenwriter * JP Karliak, actor, voice actor, and comedian *
Jean Kerr Jean Kerr (born Bridget Jean Collins, July 10, 1922 – January 5, 2003) was an Irish-American author and playwright born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, who authored the 1957 bestseller ''Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' and the plays ''King of Hea ...
, author and playwright * Michael Patrick King, television and film writer, director and producer, co-creator of ''
2 Broke Girls ''2 Broke Girls'' (stylized ''2 Broke Girl$'') is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 19, 2011, to April 17, 2017. The series was produced for Warner Bros. Television and created by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cumm ...
'' and '' The Comeback'' *
William Kotzwinkle William Kotzwinkle (born November 22, 1943) is an American novelist, children's writer, and screenwriter. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He has won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for ''Doctor Rat'' in 1977, and has also wo ...
, novelist and screenwriter *
Michael Kuchwara Michael Charlies Kuchwara (February 28, 1947 – May 22, 2010) was an American theater critic, columnist and journalist. Kuchwara worked as both a critic and journalist for the ''Associated Press'' for more than from 1984 until 2010, writing pi ...
, theater critic, columnist, and journalist * Gershon Legman, cultural critic and folklorist *
Bradford Louryk Bradford Louryk is an American theater artist and actor. Louryk is best known for his solo performance work, which often incorporates gender reversal. He is also known for his odd taste in fashion.McGlone, Jackie; July 14, 2005"From GI to Glamour ...
, theater artist and actor * Charles Emmett Mack, actor * Jeanne Madden, singer, star of musical theater and 1930s films * Carl Marzani, political activist, volunteer soldier in Spanish Civil War, organizer for the Communist Party USA, U.S. intelligence official, documentary filmmaker, author, and publisher *
Judy McGrath Judith Ann McGrath (born July 2, 1952) is an American television executive. Early life and education She is a graduate of Scranton High School in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Career In 2004, McGra ...
, MTV Networks CEO * Charles MacArthur, playwright and screenwriter * The Menzingers, punk band * W. S. Merwin, 17th
U.S. Poet Laureate The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...
* Jason Miller, actor, director, and
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
–winning playwright of '' That Championship Season'' *
Russ Morgan Russell Morgan (April 29, 1904 – August 7, 1969) was an American big band leader and arranger during the 1930s and 1940s. He was best known for being the one of the composers of the song "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", with Larry Stock ...
, big band-era bandleader * Motionless in White, gothic
metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...
band *
Bruce Mozert Robert Bruce Moser (November 24, 1916 – October 14, 2015), known as Bruce Mozert, was an American photographer. He was considered to be a pioneer of underwater photography and his images of Silver Springs, Florida, were widely circulated during ...
, photographer * Jay Parini, writer and academic *
Jerry Penacoli Jerry Penacoli (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and entertainment reporter, and served as a host with the US syndicated magazine show ''Extra (U.S. TV program), Extra'' for 20 years. Reporting career Before going national, Penacoli serve ...
, actor and director * Byrne Piven, stage actor * Cynthia Rothrock, martial artist and star of martial arts films * Lizabeth Scott, actress and singer *
Katy Selverstone Katy Selverstone (born February 4, 1966 in New York City) is an American actress. She is primarily known for her work on ''The Drew Carey Show'' as Lisa Robbins, Drew Carey's girlfriend in the first and second seasons. Life & career Selverstone ...
, actress, Lisa Robbins on '' The Drew Carey Show'' * Melanie Smith, television actress *
Thomas L. Thomas Thomas Llyfnwy Thomas (23 February 1911 – 17 April 1983) was a Welsh American baritone concert singer who achieved fame for his performances both in concert halls and on television and radio, most notably on ''The Voice of Firestone'', where he ...
, concert singer * Tigers Jaw, indie rock, emo band * Beverly Tyler, actress and singer *
Sally Victor Sally Victor (née Josephs; February 23, 1905 – May 14, 1977) was a prominent American milliner from the late 1920s through the 1960s. Her designs were popular with Hollywood actresses such as Irene Dunne, Helen Hayes, and Merle Oberon, as wel ...
, milliner * Ned Washington, Academy Award-winning lyricist * Lauren Weisberger, author, '' The Devil Wears Prada''


Government

* Joe Biden, 46th President of the United States (2021–), 47th Vice President of the United States, U.S. senator from Delaware (1973–2009) * John Blake, former Pennsylvania State Senator *
Marion Cowan Burrows Marion Cowan Burrows (May 7, 1865? – November 13, 1952) was an American physician, pharmacist, and state legislator in Massachusetts. Early life and education Marion Cowan was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the daughter of James Cowan and Jan ...
, former Massachusetts state legislator * Frank Carlucci, former U.S. Secretary of Defense and ambassador to Portugal *
Robert P. Casey Robert Patrick Casey Sr. (January 9, 1932 – May 30, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician from Pennsylvania who served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate for the ...
, former governor of Pennsylvania *
Robert P. Casey Jr. Robert Patrick Casey Jr. (born April 13, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Pennsylvania, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Casey previously served as Pen ...
, U.S. senator *
Gaynor Cawley Joseph Gaynor Cawley (June 19, 1941 – March 12, 2021) was a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and professional baseball player. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he played minor league baseball for Detroit. He was s ...
, former Pennsylvania State Representative *
David J. Davis David J. Davis (November 22, 1870 – November 19, 1942) was an American politician and military officer who served as the 13th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 1923 to 1927. Davis was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Re ...
, former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor * Mike Dunleavy, governor of Alaska * Hugh E. Rodham, father of Hillary Clinton * Hermann Eilts, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bangladesh *
John R. Farr John Richard Farr (July 18, 1857 – December 11, 1933) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography John R. Farr was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and attended Scranton's School of the Lackawa ...
, U.S. Congresman *
Kathleen Kane Kathleen Granahan Kane (born Kathleen Margaret Granahan; June 14, 1966) is an American former politician and lawyer who served as the 48th Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 2013 until her resignation in 2016 following her conviction for per ...
, former Pennsylvania attorney general and felon * Terence V. Powderly, former head of Knights of Labor * Robert Reich, professor and political commentator, former U.S. Secretary of Labor *
Mary Scranton Mary Lowe Scranton (April 27, 1918 – December 26, 2015) was an American consultant, community advocate and academic trustee. She served as the First Ladies of Pennsylvania, First Lady of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967 during the administration ...
, former First Lady of Pennsylvania * William Scranton, former governor of Pennsylvania and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations *
William Scranton III William Worthington Scranton III (born July 20, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 26th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987 in the administration of Governor Richard Thornburgh. He is the son of the late Pennsylv ...
, former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor *
Joel Wachs Joel Wachs (, ; born March 1, 1939) is an American former politician and lawyer. He is the president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York City. He was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for 30 years, where he was k ...
, Los Angeles city council member * John Anthony Walker, former U.S. Navy chief warrant officer convicted of spying for the Soviet Union *
Louis A. Watres Louis Arthur Watres (April 21, 1851 – June 28, 1937) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the Pennsylvania Senate, District 20, 20t ...
, former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor


Sports

*
Hank Bullough Henry Charles Bullough (January 24, 1934 – November 24, 2019) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Michigan State and graduated in 1954. Bullough was a starting guard for the Spartans team that won the 19 ...
, NFL player and coach *
P. J. Carlesimo Peter John Carlesimo (born May 30, 1949) is an American basketball coach who coached in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball for nearly 40 years. He is also a television broadcaster, having worked with ESPN, '' Th ...
, college, Olympic, and professional basketball coach and television broadcaster *
Jimmy Caras James Caras (17 December 1908 – 3 December 2002) was an American professional pool player, most well known for winning five World Straight Pool Championship The World Straight Pool Championship is a pool competition, that was held up until the ...
, professional pool player *
Nick Chickillo Nicholas Angelo Chickillo (October 17, 1930 – February 5, 2000) was an American football player who played one season with the Chicago Cardinals (NFL, 1920–59), Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Car ...
, former NFL player *
Nestor Chylak Nestor George Chylak Jr. (; May 11, 1922February 17, 1982) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1954 to 1978. He umpired in three ALCS (1969, 1972, 1973), serving as crew chief in 1969 and 1973. H ...
, Baseball Hall of Famer and former American League umpire *
Joe Collins Joseph Edward Collins (born Joseph Edward Kollonige; December 3, 1922 – August 30, 1989) was an American Major League Baseball player born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. On September 25, he began his major league career playing for the New York Y ...
, Major League Baseball player, six-time World Series champion * Patty Costello, professional bowler, International Bowling Congress Hall of Fame, and Pro Bowlers Tour Hall of Fame member *
Jim Crowley James Harold "Sleepy Jim" Crowley (September 10, 1902 – January 15, 1986) was an American football player and coach. He gained fame as one-fourth of the University of Notre Dame's legendary "Four Horsemen (American football), Four Horsemen" bac ...
, football player and coach, one-fourth of University of Notre Dame's legendary " Four Horsemen" backfield *
Paul Foytack Paul Eugene Foytack (November 16, 1930 – January 23, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher who appeared in 312 games in Major League Baseball between 1953 and 1964 for two American League clubs, the Detroit ...
, Major League Baseball pitcher * Charlie Gelbert, Major League Baseball player *
Joe Grzenda Joseph Charles Grzenda (June 8, 1937 – July 12, 2019) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight seasons (1961; 1964–1967; 1969–1972) for the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Athletic ...
, Major League Baseball player * Cosmo Iacavazzi, college and
AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
player * Edgar Jones, college and professional football player * Gary Lavelle, Major League Baseball player * Bill Lazor, NFL offensive coordinator * Dave Lettieri, Olympic cyclist *
Ralph Lomma Ralph John Lomma (March 13, 1924 – September 12, 2011) is often credited, along with his brother, Al, with popularizing miniature golf in the mid-1950s through their design and manufacture of now famous obstacles such as castles, clown heads and ...
, popularized
miniature golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...
*
Mike Lynn Michael Lynn III (May 18, 1936 – July 21, 2012) was an American football general manager and executive. He served as the general manager of the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings from 1975 to 1990. Early life Lynn's father died of ...
, general manager and executive Minnesota Vikings *
Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...
, Major League Baseball player *
Matt McGloin Matthew James "Matt" McGloin (born December 2, 1989) is a former American football quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 2010 to 2012. McGloin was the first walk-on quarterback to start ...
, former NFL quarterback * Gerry McNamara, assistant coach, Syracuse Orange * Mike McNally, former Major League Baseball player, member of New York Yankees first World Series championship team * Mike Munchak, former head coach of NFL's Tennessee Titans, college and
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
player, member of Pro Football Hall of Fame * Joe O'Malley, football player * Jim O'Neill, Major League Baseball player * Steve O'Neill, former Major League Baseball player and manager *
Jackie Paterson Jackie Paterson (5 September 1920 – 19 November 1966) was a Scottish boxer who was world flyweight boxing champion. He was also British champion at flyweight and bantamweight. Early life Born in Springside, Ayrshire, Paterson emigrated with ...
, Scottish boxer *
Jim Rempe James Rempe (born November 4, 1947, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, US) is an American professional pocket billiards (pool) player, and was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 2002. Career Rempe began playing pool at th ...
, pocket billiards champion and member of the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame * Adam Rippon, figure skater *
Tim Ruddy Tim Ruddy (born April 27, 1972) is a former American football offensive lineman. He was born in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. Tim Ruddy was a center for the Miami Dolphins from 1994 to 2003. Tim went on to acting and writing as well as working on th ...
, college and National Football League player * Dutch Savage, professional wrestler *
Greg Sherman Greg Sherman (born March 30, 1970) is the former general manager of the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League, a post he had held from June 3, 2009, to September 19, 2014. Sherman stepped into the role following seven years as a special ...
, general manager of NHL's Colorado Avalanche * Chick Shorten, Major League Baseball player *
Marc Spindler Marc Spindler (born November 28, 1969) is a former American football player who was a defensive tackle and defensive end who played nine seasons in the National Football League. Since retiring from football, Spindler has worked for both WDFN ...
, college and
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
player * Brian Stann, mixed martial artist, UFC analyst for Fox Sports, former WEC
Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
champion


Others

*
Joseph Bambera Joseph Charles Bambera (born March 21, 1956) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Bishop of Scranton, serving since April 26, 2010. Biography Early life and education Joseph Bambera was born in C ...
, Bishop of Scranton *
Mamie Cadden Mary Anne "Mamie" Cadden (27 October 1891 – 20 April 1959) was an Irish midwife, backstreet abortionist, and convicted murderer. She was born 27 October 1891 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Irish parents Patrick and Mary Cadden. In 1895, Cadden ...
, Irish midwife and murderer *
Lisa Caputo Lisa Caputo is the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for The Travelers Companies, Inc. She joined Travelers on June 1, 2011. At Travelers, she is a member of the Management and Operating Committees and the ...
,
Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...
group * Howard Gardner, developmental psychologist and professor * Frank Gibney, journalist and scholar *
Hugh Glass Hugh Glass ( 1783 – 1833) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, trader, hunter and explorer. He is best known for his story of survival and forgiveness after being left for dead by companions when he was mauled by a grizzly bear. No rec ...
, American frontiersman * Alex Grass, founder of Rite Aid *
Lansing C. Holden Lansing Colton Holden Sr. (March 2, 1858 – May 15, 1930) was an American architect of the late 19th & early 20th centuries with several works in Scranton, Pennsylvania.https://lhva.org/docs/History-Set-In-Stone.pdf He was also involved in arc ...
, architect * Jeffrey Bruce Klein, investigative journalist, co-founded '' Mother Jones'' magazine *
Gino J. Merli Gino Joseph Merli (May 13, 1924 – June 11, 2002) was an Italian-American soldier, and recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II. Biography Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Scranton, Pennsylvania, Merli was the son of a coal miner ...
, Medal of Honor recipient during World War II * John Mitchell, labor organizer, founding member and president, United Mine Workers of America * Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, Wisconsin *
John Joseph O'Connor John Joseph O'Connor may refer to: * John O'Connor (cardinal), archbishop of New York * John J. O'Connor (bishop of Newark), American prelate of the Catholic Church. * John J. O'Connor (New York representative), U.S. Representative from New York * ...
, former bishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and Bishop of Scranton *
Karen Ann Quinlan Karen Ann Quinlan (March 29, 1954 – June 11, 1985) was an American woman who became an important figure in the history of the right to die controversy in the United States. When she was 21, Quinlan became unconscious after she consumed Valiu ...
, key figure in right to die controversy *
William Henry Richmond William Henry Richmond (1821-1922) was an American coal mine operator. He is reckoned as one of the key actors in the expansion of the Lackawanna Coal Mine district of Scranton, Pennsylvania during the second half of the 19th Century. Richmond i ...
, coal mine operator * Martin F. Scanlon, U.S. Air Force general *
B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974. ...
, behaviorist and author * Mabel Cox Surdam, photographer * Charles Sumner "Sum" Woolworth, retailer, philanthropist, co-founder of Woolworth *
Mel Ziegler Mel Ziegler and his wife Patricia Ziegler were the American founders of Banana Republic. Along with William Rosenzweig, they also co-founded The Republic of Tea. They eventually sold both companies. Interview with Mel Ziegler. The Zieglers su ...
, co-founder, The Republic of Tea and Banana Republic


In popular culture

The Harry Chapin song "
30,000 Pounds of Bananas "30,000 Pounds Of Bananas," sometimes spelled "Thirty Thousand Pounds Of Bananas," is a folk rock song by Harry Chapin from his 1974 album, ''Verities & Balderdash.'' The song became more popular in its live extended recording from Chapin's 197 ...
" is about an actual fatal 1965 accident in Scranton, where a driver hauling bananas lost control of his truck as it barreled down Moosic Street. Blue Valentine (film) was partially filmed in Scranton. The film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award winning play, That Championship Season, is set in and was filmed in Scranton. The city is home to the Pennsylvania Paper & Supply Company, which was the inspiration for a branch of the fictional paper company Dunder Mifflin on NBC's series '' The Office''. The Scranton branch is the setting for the majority of the show's episodes. The city was the setting of the home of Roy Munson (portrayed by Woody Harrelson) in the 1996 American sports comedy ''Kingpin''. The scenes were shot in Pittsburgh as a stand in for Scranton. The city is imagined as a member of the class of interstellar
Okies An Okie is a person identified with the state of Oklahoma. This connection may be residential, ethnic, historical or cultural. For most Okies, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Oklahoman. ...
in James Blish's 1962 novel, ''
A Life for the Stars ''Cities in Flight'' is a four-volume series of science fiction novels and short stories by American writer James Blish, originally published between 1950 and 1962, which were first known collectively as the " Okie" novels. The series features e ...
'', in which 2273 AD Scranton, equipped with a space drive, flies away and leaves an impoverished Earth behind. In 2017, Scranton got national recognition from late night television host
John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...
when he made jokes about how infatuated Scranton community members were with the little train that runs during the weather reports on Scranton's
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
-affiliated TV station WNEP-TV. The train had been featured in multiple of their Talkback16 segments. After a follow-up segment, Oliver donated a train set to WNEP. It was too big for their backyard, so they donated it to The
Electric City Trolley Museum The Electric City Trolley Museum is a transport museum located in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, next to the Steamtown National Historic Site. The museum displays and operates restored trolleys and interurbans on former lines of the Lackawanna ...
. Musician John Legend was the head of the music department and choir director of Scranton's Bethel AME Church from 1995-2004. Lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith wrote the song, Winter Wonderland, while being treated at the West Mountain Sanitarium in Scranton for tuberculosis. American singer, actress and television personality
Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
lived in Scranton as a baby and spent time at a Catholic orphanage in the city run by the Sisters of Mercy. Cher wrote about the experience in the song, Sisters of Mercy.


Sister cities

Scranton has the following official sister cities: *
Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...
, Camarines Sur, Philippines * Ballina,
County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...
, Connacht, Ireland *
Guardia Lombardi Guardia Lombardi (), known as ''La Uàrdia'' () in the Irpinian dialect, is a small town and ''comune'' in the Province of Avellino in Campania, Italy. At an elevation of , it is located in Irpinia in the Apennine Mountains of Southern Italy. I ...
, Campania, Italy *
Balakovo Balakovo ( rus, Балако́во, p=bəlɐˈkovə) is a city in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located on the East bank of the Volga River about northeast of Saratov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History It was founded in 17 ...
,
Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast (russian: Сара́товская о́бласть, ''Saratovskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of ...
, Russia * Trnava, Trnava Region, Slovakia * Perugia, Umbria, Italy * San Marino, San Marino * Caronia, Sicily, Italy * Little Rock, Arkansas, United States * Chicago, Illinois, United States


See also

* Farley's Eatery and Pub * The Office * Polish Cathedral style * Scranton Army Ammunition Plant * Weston Field


Notes


References


External links


City of Scranton
{{authority control 1778 establishments in Pennsylvania Cities in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Cities in Pennsylvania County seats in Pennsylvania Lackawanna Heritage Valley Municipalities of the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1778