January 8, 2012
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,600 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 27 trips to carry that many people.
Click here to see the complete report.
December 27, 2011
If You Can Play Scranton: A Theatrical History 1871-2010 by Nancy McDonald
Tribute Books
$12.95
“If you can play Scranton, you can play anywhere.” That well-known saying arose during the hey-day of vaudeville, when performers made their living by traveling the country’s cities and entertaining the crowds. Scranton audiences had a reputation as a tough lot who had little patience for stale material, were suspicious of anything new, and demanded to be entertained for their hard-earned money.
The saying gave Nancy McDonald the title for her book on Scranton’s theater history. Published this year by Tribute Books, If You Can Play Scranton is more than 250 pages of factual information, anecdotes, photographs, humor, and charm.
Washington House was the first building in the city of Scranton to call itself a theater. The first vaudeville house, it opened in 1870. It was small, dirty, and shunned by the “better classes.” Other theaters soon sprung up, and before long, Scranton was on the road to earning its reputation. “Mediocrity was never excused,” Ms. McDonald writes, “but at the same time, Scrantonians were quick to spot new talent and to applaud superb acting and fine production techniques.”
Of course, there were elegant establishments, too. The Academy of Music opened in 1877 at 225 Wyoming Avenue. Considered one of the finest theaters in the country, it had a world-class stage, dress boxes, an orchestra circle, and balcony and gallery seating for 1,500, and it featured first-class acting and operatic troupes.
But there were also some real characters, and Ms. McDonald’s book paints some terrific pictures of them. Arthur Frothingham stands out as one example. He opened his theater at 213-215 Wyoming Avenue on March 26, 1894. The elaborate Moorish-style structure stood out among its surrounding buildings. It became popular, “the perfect, lavish setting for a new type musical just coming into vogue.” But it attracted attention for another reason, too. Frothingham rigged trombones to go off three times a day – at 7:00 in the morning, 1:00 in the afternoon, and 6:00 in evening. The neighboring Westminster Hotel, whose guests were quite put out at the disruption, got a court injunction to stop it.
This book pulls you back to other eras. Names like Frothingham might be little known to most of us, but others are familiar. Mae West, Will Rogers, and Groucho Marx. Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen. Lillian Russell and Lionel Barrymore. “During the week of January 1, 1912, there was a newcomer at the Poli in the cast of a musical spectacular called California. He was a shy, simple-looking man with a funny grin, weather-beaten skin and straight hair falling to bangs, who spun figure eights and jumped through hoops while keeping up a running line of chatter.” That man was Will Rogers. Starting with the line “All I know is what I read in the papers,” he delivered a line of jokes garnered from local additions of the morning papers.
If You Can Play Scranton covers more than the early theater scene – a lot more: musical greats from the Big Band era and the concert stage, comedians, movies stars. If they played Scranton, chances are they’re in this book. Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Allan Jones, Enrico Caruso, Paul Robseon, Vladimir Horowitz, Marian Anderson. Acting greats Helen Hayes, and Dennis O’Keefe, From gun-slinging sharpshooter Annie Oakley to Scranton’s own Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and actor Jason Miller, this book has it all. It’s a must-read for anyone who loves performance history and an enjoyable read for anyone.
December 25, 2011
What was the Christmas season like for area residents seventy-five years ago? I spent a couple of enjoyable hours looking through December 1936 issues of the Scranton Times to find out. They included plenty of articles and advertisements about the things you would expect to find in the days before Christmas – music, church services, gifts – but with some notable differences.
Music is a sign of the season. In 1936, area Protestant churches offered holiday musical programs on the Sunday before Christmas. Immanuel Baptist Church presented “The Story of Christmas,” a cantata by H. Alexander Matthews. The vested choir of the Dunmore Presbyterian Church sang another cantata, “The Manger King,” by area native Alfred Wooler. St. Paul’s Evangelical Church in Taylor offered solos, duets and selections by a double mixed quartet and chorus. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Scranton presented a dramatization, “The Christmas Story.”
This was the era of radio, and the Scranton Times ran program listings. During the week before Christmas, listeners could tune into WQAN starting at 12:30 pm for weather, news and sports. At 12:50, the station gave the correct time of day. Christmas Chimes began at 12:51, played by Bart Sheehan. Other programs throughout the day included Uncle Sunshine at 4:50 and Holy Family Church Choir, under the direction of Margaret Fedor, at 9:15 pm.
The Times also published a “Personals” column that notified readers about who was doing what and when. Anyone who picked up a copy of the newspaper on Monday, December 21 knew that Miss Nancy Jermyn of Clay Avenue had returned from the Bennett School for the holidays. Frank W. Harfield, of Harvard University, would be spending the Christmas vacation at his home at 217 S. Blakely Street in Dunmore. Miss Anna Makey of Pittsburgh would be the holiday guest of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Simpson of Prescott Avenue.
The Wednesday, December 23 issue of the Times informed readers that “the festive Christmas season was inaugurated yesterday afternoon” when two young women, Miss Julia Hosie Price and Miss Jane Greenleaf Scranton, “were formally introduced in society at a large tea” given at the Price residence, 1727 N. Washington Avenue, “by the debutantes’ mothers, Mrs. Cole B. Price and Mrs. William H. Scranton of 2404 N. Washington Avenue.”
Shopping was, of course, part of the holiday preparations. Scranton Dry Goods was open until 9:00 pm on both Tuesday, December 22 and Wednesday, December 23. It closed at 6:00 pm on Thursday. Advertisements of all types filled the pages of the newspapers, providing some insight into the era. Samter’s store offered a fur coat, the height of luxury, for $59.75, while Walker Dry Goods held a Christmas Dollar Sale, with “fresh stocks rushed here” for the event. Items that sold for one dollar included shirts, cotton dresses, pajamas and children’s shoes. Shoppers could visit Walkers until 9:00 pm every night for the sale.
Another bit of insight into the time period comes from jewelry advertisements. These were tough economic times, and Joseph’s wanted “everyone remembered.” With four more shopping days until Christmas, the store offered “no money down – pay in 1937.” But “only a gift that’s paid for is good enough for my sweetheart,” declared a gentleman in a Rottman’s jeweler ad. “If it came from Rottman’s, you know it’s paid for.”
On Christmas Eve, weatherman Ralph C. West informed area residents that the hoped-for white Christmas was not likely to be. But the papers did have good news. Central city stores were“winding up the busiest Christmas season…since the boom days.”
Most area firms found business so good that year that “the policy of paying holiday bonuses, abandoned of necessity during the depression years, has been revived.” The economy was improving, the Guy Lombardo Orchestra was on the radio and this Christmas season gave the promise of being the merriest that the county had enjoyed in recent years.
October 10, 2011
Local history still has the power to astonish me. This week, I wrote my Scranton Times column about Fortunato Tiscar, a gentleman who came from Sicily in 1891. There is nothing astonishing about a person coming from Italy to settle in Scranton. What took me by surprise was the fact that Italy appointed this man vice consul. That’s a diplomatic position, an envoy. As such, Mr. Tiscar’s duty was to help citizens of his homeland make the transition to their new country. You don’t have to have your nose in local history to know that Scranton has always been a city of immigrants, but my nose has been snooping around a lot of old source materials for several years, and I never realized that this town had a diplomatic liaison to another nation.
Mr. Tiscar became a solid citizen, by all accounts, and devoted himself to helping others to do the same. He became a naturalized citizen in 1899. His work and his conduct must have inspired a lot of people who walked that line between pride in their heritage and homeland and commitment to their new country.
What an interesting time to be in his position. The number of Italian immigrants was increasing dramatically. The 1890 census, taken just one year before Mr. Tiscar arrived in America, showed 24,662 Italian-born people residing in Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The next census, in 1900, showed 66,655 Italian-born people in the state. The 1910 census showed 196,122. With more than 20 counties in his jurisdiction, Mr. Tiscar was certainly instrumental in touching the lives of a great many of them. The world was changing quickly, and he played a crucial role in helping to ensure that change was as smooth as it could be.
The First World War must have been an interesting time for him, as many men returned to Italy to fight with the Italian Army. The U.S. and Italy were on the same side in that war. He took pride in the fact that both countries fought for democracy, and he participated in fund raising activities, most notably for the Red Cross. On the third anniversary of Italy’s entry into the war, President Woodrow Wilson participated in ceremonies in Washington D.C. that included the Italian ambassador, Count Macchi Di Cellere. Pres. Wilson sent a message to all Italian-Americans. In it, he sent “warm fraternal greetings” and expressed feelings of solidarity in the cause. He closed with the words “America salutes the gallant kingdom of Italy and bids her godspeed.”
But World War II was another story. By that time, Mr. Tiscar had retired his position as vice consul, having served for 32 years, but he was one of Scranton’s best known Italian-American citizens, and the conflict was not easy for him. It’s difficult to imagine just how he felt about such a change in circumstances. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine what any Italian-American felt at that time. Fortunato Tiscar died unexpectedly after a fall in February of 1945, just before the peace was signed. His obituary in the Scranton Times said: “Mr. Tiscar looked upon the clash of arms between the United States and Italy as a great personal tragedy but never wavered in his loyalty to the country of his adoption, nor his love for the country of his birth.” That surely is a sentiment that must have been shared by a great number of local immigrants.
September 30, 2011
The Man Who Built Scranton
For the Sept. 25th edition of the Sunday Times, I wrote about one of Scranton’s first modern office buildings, the Coal Exchange (read about it here). The era was one of astounding growth and prosperity, manifested in an equally-astounding building boom. The Coal Exchange was built in 1885,and so was the Lackawanna County Jail. City Hall opened in 1888, the Albright Memorial Library in 1893, the Connell Building in 1894, the Hotel Jermyn in 1895. Not mere buildings, they were works of exceptional craftsmanship that, with the exception of the Coal Exchange, survive as defining landmarks of the city. And they all have one man in common: Conrad Schroeder.
Born in Guntersblum, Germany in 1846, he arrived in America in 1865 at the age of 19 and settled in Scranton in 1866. In 1870, he started his own contracting firm – a move that we can, in hindsight, consider both smart and lucky, given the fact that Scranton was about to undergo a growth spurt that would last at least 20 years. As industries developed and the population grew, the city built every conceivable type of structure, and Shroeder’s firm took on projects of all types. Elm Park Methodist Church and Green Ridge Presbyterian are among the most gracious in a city brimming with impressive churches. The small but classical Christian Science Building, now the Children’s Library, the sturdy and functional Moses Taylor Hospital and Sauquoit Silk Mill, the elegant Jonas Long Department Store (later the Scranton Dry Goods) and the sprawling and modern E. Robinson’s Sons Brewery – Schroeder’s company built them all.
And the company grew, too – to a point where it employed 400 workers. When the Connell Building opened in 1894, Schroeder moved into offices in this central location.
Schroeder’s own home was palatial, and so were those he built for James L. Connell, Alfred Hand, F.L. Peck, and a host of others. His work shaped every sector of the city. The Board of Trade building, now famous for its newly-restored “Electric City” sign, and the Mears building, now the downtown home of Penn Security Bank, were the city’s first sky scrapers. The Pennsylvania Oral School for the Deaf , the Lackawanna Mills and Klots Mills, Delaware & Hudson Railroad depot, Trader’s Bank, Lackawanna Trust and Safe Deposit Co., County Savings Bank and Trust Co., Hickory Street Presbyterian Church, Mount St. Mary’s Academy, and Public Schools 12, 22, and 33 all spoke to the city’s growth and prosperity, and all were built by Conrad Schroeder and his extraordinary company.
Scranton is fortunate to have preserved so many of these work of exceptional craftsmanship. There were, of course, other skilled builders working in the city, but Conrad Schroeder built so many of our landmark structures that I think of him as the man who built Scranton.
To view photos of the Hotel Jermyn and Trader’s Bnak (along with some others), visit the Pages from the Past blog.
August 26, 2011
July 1956: Secretary of Commerce Sinclair Weeks called it “the greatest public-works program in the history of the world.” It’s hard to argue with that. The proposed Interstate highway system planned to create a 41,000-mile network of limited-access roads that would link 90 percent of all American cities with populations of more than 50,000. The Federal Government planned to distribute $25 billion over 13 years to meet 90 percent of the cost.
President Eisenhower pushed for the system. As a young officer, he was part of an Army convoy that left Washington D.C. for San Francisco. The First World War had just ended, and the Army wanted to road test its vehicles and to see just how easy — or difficult — it was to move an army across this vast continent.
They found out. It took 62 days to make that trip, and when he got to be president, Eisenhower recalled that experience as he urged Congress to embrace a plan for an interstate highway system. Eisenhower also recalled the experience of moving the Army across Germany’s audobahn during the Second World War. With the Cold War in full swing during his administration, Pres. Eisenhower was surely thinking about these events when he pushed for the Interstate system.
The Interstate system’s web site (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/homepage.cfm) offers a wealth of material for anyone interested in this part of our nation’s history. There’s a photo gallery, quotes, and even myths about the Interstate. The “History” page on this site sets the Interstate plan in a historical context and offers articles, videos, and a whole lot more.
For a look at the local history of I-81, visit the Pages from the Past blog (http://blogs2.thetimes-tribune.com/pages/) where you’ll find photographs of the road under construction in 1961.
June 19, 2011
Few things stir up nostalgia for the past like the electric street cars.
The very first passenger run of Scranton’s very first electric trolley occurred on the evening of November 30, 1886. The next day, the old Republican newspaper made a telling statement: “It looks as though Scranton has solved the rapid transit problem.” This was big time stuff — a major innovation that launched the nation into a new era in transportation history.
When I read the description of the first test run, I imagine myself standing in the crowd, watching this marvelous new invention starting up and rushing along the tracks at break-neck (for the nineteenth century streets) speed. What a thrill that must have been! The electric car reached a speed of 12 miles per hour. That sounds remarkably slow to the modern person, but consider the modes of transportation available up to this point: the horse, the horse-drawn carriage or cart, the horse-drawn trolley, a person’s own two feet. Horses can gallop, of course, but not for a sustained period of time. The long and short of it was, daily travel happened at about the pace that a human being could walk.
Streets were often muddy, slowing down travel or making it downright impossible. The old horse-drawn trolleys sometimes took two hours to reach downtown Scranton from Dunmore or Providence. Traveling in an elegant trolley along proper tracks at a speed of 12 miles per hour is an innovation difficult to appreciate from a modern perspective.
I love to remember that the first passengers to ride an electric trolley were a group of folks who had been attending a lecture by renowned explorer Henry Stanley at the Academy of Music. Stanley exemplifies the spirit of the age, and his presence here suggests that Scranton drew big names. The Academy of Music was a world-class theater. Very elegant. And the electric trolley was revolutionary. These details tell us something about the city of Scranton at that time.
Check out the Scranton Times accounts of the first trolley runs at the Pages From the Past blog http://blogs.thetimes-tribune.com/pages/
Also check out this article by Roger Dupuis II which appeared in Saturday’s Scranton Times-Tribune. Roger interviewed me for some insights into the significance of the electric trolley to our area’s history. You can also watch a video about the trolleys that we did awhile back. http://thetimes-tribune.com/lifestyles-people/electric-city-trolley-station-and-museum-celebrates-125th-anniversary-of-first-successful-streetcar-line-1.1163442#axzz1PdfNLSH1
June 16, 2011
If I had to pick one man who deserves to be known as Scranton’s Founding Father, it would be George W. Scranton. He was a man who, with the odds stacked against him, struggled and succeeded in transforming a pioneer settlement in the wilderness into a bustling industrial city.
George, his brother Selden, and Selden’s father-in-law William Henry formed the Lackawanna Iron Furnaces. Two forges – one in Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe) and another in Pottsville – had tried to produce iron using anthracite coal as a fuel. They succeeded, but neither furnace lasted more than an few months. The process was still experimental, and the business venture was risky.
For a good short account of the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Co., read Margo Azzarelli’s article “The Birth of the Scranton Iron Furnaces” (http://www.examiner.com/today-history-in-scranton/the-birth-of-the-scranton-iron-furnaces).
George Scranton had ensured the success of the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company by making a deal with the New York & Erie Railroad in 1846 to manufacture iron “T” rail for the company. But he didn’t stop there. He left the LI&C in 1847; his keen business instincts told him that railroads would be a pivotal factor in the industrial development of the region. A plan to construct a railroad through Leggett’s Gap (commonly known as “the notch” today) had been in the works since 1832. When George Scranton stepped into the venture, it was his determination and attention to detail that made the project happen. With his engineers, he traveled every foot of the road. He oversaw its construction and equipment to the minutest detail. He also put the bulk of his private funds into the company.
This railroad eventually became the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western – a lifeline that ran from Scranton south into New Jersey and north to Great Bend, connecting the city, its people, and its industrial products with the nation.
Who was this man and where did he come from? George Whitfield Scranton was born in Madison, Connecticut on May 23, 1811. He relocated to Belvidere, New Jersey, where he worked at an iron furnace. There, he met and married Miss Jane Hiles. The couple had three children – William, James, and Elizabeth. They grew up in Scranton.
George and his brother did much to build a city – a small one at first – in the wilderness. They brought architect and civil engineer Joel Amsden to their settlement and gave him the task of laying out a town and designing a good number of its buildings. The Scranton brothers were founding members of the First Presbyterian Church.
George Scranton served in the United States Army and rose to the rank of colonel. In 1858, he was nominated as the Republican candidate for Congress and elected by a significant majority. In 1860, he was re-elected by an even greater majority. George Scranton was well liked and known for his integrity.
He gave a lot to this community, and perhaps it took its toll. During the period when he and his partners were struggling to make the LI&C succeed, he wrote: “I don’t sleep good. My appetite is poor and digestion bad…If we can succeed in placing Lacka. out of debt it would help me much.”
George W. Scranton died on March 24, 1861, just shy of his fiftieth birthday. His legacy lives on.
June 11, 2011
This past Wednesday, I spent an enjoyable couple of hours strolling around town doing errands, visiting the library, and stopping by Annunciation Greek Orthodox church for my yearly allotment of dolmades and other delights. With the temperature hitting 97 degrees, I was happy to take my books, my DVDs, and my bags of Greek take-out and go home to air conditioned comfort.
Days such as these always make me think of the Scranton of long ago, in the era before air conditioning, or even electric fans, offered relief from the heat. The temperature reached 104 degrees in the shade on July 27, 1892, according to a newspaper report. Other years, hot spells brought temperatures in the nineties.
But it wasn’t just the heat. In this industrial town, Scrantonians had to contend with the fumes and soot from heavy railroad traffic and from a large number of industries: the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Co., with its five blast furnaces, rolling and puddling mills and steel works along Roaring Brook; the Dickson Works on the other side of the downtown; the Scranton Button Company on the South Side; and, at the height of production, 27 coal breakers in Scranton. There were carriage makers, blacksmiths, cigar manufacturers, furniture and piano makers, and a host of other factories operating within the city limits. Some of the worst offenders in the heat had to be the slaughterhouses in Providence and South Side.
As late as 1870, the land now occupied by Courthouse Square was a swampy area known as the Lily Pond. Streets were mostly dirt. Wyoming Avenue was paved in 1870, but many city streets would not see pavement until the 1930s. Horse traffic was heavy, and that had to add to the mess in the streets and, especially in the heat, the unpleasant smells of the bustling city.
It’s no surprise to me that residents sought to escape the city in summer. The Pocono Mountains offered an idyllic place to escape to. Green, leafy, cool, they offered fresh air and a variety of activities from sitting on the front porch of an inn to fishing, sailing, and bathing (as swimming was known in older times). The Berwick Inn, for instance, boasted porches on two levels, lined with rocking chairs. Many farms dotted the area, and fresh food was available to guests.
The railroad made it possible for people of even modest means to escape the brutal city in summer, and a large number of inns and resorts sprung up along the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western route. The fare was affordable, the distance relatively short, and a timetable from 1875 shows the train running every half hour. Families could take a vacation. Mothers and children could spend their days in the mountains, while husbands could work in the city and make regular weekend excursions to join them. Those who could not afford to stay for extended visits could make a weekend getaway.
The late Alan Sweeney’s book, “Journey Along the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad” (Tribute Books) documents the hotels, inns, boarding homes, and resorts of the region’s history. It’s a lovely book to browse through and imagine yourself riding the DL&W through the scenic Pocono Mountains to your favorite resort, from the most humble to the most luxurious.
Not everyone could afford to escape the city in this manner, even for a short stay. But public parks offered a green, leafy, cool escape right within city limits. The public park is one of the great gifts of the nineteenth century. Before that, the term “park” referred to the part of a private estate that was set aside for cultivating with trees and gardens. But the nineteenth century saw the need to set aside public spaces so that city dwellers could escape the heat and grime of a crowded city for a few hours.
In 1893, the city of Scranton purchased more than 75 acres of land prized for its natural beauty to create Nay Aug Park. Other parks sprung up in various neighborhoods around the city, and in 1909, Lake Lincoln was dedicated in Nay Aug Park. It answered the public demand for a swimming facility, and it became a favorite spot for beating the relentless summer heat in a crowded industrial city.
The heat was more than unpleasant. It could be deadly. Just recently, I was paging through some Scranton Times almanacs when one headline caught my attention. July 12, 1911 saw a record number of deaths from the heat. Eighteen area residents died. That makes me grateful for air conditioning. I love the past, but the modern era does have its perks.
June 7, 2011
The photograph at the top of the page is a favorite of mine for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a family heirloom depicting my great-grandmother, Anna Andrake, and her little brother Andy. She died young, leaving my grandmother, age 9, and her sister, age 10, behind. I love the picture because it transports me back to the time when she was a thriving young woman enjoying her life in this vibrant city.
This photo is a favorite, also, because it depicts Luna Park – and Luna Park conjures images of an elegant era when ladies and gentlemen donned their best attire, road the street car, and enjoyed the day listening to music performed at the bandstand, cruised along the scenic river ride, visited the reptile zoo, rode the carousel, and did so much more. Luna Park has captured the imaginations of many people I talk to. Some even insist they remember it – but to do so, you’d have to be pretty old.
Frederick Ingersoll, owner of Ingersoll Construction Company in Pittsburgh, built the park and opened it on May 28, 1906. He had already built Luna Parks in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. There is a bit of interesting history that precedes the opening. In 1905, Ingersoll got together with Arthur Frothingham of local theater fame to create Rocky Glen Park. The two had a falling out, and Ingersoll bought a 20 acre site for his own park. He built Luna Park at a cost of $300,000 – quite a sum in those days.
The park had two entrances: People could ride the city trolley to Nay Aug Park, walk through that park, cross the bridge over Roaring Brook, and enter there. The other route brought people on the Laurel Line to the east entrance.
The entertainment scene could get pretty wild in those days, and Ingeroll billed Luna Park as a safe, family destination. In anticipation of the park’s debut, the Scranton Times wrote, “The park will be run as a family resort where women and children, unescorted, will be afforded as much protection as in their own homes.” I smile when I think of that statement and consider the photograph of my great-grandmother with her little brother.
Luna Park was a glorious example of the style of enchanting amusement parks that made this era special. 40,000 incandescent bulbs lit the park at night. That must have been a sight to behold in those early days of electricity. The park had a ballroom, a miniature railroad, a circus platform, an aerial swing, and a Shoot-the-Chute ride that, in photographs, appears much like a modern water slide, which brought people into a lagoon.
And the park had a photo studio where visitors like my great-grandmother could pose in front of a backdrop depicting the park. The image was made into a postcard, and that is the image you see here. It’s a picture that takes me back to the romance of this by-gone era.
But this elegant and exciting park was short-lived. Fire broke out at 3:00 a.m. on August 23, 1916. The Scranton Times reported: “Fire of unknown origin completely destroyed the dance pavilion, roller coaster station and part of the Shoot-the-Chutes in Luna Park at 3 o’clock this morning. Although a company of firemen were still pouring water into the smoldering debris today, a force of carpenters commenced removing the cooled embers in preparation for rebuilding the destroyed sections.” The distance and inaccessibility made it difficult to reach,, so only two fire companies were sent to the scene. The north side of park at Myrtle Street was a residential neighborhood. The fire’s heat forced nearby residents to leave. Many sprinkled their roofs to prevent the sparks from igniting their homes.
The damages to the park were estimated at $15,000. The insurance policy had expired some months before, and so the place was uninsured. There was some talk of rebuilding, but that was not to be. And so, Luna Park passed into memory. Its existence preceded my grandmother, who is gone for several years, but she did remember her mother talking about it. And we have the picture to cherish.
But all of what I know about Luna Park comes from the works of Jack Hiddlestone: “Scranton Luna Park” and “A Return to Luna Park.” Surprisingly, Luna Park is left out of all the old books that recount Scranton’s history. In his books, Mr. Hiddlestone has gleaned information from numerous newspaper articles, as well as from an extensive collection of memorabilia that includes post cards, brochures, advertisements, photographs, and maps. His works are an invaluable source for anyone interested in this wonderful park. You can find them under Recommended Reading on the side bar of this page. You can also check the Lackawanna Historical Society at lackawannahistory.org.
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