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Scranton, Pennsylvania

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"Scranton" redirects here. For other places named Scranton, see Scranton (disambiguation).
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Image:DowntownScranton2003.jpg
Nickname: "Electric City"
Motto: Embracing Our People, Our Traditions and Our Future
Coordinates: 41°24′38″N, 75°40′03″W
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Lackawanna
Incorporated (borough) February 14, 1856
Incorporated (city) April 23, 1866
Mayor Christopher A. Doherty (D)
Area  
 - City 65.89 km²  (25.44 sq mi)
 - Land 65.33 km²  (25.23 sq mi)
 - Water 0.55 km² (0.21 sq mi)
Population  
 - City (2000) 76,415
 - Density 1,169/km² (3,029/sq mi)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Website: http://www.scrantonpa.gov

The City of Scranton is the county seat of Lackawanna CountyGR6 in Northeastern Pennsylvania, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 76,415 (2003 estimate: 74,320). After Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie and Reading, Scranton is Pennsylvania's sixth most populous city.

Scranton is the geographic and cultural center of the Lackawanna River valley, a relatively dense area directly between the vastly rural Pocono Mountains to the east and Endless Mountains to the west. It is the largest city located in a contiguous quilt-work of former anthracite coal mining communities including the smaller cities of Wilkes-Barre, Pittston and Carbondale. Scranton was incorporated as a borough on February 14, 1856 and as a city on April 23, 1866.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Humble beginnings (1776-1845)

Present-day Scranton and the surrounding area had been inhabited by the native Lenape tribe, from whose language "Lackawanna" (or "le-can-hanna", meaning "stream that forks") is derived. Gradually, settlers from New England came to the area in the late 1700s, establishing mills and other small businesses, and their village became known as Slocum Hollow. Isaac Tripp, known as the first settler, built his home here in 1778 which still stands in the Providence section of the city as a testament to this era.

Image:Scranton-1.jpg

[edit] Industrial foundations established: iron, coal and railroads (1846-1899)

Though anthracite coal was being mined in Carbondale to the north and Wilkes-Barre to the south, the industry that precipitated the city's growth was iron and steel. Iron T-rails were first manufactured in America at the Montour Iron Works in Danville, PA, on October 8,1845. Prior,they were made in England and shipped overseas. In 1847, brothers Seldon T. and George W. Scranton, began producing iron T-rails for the Erie Railroad in New York state. Soon after, Scranton became a major producer of these rails. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W) was founded in 1851 by the Scrantons to transport iron and coal products from the Lackawanna valley. The Pennsylvania Coal Company built a gravity railroad here for this purpose as well. In 1856, the Borough of Scranton was officially incorporated and named after its industrious founders. The Delaware and Hudson (D&H) Canal Company, which had its own gravity railroad from Carbondale to Honesdale, built a steam railroad that entered Scranton in 1863.

Scranton was incorporated as a city of 35,000 in 1866 when the surrounding boroughs of Hyde Park (now the "West Side" section) and Providence (now the "North Scranton" section) were merged with Scranton. The nation's first successful, continuously-operating electrified streetcar (trolley) system was established in the city in 1886, giving it the nickname "The Electric City". In the late 1890s Scranton was home to a series of early International League baseball teams. 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 Railroad (NYO&W). Underneath the city, a network of coal veins was mined by workers who were exploited by the wealthy coal barons with low pay, long hours and unsafe working conditions. Children as young as 8 or 9 worked 14-hour days separating slate from coal in the breakers.

[edit] Growth and prosperity (1900-1945)

By the United States Census of 1900, the population of Scranton was about 102,026, making it the 38th largest city in the United States. The turn of the 20th century saw many beautiful homes of Victorian architecture built in the Hill and Green Ridge sections of the city. In 1901, the dwindling local iron ore supply took the Lackawanna Steel Company away to Lackawanna, New York, where iron ore from Minnesota was more readily available by ships on the Great Lakes. The city lost the industry on which it was founded.

Scranton then forged ahead as the center of Pennsylvania's anthracite coal industry. During the first half of the 20th century, it became home to many groups of newly arrived immigrants from Europe. This patchwork still survives and is represented by the Catholic and Orthodox churches that dot the neighborhoods of primarily the North, West, and South sectors of the city. In 1903, an electric interurban railroad known as the Laurel Line was started, and two years later connected to sister city Wilkes-Barre, 20 miles southwest. Working conditions for miners were improved by the efforts of labor leaders like John Mitchell, whose statue is found on the downtown Courthouse Square. By the mid-1930s, the city population had swelled to approximately 150,000 due to the extensive growth of the mining and silk textile industries. World War II created a great demand for energy, which was satisfied by expanded strip mining operations throughout the area.

[edit] The end of an era (1946-1984)

After World War II, it became clear that coal was losing favor to other energy sources such as oil and natural gas. At the same time, underground coal in the area was nearing depletion. In contrast to other cities in the United States that 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. In 1952, the Laurel Line ceased passenger service. The trolleys of the Scranton Transit Company that gave the city its nickname transferred all operations to buses as the 1954 holiday season approached. In 1955, most eastern and southern parts of the city were destroyed by the floods of Hurricane Diane, and 80 lives were lost in the area. The NYO&W Railroad, which depended heavily on its Scranton branch for freight traffic, was completely abandoned in 1957

The Knox Mine Disaster of January 1959, all but erased the mining industry in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The event terminated thousands of jobs as the waters of the Susquehanna River flooded the mines. The DL&W Railroad, nearly bankrupt by the drop in coal traffic and the effects of Hurricane Diane, merged with the Erie Railroad in 1960. Scranton had been the hub of its operations until the Erie Lackawanna merger, when it was no longer needed in this capacity; it was another severe blow to the labor market. Mine subsidence 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 then scarred by abandoned coal mining structures, strip mines and massive culm dumps, a few of which continue to burn, though federal and state intervention extinguished most. During the 1960s and 1970s, the silk and other textile industries also shrunk as jobs moved south or overseas. During the 1970s and 1980s, many of the downtown storefronts and theaters became vacant as suburban shopping malls became the dominant venues for shopping and entertainment.

[edit] Stabilization and restoration (1985-Present)

Since the mid-1980s, Central Scranton has experienced limited revitalization. This is manifested in renewed interest in the city's rich architecture and the creation of new tourist attractions, such as the Steamtown National Historic Site, which celebrates the city's railroad history. The former DL&W train station is restored as the luxurious Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel. The Electric City Trolley Museum was created next to the DL&W yards that "Steamtown" occupies. Built in 1993, the two-story Mall at Steamtown was built in the interest of downtown shopping revival, and a few new businesses have renovated old buildings, or brought new construction to dilapidated properties and vacant lots. The University of Scranton campus borders the downtown area in the city's Hill Section. Nay Aug Park, having been in a state of disrepair for many recent years, has seen some recent renovations.

In spite of this progress, a 2001 Washington Post Magazine column described Wilkes-Barre as "awful" and Scranton as "awfuler," and named it a contender for the "armpit of America". It has since been a catalyst for renewed pride among Scrantonians and has prompted the acceleration of renewal that was already beginning. Other attractions that have brought recent popularity and favorable attention to Scranton include the Montage Mountain Ski Resort, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons AAA Minor League baseball team and their Lackawanna County Stadium, and the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain. These meager attempts at revitalization have thus far fallen far short, however, and the only hope for the area seems to be the oft-rumored commuter railway to New Jersey and New York City.

[edit] Geography

Scranton is located at 41°24'38" North, 75°40'3" West (41.410629, -75.667411)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 65.9 km² (25.4 mi²). The city has 65.3 km² (25.2 mi²) of land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of water. The total area is 0.83% water.

The elevation of "Center City" is approximately 750' (229m) above sea level. Generally, the city is hilly, with its inhabited portions ranging approximately from 650' (220m) to 1400' (425m). The city is flanked by mountains to the east and west whose elevations range from 1900' (580m) to 2100' (640m).

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 76,415 people, 31,303 households, and 18,124 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,169.4/km² (3,029.2/mi²). There were 35,336 housing units at an average density of 540.8/km² (1,400.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.54% White, 3.02% African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.08% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.16% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race make up 2.62% of the population.

There were 31,303 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 individual was aged at least 65. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.01.

The population's age is distributed with 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.

Ancestries: Irish (30.3%), Italian (19.4%), Germans (15.7%), Polish (14.8%), Welsh (6.9%), English (5.8%) (City-Data.com).

Scranton claims a notably large Irish American population. According to the census of 2000, over 30% of the total population reported Irish ancestry, which is the highest percentage of Irish ancestry for a city of this size. This causes Lackawanna County to be one of only two (with Delaware) counties in Pennsylvania where Irish is the most common ancestry.

The local dialect of American English is "Northeast Pennsylvania English", at least for the older generations of Scranton residents.

[edit] Media

[edit] Television

[edit] Print

The Times-Shamrock company largely monopolizes the Scranton area's printed communications. It publishes The Times-Tribune, Scranton's major daily newspaper, and Electric City, a free weekly entertainment digest for Northeast PA.

News coverage for Scranton and surrounding communities is also provided by the Times-Leader, primarily a Wilkes-Barre paper that is part of the RealCities Network. It also publishes the Weekender, the area's other free entertainment weekly.

[edit] Radio

  • Scranton's radio market is ranked #69 by Arbitron's ranking system. The following box contains the list of all radio stations receivable in the area.
Radio stations in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre market (Arbitron #69)

By frequency: (FM) 88.3 | 88.5 | 89.9 | 91.3 | 91.7 | 92.1 | 92.9 | 93.7 | 94.3 | 95.7 | 96.5 | 97.1 | 97.9 | 98.5 | 99.5 | 100.1 | 101.3 | 102.3 | 103.1 | 104.9 | 106.9 | 107.7

(AM) | 590 | 630 | 730 | 750 | 910 | 980 | 1240 | 1340 | 1400 | 1440 | 1460 | 1550

By callsign: | WARM | WBAX | WBHD | WBHT | WBSX | WBZU | WCDL | WCIG | WDMT | WEJL | WEMR | WEZX | WFEZ | WGGY | WGMF | WICK | WILK | WITK| WKRZ | WLNP | WMGS | WNAK | WPEL | WPGP | WQFM | WQFN | WQOR | WRKC | WSJR | WUSR | WVIA | WVMW | WWRR | WYCK

See also: List of AM stations in Scranton
See also: List of FM stations in Scranton
Pennsylvania Radio Markets

Allentown | Altoona | Erie | Harrisburg-Carlisle-Lebanon (FM) (AM) | Indiana | Johnstown | Lancaster (FM) (AM) | Meadville-Franklin | Philadelphia (FM) (AM) | Pittsburgh (FM) (AM) | Reading | State College | Sunbury-Selinsgrove-Lewisburg | Wilkes Barre-Scranton | Williamsport | York (FM) (AM)

</small>
See also: List of radio stations in Pennsylvania and List of United States radio markets

</div>


[edit] Transportation

[edit] Highways

[edit] Public Transportation

[edit] Railroads

[edit] Professional sports

[edit] Colleges and universities

[edit] Notable natives and residents

[edit] Landmarks and attractions

Image:Historical.jpg

  • Scranton has been hosting a Saint Patrick's Day Parade since 1862. Scranton's annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade is the nation's 4th largest and brings tens of thousands to Downtown Scranton on the Saturday before March 17.
  • The Everhart Museum, founded in 1908, at Nay Aug Park is a collection "natural history, science and art" exhibits of global scope, including sculptures from ancient civilizations. The museum has survived only by selling off some of its most valuable collections.[citation needed]
  • The Scranton Iron Furnaces are remnants of the city's founding industry and of the Scranton family's Lackawanna Steel Company.
  • The Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Ann draws thousands of pilgrims to its annual novena.
  • The Steamtown National Historic Site seeks to preserve the history of steam locomotives. It was one of the final few grand pork barrel projects of long-time Congressman Joseph McDade.
  • The Electric City Trolley Museum preserves and operates pieces of Pennsylvania streetcar history.
  • The Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour at McDade Park is open for those who desire to learn about the history of mining and railroads in the Scranton area. The tours are conducted inside a part of a former working mine.
  • The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons home baseball games are played at the Lackawanna County Stadium near the Montage attractions in Moosic, PA. The Red Barons are the AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies until 2007, when they will become the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees.
  • The Montage Mountain Ski Resort rivals the numerous resorts of the Poconos in popularity and offers a relatively comprehensive range of difficulty levels.
  • The Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain is a partially covered amphitheater seating 17,500. In the summer months, musical artists ranging from James Taylor to The Dave Matthews Band perform.
  • The 26.2-mile Steamtown Marathon has been held each October since 1996 and finishes in downtown Scranton.
  • The DL&W Passenger Station is now a Radisson Hotel with dining and banquet and conference facilities.

[edit] Scranton in popular culture

  • The current NBC sitcom The Office (an Americanized version of a BBC series) is set at a fictional paper company in Scranton. Video of the city filmed by cast member John Krasinski is featured in the opening theme. The program makes frequent references to actual attributes of Scranton and the surrounding area, including the Steamtown Mall, Farley's Pub, Poor Richard's Pub, Montage Mountain, The Scranton Anthracite Museum, and Lake Wallenpaupack. In a February 2006 episode, Steve Carell's character Michael Scott describes New York City as "Scranton on speed, acid, and steroids." In a November 2006 episode called "The Merger", Scott creates a orientation video titled "Lazy Scranton" in which he highlights many popular Scranton attractions.
  • A cartoon in a May 2005 issue of The New Yorker depicts the city in the form of an amusement park ride with the sign advertising the ride reading: "experience the sights, sounds, and smells of Scranton and warning: may cause nausea."
  • In the 2004 Coen Brothers film The Ladykillers, the character of Garth Pancake (played by J.K. Simmons) proudly states that he is from Scranton, Pennsylvania.
  • In a 2001 episode of Disney television show Lizzie McGuire, Lizzie can't think of what to write for her review of a school play. All that keeps coming to her mind is "a town called Scranton".
  • In a 2000 episode of HBO's The Sopranos, Gigi describes Boston as "Scranton with clams."
  • The main character, Josie (portrayed by Drew Barrymore), of the 1999 film Never Been Kissed is originally from Scranton.
  • The 1998 film Dead End, in which a police detective played by Eric Roberts investigates the "allegeded" suicide of his ex-wife, is set in Scranton.
  • In the 1996 film Kingpin, Woody Harrelson's lead character lives for a period of time in Scranton.
  • A pair of married tourists from Scranton are minor characters in the 1994 comedy My Father, the Hero.
  • In a 1994 episode of the FOX's The Simpsons, Kent Brockman reports that David Crosby's liver was found in Scranton above a drugstore.
  • In a 1995 episode of NBC's Friends, Ross mentions the Scranton zoo as his "last hope" in finding a home for his pet monkey, Marcel. Upon failing, he bellows, "We didn't get into...Scranton?!?!? That was like our safety zoo. They take, like dogs and cows!" (At the time of shooting, Scranton no longer had an operating zoo.)
  • In the 1992 film School Ties, Brendan Fraser's lead character David Green lives in Scranton at the beginning of the film.
  • In the 1990 film Home Alone, Kevin's (Macaulay Culkin) mother Kate (Catherine O'Hara) is stranded in the Scranton Airport (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport) in a snowstorm, trying desperately to get home.
  • Scranton was referenced twice in the sitcom All in the Family. In the memorable second-season episode "Edith's Problem", Edith states that she'd rather go to Scranton to visit her cousin than go on a planned trip to Disney World, to which Archie replies, "the only way I'm going to Scranton is if some screwball hijacks the airplane!" In a 1975 episode, Edith attends a friend's wedding in Scranton despite husband Archie's complaints about the city.
  • The 1973 Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play That Championship Season by Jason Miller was based on the fictional lives of Scranton's 1957 state basketball champions. Miller wrote and directed the 1982 screenplay in which all exterior scenes were filmed in Scranton at his insistence.
  • A 1965 episode of Green Acres is entitled "What Happened in Scranton?"
  • On March 26, 1965, a truck carrying bananas crashed at the bottom of Moosic Street's two mile hill just outside downtown Scranton. The incident prompted the 1974 Harry Chapin song "30,000 Pounds of Bananas".
  • In a 1959 episode of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone entitled "What You Need," a street peddler named Pedott who can give people "what you need, just what you need," gives a young former pitcher named "Lefty" (Read Morgan) a bus ticket to Scranton, Pennsylvania, which turns out to be just what he needed to turn his life around for the better.
  • In James Blish's 1957 novel They Shall Have Stars, the protagonist is captured by a press gang and forced to board the spindizzy city of Scranton as it departs to wander in space, mining minerals and renting out its services.
  • In 1855, George Inness painted the "Lackawanna Valley", an early portrait of Scranton at a major DL&W junction; this painting now hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

[edit] Sister cities

Scranton has two official sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

[edit] External links



Image:Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lackawanna County.svg Municipalities and Communities of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
(County Seat: Scranton)
Cities Carbondale | Scranton
Boroughs Archbald | Blakely | Clarks Green | Clarks Summit | Dalton | Dickson City | Dunmore | Jermyn | Jessup | Mayfield | Moosic | Moscow | Old Forge | Olyphant | Taylor | Throop | Vandling
Townships Abington | Benton | Carbondale | Clifton | Covington | Elmhurst | Fell | Glenburn | Greenfield | Jefferson | La Plume | Madison | Newton | North Abington | Ransom | Roaring Brook | Scott | South Abington | Spring Brook | Thornhurst | West Abington
Communities and CDPs Glenburn | Mount Cobb


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