Scranton is a city in
the northeastern part ofNortheastern Pennsylvania is a geographic region of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton and Carbondale....
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the
county seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of
Lackawanna CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 213,295 people, 86,218 households, and 55,783 families residing in the county. The population density was 465 people per square mile . There were 95,362 housing units at an average density of 208 per square mile...
and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census, making it Pennsylvania's sixth-most-populous city after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
AllentownAllentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
,
ErieErie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, and
ReadingReading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
.
Scranton is the geographic and cultural center of the
Lackawanna RiverThe Lackawanna River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It flows through a region of the northern Pocono Mountains that was once a center of anthracite coal mining in the United States...
valley, and the largest of the former
anthracite coalAnthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster...
mining communities in a contiguous quilt-work that also includes
Wilkes-BarreWilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
,
PittstonPittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. It gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal mining city, drawing a large portion of its labor force from European immigrants. The population was...
, and
CarbondaleCarbondale is a city in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carbondale is located approximately 15 miles due northeast of the city of Scranton in Northeastern Pennsylvania...
. Scranton was incorporated as a
boroughA borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
on February 14, 1856, and as a
cityA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
on April 23, 1866.
Humble beginnings (1776–1845)
Present-day Scranton and its surrounding area had been inhabited by the native
LenapeThe Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
tribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
, from whose language "Lackawanna" (or "le-can-hanna", meaning "stream that forks") is derived. In 1778, Isaac Tripp, known as the area's first white settler, built his home here; it still stands in the city's Providence section. More settlers from
New EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
came to the area in the late 18th century, gradually establishing mills and other small businesses in a village that became known as Slocum Hollow.
Industrial foundation established: iron, coal and railroads (1846–1899)
Though
anthracite coalAnthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster...
was being mined in Carbondale to the north and Wilkes-Barre to the south, the industries that precipitated the city's growth were
ironIron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and
steelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
. In 1840, brothers Selden T. and
George W. ScrantonGeorge Whitfield Scranton was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from March 4, 1859, until his death in 1861.-Early life:...
founded what would become the
Lackawanna Steel CompanyThe Lackawanna Steel Company was an American steel manufacturing company that existed as an independent company from 1840 to 1922, and as a subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel company from 1922 to 1983. Founded by the Scranton family, it was once the second-largest steel company in the world ....
. On October 8, 1845, the Montour Iron Works in
Danville, PennsylvaniaDanville is a borough in Montour County, Pennsylvania, USA, of which it is the county seat, on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. Danville was home to 8,042 people in 1900, 7,517 people in 1910, and 7,122 people in 1940. The population was 4,897 at the 2000 census...
, produced the first iron T-rails made in America, offering the first domestic competition to
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
exports. The Scrantons' firm followed suit two years later, making rails for the
Erie RailroadThe Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
in New York state, and soon became a major producer.
In 1851, the Scrantons founded the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western RailroadThe Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
(DL&W) to transport iron and coal products from the Lackawanna valley. The Pennsylvania Coal Company built a
gravity railroadA gravity railroad or Gravity railway is a railroad on a slope that allow cars carrying minerals or passengers to coast down the slope by the force of gravity alone. The cars are then hauled back up the slope using animal power or a stationary engine and a cable, chain or one or more wide, flat...
here for the same purpose. In 1856, the Borough of Scranton was officially incorporated. The Delaware and Hudson (D&H) Canal Company, which had its own gravity railroad from Carbondale to Honesdale, built a
steam railroadSteam railroad is a term used in the United States to distinguish conventional heavy railroads from street railways, interurban streetcar lines, and other light railways usually dedicated primarily to passenger transport....
that entered Scranton in 1863.
Scranton 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, the city became the county seat of the newly formed Lackawanna County. 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 LeagueThe International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
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 JerseyThe Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
and finally the
New York, Ontario and Western RailwayThe New York, Ontario and Western Railway, more commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad with origins in 1868, lasting until March 29, 1957 when it was ordered liquidated by a US bankruptcy judge. The O&W holds the distinction of being the first major U.S...
(NYO&W). Underneath the city, a network of coal veins was mined by workers who were given jobs 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
breakersA coal breaker was a coal processing plant which broke coal into various useful sizes. Coal breakers also removed impurities from the coal and deposited them into a culm dump...
.
Growth and prosperity (1900–1945)
By the
United States CensusThe United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding. The United States Census Bureau The United States Census...
of 1900, the population of Scranton was about 102,026, making it the 38th-largest U.S. city.
The turn of the 20th century saw many beautiful homes of
Victorian architectureThe term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
built in the Hill and Green Ridge sections of the city. In 1901, the dwindling local iron ore supply cost the city the industry on which it was founded. The Lackawanna Steel Company moved to
Lackawanna, New YorkLackawanna is a city in Erie County, New York, U.S., located just south of the city of Buffalo in the western part of New York state. The population was 18,141 at the 2010 census. The name derives from the Lackawanna Steel Company...
, where iron ore was more readily available, thanks to a Great Lakes port that gave it easy access to ore from
MinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Scranton 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 new immigrants from
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. This patchwork still survives and is represented by the Catholic and
OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
churches that primarily dot the North Scranton, West Side, and South Side neighborhoods of the city; a substantial Jewish community was established as well. In 1903, an electric
interurbanAn interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
railroad known as the Laurel Line was started, and two years later connected to nearby Wilkes-Barre, 20 miles (32.2 km) to the southwest. Working conditions for miners were improved by the efforts of labor leaders like
John MitchellJohn Mitchell was a United States labor leader and president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1898 to 1908....
, who is honored with a statue on the downtown Courthouse Square.
Starting in the early 1920s, the
Scranton Button CompanyThe Scranton Button Company was a U.S. corporation, founded in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1885.For much of its early history it was controlled by Canadian immigrant William Connell . Connell's family moved to Scranton when he was a small child, and at the age of 7 he left school to work in the coal...
(founded in 1885 and a major maker of shellac buttons) became one of the primary makers of phonograph records. They pressed records for
EmersonEmerson Records was a record label active in the United States between 1916 to 1928. Emerson Records produced between the 1910s and early 1920s offered generally above average audio fidelity for the era, pressed in high quality shellac. The fidelity of the later issues compares less...
(whom they bought in 1924), as well as
Regalthumb|150px|First US Regal RecordRegal Records was a US record label owned by the Plaza Music Company that issued recordings from 1921 through 1931. Masters were recorded by Emerson Records, and issued mostly in chain stores for 50 cents each...
,
CameoCameo was a USA based budget record label, first flourishing in the 1920s, not connected with a later record label of the same name which was active in the 1950s and 1960s.The Cameo Record Company was based in Manhattan, New York...
,
RomeoRomeo Records was a record label based in the United States of America in the 1920s and 1930s. It was a subsidiary of Cameo Records, manufactured to be sold exclusively at the S. H. Kress & Co. department store chain...
,
BannerBanner Records was a United States based record label of the 20th century.Banner Records was launched in January 1922 by the Plaza Music Company of New York City. Banner was an extremely popular label in the 1920s, concentrating on popular music of the day. To this day, Banners are often found all...
, Domino,
ConquerorConqueror Records was a United States-based record label, active from about 1926 through 1942. The label was sold exclusively through Sears, Roebuck and Company.The record sleeves state that the proper playing speed for Conqueror Records is 80 rpm....
. In July 1929, the company merged with Regal, Cameo, Banner, and the U.S. branch of
PathePathé Records was a France-based international record label and producer of phonographs, active from the 1890s through the 1930s.- Early years :...
(makers of Pathe and
PerfectPerfect Records was a United States based record label of the 1920s and 1930s. It was a subsidiary of Pathé Records, producing standard lateral cut 78 rpm disc records for the US market....
) to become the
American Record CorporationARC, the American Record Company, also referred to as American Record Corporation, or as ARC Records, was a United States based record company...
. By 1938, the Scranton company was also pressing records for
BrunswickBrunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
,
MelotoneMelotone Records was a United States based record label. In late 1930, Warner/Brunswick Records introduced the Melotone label in the U.S. and Canada as a budget subsidiary issuing 78 rpm disc records. It then became part of the American Record Corporation collection of labels in 1932. The label was...
, and
VocalionVocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
. In 1946, the company was acquired by
CapitolCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, and continued to produce Capitol Records through the end of the vinyl era.
By the mid-1930s, the city population had swelled beyond 140,000 thanks largely to the growing mining and
silkSilk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
textile industries.
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
created a great demand for energy, which led to more strip mining in the area.
The end of an era (1946–1984)
After World War II, coal lost favor to
oilAn oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and
natural gasNatural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
. While some U.S. cities prospered in the post-war boom, the fortunes and population of Scranton (and the rest of Lackawanna and
Luzerne- Demographics :As of the 2010 census, the county was 90.7% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 3.3% were of some other race, and 1.5% were two or more races. 6.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry...
Counties) began to diminish. Coal production and rail traffic declined rapidly throughout the 1950s. 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. In 1955, some eastern and southern parts of the city were destroyed by the floods of
Hurricane DianeHurricane Diane was one of three hurricanes to hit North Carolina during the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season, striking an area that had been hit by Hurricane Connie five days earlier...
, and 80 lives were lost. The NYO&W Railroad, which depended heavily on its Scranton branch for freight traffic, was abandoned in 1957.
The
Knox Mine DisasterThe Knox Mine disaster was a mining accident that took place in Port Griffith, a town in Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania, near Pittston, on January 22, 1959....
of January 1959 all but erased the mining industry in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The event eliminated thousands of jobs as the waters of the
Susquehanna RiverThe Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
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
subsidenceSubsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
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. During the 1960s and 1970s, the silk and other textile industries shrunk as jobs moved south or overseas.
There were some small bright spots during the era. In 1962, businessman
Alex GrassAlexander Grass was an American businessman and lawyer who founded Rite Aid, one of the United States' largest drugstore chains.-Early life:Grass was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents, Louis and Rose Grass...
opened his first "Thrif D Discount Center" drugstore on Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton. The 17 by store, an immediate success, was the progenitor of the
Rite AidRite Aid is a drugstore chain in the United States and a Fortune 500 company headquartered in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, near Camp Hill. Rite Aid is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast and the third largest drugstore chain in the U.S....
drugstore chain.
During the 1970s and 1980s, many downtown storefronts and theaters became vacant as suburban shopping malls became the dominant venues for shopping and entertainment.
Stabilization and restoration (1985–present)
There has been an emphasis on revitalization since the mid-1980s. Local government and much of the community at large have adopted a renewed interest in the city's buildings and history. Aged and empty properties are being redesigned and marketed as tourist attractions. The
Steamtown National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site 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 . The museum is built around a working replica turntable and a roundhouse that is...
captures the area's once-prominent position in the railroad industry. The former DL&W train station was restored as the
Radisson Lackawanna Station HotelThe Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, built as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station, is a neo-classical building in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was built as a train station and office building in 1908; closed in 1970; listed on the U.S...
. The
Electric City Trolley MuseumThe Electric City Trolley Museum is 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 Wyoming Valley Railroad, now owned by the government of Lackawanna...
was created next to the DL&W yards that the Steamtown NHS occupies. Other attractions responsible for recent popularity and favorable attention to the Scranton area include the
Snö MountainSnö Mountain , is a ski resort in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Among the largest ski areas in the state's Pocono region, it has 26 ski trails that include beginner slopes as well as some of the region's steepest skiing, and 26 trails for skiing...
ski resort (formerly Montage Mountain), the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins,
AHLThe American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
affiliate of the
Pittsburgh PenguinsThe Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
, the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (formerly the Red Barons), AAA affiliate of the
New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, and their PNC Field, and the
Toyota Pavilion at Montage MountainToyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain is an amphitheatre, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania.-History:It started as a temporary facility, located behind the ski lodge on Montage Mountain. In 1999, Lackawanna County built a permanent amphitheater further down the mountain...
concert venue.
Geography
Scranton is located at 41°24′38"N 75°40′3"W (41.410629, −75.667411). Its total area of 25.4 square miles (65.8 km²) includes 25.2 square miles (65.3 km²) of land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of water, according to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
. Scranton is drained by the
Lackawanna RiverThe Lackawanna River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It flows through a region of the northern Pocono Mountains that was once a center of anthracite coal mining in the United States...
.
Center City is about 750 feet (229 m) above sea level, although the hilly city's inhabited portions range about from 650 to 1400 ft (198.1 to 426.7 m). The city is flanked by mountains to the east and west whose elevations range from 1900 to 2100 ft (579.1 to 640.1 m).
Climate
Scranton lies in a
humid continental climateA humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
zone (
KöppenThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfa). It features four distinct seasons, where summers are typically warm (with occasional heatwaves), fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold and snowy. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year.
January lows average 18.5 °F (-7.5 °C) and highs average 34.1 °F (1.2 °C). The lowest officially recorded temperature was -21 °F in 1994. July lows average 61.5 °F (16.4 °C) and highs average 82.6 °F (28.1 °C). The highest temperature on record was 103 °F (39.4 °C) in 1936. Early fall and mid-winter are generally driest, with February being the driest month with only 2.08 inches (52.8 mm) of average precipitation.
Snowfall is variable, with some winters bringing light snow and others bringing numerous snowstorms. Average snowfall is 47.1 in (119.6 cm) per year, with the months of January and February receiving the highest at just over 13 in (33 cm) and 10 in (25.4 cm) each. Rainfall is generally spread throughout the year, with 10 to 13 wet days per month, at an average annual rate of 37.56 inches (954 mm).
Neighborhoods
Scranton is broken into five major sections: West Side, South Side, the Hill Section (a.k.a East Side), North Scranton, and Downtown. As with most cities and neighborhoods, boundaries can be ambiguous and are not always uniformly defined.
West Scranton (West Side) (shown in orange) is made up of a group of smaller neighborhoods including Hyde Park, West Mountain (everything north of Keyser Ave.), the Keyser Valley, Bellevue, and some of Tripp's Park, which straddles both West and North Scranton. North Scranton (shown in blue) contains the neighborhoods of Providence, Tripp's Park, Bull's Head, the Plot, upper and lower Green Ridge, and Pine Brook which is between downtown Scranton and the Green Ridge area.
The Upper Green Ridge area is the wealthiest of the neighborhoods, which extends into the neighboring borough of
DunmoreDunmore is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, adjoining Scranton. Dunmore was settled in 1835 and incorporated in 1862. Extensive anthracite coal, brick, stone, and silk interests had led to a rapid increase in the population to 8,315 in 1890, 12,583 in 1900, 17,615 in 1910, 20,250 in...
. It was here and in parts of the Hill Section that the mansions built by former coal barons still stand. South Scranton (South Side) has the Flats, East Mountain (everything east of
Interstate 81Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway...
) and Minooka, which is a neighboorhood in the southwestern part of the city.
Adjacent municipalities
- South Abington Township (north and northwest)
- Dickson City
Dickson City is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, north of Scranton. Coal mining had been an important industry in the past. Some of the population totals follow: in 1900, 4,948; in 1910, 9,331; in 1920, 11,049; and in 1940, 11,548...
(north)
- Throop
Throop is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, adjoining Scranton. Formerly, coal mining and silk manufacturing provided employment for the people of Throop, who numbered 2,204 in 1900 and 5,133 in 1910. In 1940, 7,382 people lived in Throop, Pennsylvania...
(northeast)
- Dunmore
Dunmore is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, adjoining Scranton. Dunmore was settled in 1835 and incorporated in 1862. Extensive anthracite coal, brick, stone, and silk interests had led to a rapid increase in the population to 8,315 in 1890, 12,583 in 1900, 17,615 in 1910, 20,250 in...
(east)
- Roaring Brook Township (east and southeast)
- Spring Brook Township (south)
- Moosic
Moosic is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania six miles south of Scranton and northeast of Wilkes-Barre on the Lackawanna River....
(south)
- Taylor
Taylor is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, four miles southwest of Scranton on the Lackawanna River. Silk manufacturing and coal mining were once practiced in the borough. In 1900, 4,215 people lived in Taylor; in 1910, 9,060; and in 1940, 9,002 people resided in the...
(west and southwest)
- Ransom Township (west)
- Newton Township (northwest)
Demographics
As of the 2010
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, there were 76,089 people, 30,069 households, and 18,124 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
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, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.69% from other races, and 2.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race make up 9.90% 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 couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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 incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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.
The local
dialectThe term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
of
American EnglishAmerican English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
is "
Northeast Pennsylvania EnglishNortheast Pennsylvania English is the local dialect of American English spoken in northeastern Pennsylvania, specifically in the Coal Region, which includes the cities of Hazleton, Pottsville, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton....
", at least for the older generations of Scranton residents.
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 degreeA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
or higher. In labor force (population 16 years and over) 57.6% of them work. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
(in 2006 inflation-adjusted dollars) is $17,187.
Fire department
The Bureau of Fire was incorporated as a paid service in 1901. It is a full-time service consisting of about 130 firefighters. Its headquarters is on Mulberry Street in Central City. The fire department has eight fire stations, which are located in the city's South Side, Central City, the Pinebrook section, West Side, North Scranton, Bull's Head, the Petersburg section, and on East Mountain. It has 9 firefighting vehicles, including six engines, two trucks, and one rescue engine. Due to recent changes in staffing in early 2011 by the mayor, Engine Company #9 was closed & at times some remaining companies are left unmanned due to lack of manpower
Police
The Scranton Police Patrol Division is broken down into three shifts. Police headquarters is located on South 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, Canine Unit, Community Development and Highway Unit.
Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services are provided by two private companies, Community Life Support and Lackawanna Ambulance. The city requires that only Advanced Life Support units respond to emergencies, which include a crew of a Paramedic and an EMT. Ambulances are dispatched by an advanced GPS system which allows the 911 dispatcher to send the closest ambulance to the scene of the emergency.
Media
The
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre areaWyoming Valley is a region of northeastern Pennsylvania. As a metropolitan area, it is also known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, after its principal cities, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre....
is the 54th-largest U.S. television market. Local television stations include:
- WNEP-TV
WNEP-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for northeastern Pennsylvania licensed to Scranton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter on Penobscot Knob in Mountain Top...
ABC affiliate
- WBRE-TV
WBRE-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Wilkes-Barre. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter at the Penobscot Knob antenna farm near Mountain Top. It can also be seen on Comcast and Service...
NBC affiliate
- WYOU-TV CBS affiliate
- WVIA-TV
WVIA-TV is the Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station broadcasting on channel 41 to most of northeastern and central Pennsylvania...
PBS affiliate
- WOLF-TV
WOLF-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Hazleton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 45 from a transmitter at the Penobscot Knob antenna farm near Mountain Top. Owned by New Age Media, the station is sister to CW...
Fox affiliate
- WQMY
WQMY is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Williamsport. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 29 from a transmitter on top of Bald Eagle Mountain south of the city. The station can also be seen on Service Electric...
MyNetworkTV affiliate
- WSWB
WSWB is the CW-affiliated television station for Northeastern Pennsylvania licensed to Scranton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter northwest of Scranton and I-476. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 7 and Service Electric channel 11...
CW affiliate
- WQPX
WQPX-TV is the Ion Television affiliate for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by ion Media Networks ....
ION Television affiliate
Local
public-access televisionPublic-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
and government-access television (GATV) programming is aired on
ComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
cable TV channels 19 and 21.
Scranton hosts the headquarters of
Times-Shamrock CommunicationsTimes-Shamrock Communications is an American media company based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The company, owned by the Lynett and Haggerty families of Scranton, lists among its assets seven daily newspapers, over 20 weekly newspapers, and 12 radio stations...
, which publishes the city's major newspaper,
The Times-Tribune, a
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-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. The Scranton Post is a weekly general interest broadsheet.
The Times LeaderThe Times Leader is a privately owned newspaper in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.Founded in 1879, it was locally owned until being purchased by Capital Cities in 1978...
is a daily paper that primarily covers Wilkes-Barre and also publishes in Scranton, and the
Weekender is a Wilkes-Barre-based entertainment tabloid with distribution in Scranton. 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
ArbitronArbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
.
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 LeagueThe Pennsylvania State League played from 1892-1895, then changed into the first Atlantic League.-Cities represented:*Allentown, PA: Allentown Colts 1892-1893; Allentown Kelly's Killers 1894; Allentown Goobers 1895; Allentown 1895...
,
Eastern LeagueThe Eastern League is a minor league baseball league which operates primarily in the northeastern United States, although it has had a team in Ohio since 1989. The Eastern League has played at the AA level since 1963. The league was founded in 1923 as the New York-Pennsylvania League...
, Atlantic League,
New York State LeagueThis article refers to the modern New York State League. For the original incarnations of the New York State League see New York State League ...
, New York-Penn League and the New York-Pennsylvania League. As of 2011, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (formerly the Red Barons) of the
International LeagueThe International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
play their home games at PNC Field in
MoosicMoosic is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania six miles south of Scranton and northeast of Wilkes-Barre on the Lackawanna River....
, south of Scranton.
In football, the Scranton Eagles, a semi-pro/minor league team, dominate their Empire Football League, having won 11 championships. The former
arena footballAF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PioneersThe Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2. The team was part of the East Division in the American conference. The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league's 2002 season, and were the runner-ups in ArenaCup VIII and ArenaCup X.-2001:The...
, who played eight seasons at the
Mohegan Sun ArenaThe Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut located inside Mohegan Sun. The arena facility features of configurable exhibition space and a clear span...
(formerly Wachovia Arena) in Wilkes-Barre Township had made the playoffs in their last six years of existence and contended for the
ArenaCup VIIIArenaCup VIII was the 2007 edition of the af2's championship game, in which the National Conference Champions Tulsa Talons defeated the American Conference Champions Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers in Bossier City, Louisiana by a score of 73-66....
in 2007 and the
ArenaCup XArenaCup X was the tenth and final edition of arenafootball2's championship game in which the National Conference Champions Spokane Shock defeated the American Conference Champions Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, 74-27. The game was held on Saturday, August 22, 2009...
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 (BNEFF) recently started play in the area in 2007.
Scranton previously had pro basketball teams, including the Scranton Apollos,
Scranton MinersThe Scranton Miners were an Eastern Professional Basketball League basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League. Arthur Pachter was the Owner and coach for many years...
and Scranton Zappers. Syracuse University men's basketball coach
Jim BoeheimJames Arthur "Jim" Boeheim is the head coach of the men's basketball team at Syracuse University. Boeheim has guided the Orange to eight Big East regular season championships, five Big East Tournament championships, and 28 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three appearances in the national...
played for the Miners before turning to coaching. Starting in 2012, the city will be home to the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre SteamersThe Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Steamers are a Premier Basketball League team set to begin play for the 2012 season. Based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Steamers will play their home games at the Union Center on the campus of Lackawanna College.-External links:...
of the
Premier Basketball LeagueThe Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States that began play in January 2008. The league had ten teams for the 2008 season and thirteen teams for the 2009 season. Nine teams from Canada and the United States...
.
Professional ice hockey arrived in 1999 when the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsThe Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza...
of the
American Hockey LeagueThe American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
began play at the
Mohegan Sun ArenaThe Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut located inside Mohegan Sun. The arena facility features of configurable exhibition space and a clear span...
(formerly Wachovia Arena) in Wilkes-Barre Township. The team won conference championships in 2001, 2004, and 2008.
Starting in 2012, professional lacrosse will come to the area in the form of the
North American Lacrosse LeagueThe North American Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league based in the United States, set to begin play in January 2012. The league will be North America's third professional lacrosse league, after Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League...
's
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ShamrocksThe Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Shamrocks is an American professional indoor lacrosse team based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They are a charter member of the North American Lacrosse League. Beginning in the 2012 season, the Shamrocks will play their home games at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.The...
.
| Club |
League |
Sport |
Venue |
Established |
Parent Club |
Conference
Championships |
League
Championships |
| Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees |
IL The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
|
Baseball |
PNC Field |
1989 |
New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
|
5 |
1 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza...
|
AHLThe American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
|
Ice Hockey |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
1999 |
Pittsburgh PenguinsThe Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
|
3 |
0 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Shamrocks The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Shamrocks is an American professional indoor lacrosse team based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They are a charter member of the North American Lacrosse League. Beginning in the 2012 season, the Shamrocks will play their home games at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.The...
|
NALL The North American Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league based in the United States, set to begin play in January 2012. The league will be North America's third professional lacrosse league, after Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League...
|
Indoor lacrosse |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
2012 |
N/A |
0 |
0 |
| Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Steamers The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Steamers are a Premier Basketball League team set to begin play for the 2012 season. Based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Steamers will play their home games at the Union Center on the campus of Lackawanna College.-External links:...
|
PBL The Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States that began play in January 2008. The league had ten teams for the 2008 season and thirteen teams for the 2009 season. Nine teams from Canada and the United States...
|
Basketball |
Union Center at Lackawanna College Lackawanna College is a college in Scranton, Pennsylvania with satellite centers in the towns of Hazleton, Hawley, Towanda, and New Milford....
|
2012 |
N/A |
0 |
0 |
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 FurnacesThe 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 which were built between 1848 and 1857. Iron...
are remnants of the city's founding industry and of the Scranton family's Lackawanna Steel Company. The
Steamtown National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site 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 . The museum is built around a working replica turntable and a roundhouse that is...
seeks to preserve the history of steam locomotives. The
Electric City Trolley MuseumThe Electric City Trolley Museum is 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 Wyoming Valley Railroad, now owned by the government of Lackawanna...
preserves and operates pieces of Pennsylvania streetcar history. The
Lackawanna Coal MineThe Lackawanna Coal Mine is a museum and retired coal mine located in McDade Park in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Visitors board a mine car and descend the #190 slope into the Clark Vein of coal...
tour at
McDade ParkMcDade 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, basketball courts, hiking trails, tennis courts and 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 HotelThe Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, built as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station, is a neo-classical building in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was built as a train station and office building in 1908; closed in 1970; listed on the U.S...
.
Museums in Scranton include the
Everhart MuseumThe Everhart Museum is a non-profit art and natural history museum located in Nay Aug Park in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1908 by Dr. Isaiah Fawkes Everhart, a local medical doctor and skilled taxidermist. Many of the specimens in the museum's extensive ornithological collection came...
in Nay Aug Park, which houses a collection of natural history, science and art exhibits; and the
Houdini MuseumThe Houdini Museum was established in 1988 at 1433 N. Main Avenue in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. It is in a turn-of-the-20th-century building that has been entirely renovated. Houdini performed in Scranton and did several special challenges there. His brother, Hardeen, also appeared in Scranton...
, which features films, exhibits, and a stage show in a unique, century-old building. Terence Powderly's
houseThe Terence V. Powderly House is located along North Main Avenue in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. It was the home of Powderly from his early life until 1921...
, still a private dwelling, is one of the city's many historic buildings and, with Steamtown, the city's other
National Historic LandmarkA National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
. 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. AnnThe Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Ann is a Roman Catholic minor basilica located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The first temporary chapel on this site, founded by the Passionist order as a monastery church, was erected in 1902; the present building was dedicated on April 2, 1929, and on...
, which draws thousands of pilgrims to its annual
novenaIn the Catholic Church, a novena is a devotion consisting of a prayer repeated on nine successive days, asking to obtain special graces. The prayers may come from prayer books, or consist of the recitation of the Rosary , or of short prayers through the day...
, and St. Stanislaus
CathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
, the seat of the
Polish National Catholic ChurchThe Polish National Catholic Church is a Christian church founded and based in the United States by Polish-Americans who were Roman Catholic. The PNCC is a breakaway Catholic Church in dialogue with the Catholic Church; it seeks full communion with the Holy See although it differs theologically...
in
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The history of the founding of this
denominationA Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
is tied to
Polishthumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
immigration to Scranton in the late 19th century.
Since the 1970s, Scranton has hosted
La Festa Italiana, a three-day
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
festival that takes place on
Labor DayLabor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
weekend on the courthouse square. The festival originally took place around
Columbus DayMany countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday...
, but was moved because Scranton generally receives cold weather in October.
Scranton's large
IrishThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
population is represented in the annual
Saint Patrick's Day ParadeThe St. Patrick's Parade Day in Scranton is the third largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the United States. It is held in Scranton, Pennsylvania every year on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day which is the 12th in the year 2011....
, 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 DaySaint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
, 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
Snö Mountain Ski ResortSnö Mountain , is a ski resort in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Among the largest ski areas in the state's Pocono region, it has 26 ski trails that include beginner slopes as well as some of the region's steepest skiing, and 26 trails for skiing...
, formerly "Montage Mountain", which rivals the numerous resorts of the Poconos in popularity and offers a relatively comprehensive range of difficulty levels. The 26.2 miles (42.2 km)
Steamtown MarathonThe Steamtown Marathon is an annual marathon in northeastern Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1996 by Scranton Organized Area Runners in conjunction with the Scranton Cultural Center and the Lackawanna County Convention and Visitors Bureau...
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 OlmstedFrederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
, who also laid out
Central ParkCentral Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
in
ManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
,
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The city is the home of
Electric Theatre CompanyElectric Theatre Company was a non-profit, regional, Equity theatre company located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1992 as The Northeastern Theatre Ensemble by Zeve Ben Dov and played in Scranton for eight years before moving to Keystone College for four years...
, a professional
EquityThe Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...
theatre with a nine-month season.
Scranton's primary concert venue is the
Toyota Pavilion at Montage MountainToyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain is an amphitheatre, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania.-History:It started as a temporary facility, located behind the ski lodge on Montage Mountain. In 1999, Lackawanna County built a permanent amphitheater further down the mountain...
, a partially covered amphitheater that seats 17,500. Its summer concerts have included
James TaylorJames Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
,
Dave Matthews BandDave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
, and many other musical acts.
Scranton Cultural CenterThe Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple is a theatre and cultural center in Scranton, Pennsylvania...
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.
Cooper's Seafood House, formerly the Erie Train Station on North Washington Avenue, has been in business for more than 60 years.
In popular culture
The city is the home of the fictional
Dunder-MifflinDunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. is a fictional paper sales company featured in the United States television series The Office. Until very late 2009, it supposedly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DMI,; in early 2010 it was absorbed by the Tallahassee, Florida-based...
paper company, the setting of
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom
The OfficeThe Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. An adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, it depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...
. The program frequently refers to things in and around Scranton, including the
Mall at SteamtownThe Mall at Steamtown is a shopping center and the commercial centerpiece of Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. It features nearly one hundred retail and specialty stores. The Mall at Steamtown was conceived in the mid 1980s as the keystone of downtown revitalization, though the project was...
, Cooper's Seafood House, Farley's Pub, Poor Richard's Pub, Alfredo's Pizza Cafe, The Bog,
Montage MountainToyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain is an amphitheatre, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania.-History:It started as a temporary facility, located behind the ski lodge on Montage Mountain. In 1999, Lackawanna County built a permanent amphitheater further down the mountain...
, The Scranton Anthracite Museum, and
Lake WallenpaupackLake Wallenpaupack is a reservoir in Pennsylvania, USA. It was created in 1926 by PPL, the Pennsylvania Power & Light Company, for hydroelectric purposes. It is located near Hawley, on the border of Pike and Wayne counties in northeastern Pennsylvania...
. The exterior of the Penn Paper & Supply at 215 Vine Street appears in the opening titles of the show.
Other appearances in pop culture include:
- The city is imagined as a member of the class of interstellar Okies in James Blish
James Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
's 1962 novel, A Life for the Stars. Scranton, in 2273, leaves an impoverished Earth behind, under SpindizzyThe Dillon-Wagoner Graviton Polarity Generator, known colloquially as the spindizzy is a fictitious anti-gravity device imagined by James Blish for his series Cities in Flight...
drive.
- The 1973 Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
– and Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
–winning play That Championship SeasonThat Championship Season is Jason Miller's 1982 film version of his 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway play of the same name. It stars Robert Mitchum, Martin Sheen, Bruce Dern, Stacy Keach and Paul Sorvino and was filmed on location in Scranton, Pennsylvania where it is set.In 1999, Sorvino...
by Scranton resident Jason MillerJason Miller was an American actor and playwright. He received the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play That Championship Season, and was widely recognized for his role as Father Damien Karras in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist...
was based on the fictionalized lives of Scranton's 1957 state basketball champions. Miller wrote and directed the 1982 film, in which all exterior scenes were filmed in Scranton.
- The city is the subject of George Inness
George Inness was an American landscape painter; born in Newburgh, New York; died at Bridge of Allan in Scotland. His work was influenced, in turn, by that of the old masters, the Hudson River school, the Barbizon school, and, finally, by the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg, whose spiritualism...
's 1855 painting, The Lackawanna ValleyThe Lackawanna Valley is a c. 1855 painting by the American artist George Inness. Painted in oil on canvas, it is one of Inness' best and most well-known works...
, which hangs in the National Gallery of ArtThe National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
- Harry Chapin
Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter best known in particular for his folk rock songs including "Taxi", "W*O*L*D", and the number-one hit "Cat's in the Cradle". Chapin was also a dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger; he was a key player in the creation of the...
's 1974 song "30,000 Pounds of Bananas"30,000 Pounds of Bananas", sometimes spelled "Thirty-Thousand Pounds of Bananas", is a song by Harry Chapin from his 1974 album, Verities & Balderdash. The song became more popular in its live extended recording from Chapin's 1976 concert album, Greatest Stories Live that started the phrase...
" dramatizes the wreck of a truck carrying bananas on March 26, 1965, just outside downtown Scranton.
- The Travel Channel's Magic Road Trip program featured the city's Houdini Museum
The Houdini Museum was established in 1988 at 1433 N. Main Avenue in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. It is in a turn-of-the-20th-century building that has been entirely renovated. Houdini performed in Scranton and did several special challenges there. His brother, Hardeen, also appeared in Scranton...
as one of the world's top magic attractions.
- The 2010 film Blue Valentine
Blue Valentine is a 2010 romantic drama film written and directed by Derek Cianfrance. The film premiered in competition at the 26th Sundance Film Festival. Derek Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis wrote the film, and Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling played the lead roles...
was filmed in the Scranton area; the University of ScrantonThe University of Scranton is a private, co-educational Catholic and Jesuit university, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the northeast region of the state. The school was founded in 1888 by Most Rev. William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. It was elevated to a...
campus and downtown Scranton appear in various scenes.
- The 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York featured a character named Kate McCallister who gets stranded at the Scranton Airport while trying to get home to her son in Chicago.
Transportation
The main highways that serve Scranton are
Interstate 81Interstate 81 is an long north–south Interstate Highway, stretching from Dandridge, Tennessee to Fisher's Landing, New York at the US/Canadian border...
, which runs north to
Binghamton, New YorkBinghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
and
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and south to
HarrisburgHarrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
and
TennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
;
Interstate 84Interstate 84 is an Interstate Highway extending from Dunmore, Pennsylvania at an interchange with Interstate 81 to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, at an interchange with the Massachusetts Turnpike . I-84 has mile-log junction numbering in Pennsylvania; otherwise, exit numbers are roughly sequential...
, which runs east to
MilfordMilford is a borough in Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat. Its population was 1,021 at the 2010 census. It was founded in 1796 by Judge John Biddis, one of the state's first four circuit judges, who named the settlement after his ancestral home in Wales.Milford has a...
and New England;
Interstate 380Interstate 380 is a spur highway in northeast Pennsylvania that connects Interstate 80 with Interstate 81 and Interstate 84. The northern terminus of I-380 is at Interstate 84 near Elmhurst, PA; the southern terminus is in Tunkhannock Township at the junction with Interstate 80. The entire length...
, which runs southeast to
Mount PoconoMount Pocono is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located in the Poconos region of the state.As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 2,742.-Geography:Mount Pocono is located at ....
and
Interstate 80The transcontinental Interstate 80 is designated across northern Pennsylvania as the Keystone Shortway, officially the Z.H. Confair Memorial Highway. This route was built mainly along a completely new alignment, not paralleling any earlier U.S. Routes, as a shortcut to the tolled Pennsylvania...
east to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and west to San Francisco;
Interstate 476Interstate 476 is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania designated between Interstate 95 near Chester and Interstate 81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania....
/
Pennsylvania TurnpikeThe Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...
Northeast Extension, which runs south to Allentown and Philadelphia;
U.S. Route 6U.S. Route 6 travels east–west near the north edge of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from the Ohio state line near Pymatuning Reservoir east to the Mid-Delaware Bridge over the Delaware River into Port Jervis, New York. It is the longest highway segment in the Commonwealth. Most of it is a...
, which runs east to Carbondale and parallel to I-84 to New England and west to
ErieErie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
; and
U.S. Route 11U.S. Route 11 is a north–south United States highway extending 1,645 miles across the eastern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 90 in the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in eastern New Orleans, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at the United...
, which runs parallel to I-81.
Scranton's provider of public transportation is the
County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS). COLTS buses provide extensive service within the city and more limited service that reaches in all directions to
CarbondaleCarbondale is a city in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carbondale is located approximately 15 miles due northeast of the city of Scranton in Northeastern Pennsylvania...
,
DalevilleCovington Township is a township in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,284 as of the 2010 census.-Geography:...
, Pittston, and
FleetvilleBenton Township is a township in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,908 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.-Demographics:As of the census of...
.
The
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International AirportWilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is an airport located in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania, near the border of Luzerne County and Lackawanna County, halfway between the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton...
is located in nearby
AvocaAvoca is a borough within the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, ten miles northeast of Wilkes Barre and nine miles southwest of Scranton. The population was 2,851 at the 2000 census...
. The
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
is serviced by
American AirlinesAmerican Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
,
ContinentalContinental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
,
DeltaDelta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
,
UnitedUnited Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
, and
US AirwaysUS Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
.
Martz Trailways and
Greyhound LinesGreyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
provide coach bus transportation from its downtown station to New York City, Philadelphia and other points 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, vital to the city's historic growth, remains important today.
The
Canadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(Delaware and Hudson division) runs freight trains on the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western (DL&W) line between Scranton and Binghamton, with frequent through trains often jointly operated with
Norfolk Southern RailwayThe Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
. The
Reading Blue Mountain & Northern RailroadThe Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in eastern Pennsylvania. It is also known as the Reading and Northern.It operates on of track with two routes...
serves the former DL&W Keyser Valley branch in the city.
The
Delaware-Lackawanna RailroadThe Delaware–Lackawanna Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Pennsylvania.The DL began service in August 1993 and is the designated operator for 85 miles of trackage in Lackawanna and Monroe Counties. It is a subsidiary of holding company Genesee Valley Transportation Company, Inc...
, 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 GapThe Delaware Water Gap is on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains...
and the former
Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley RailroadThe 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.-History:...
third-rail interurban streetcar line south to Montage Mountain, Moosic. These lines host the seasonal passenger trains of both the
Steamtown National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site 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 . The museum is built around a working replica turntable and a roundhouse that is...
and the
Electric City Trolley MuseumThe Electric City Trolley Museum is 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 Wyoming Valley Railroad, now owned by the government of Lackawanna...
and are under the jurisdiction of the
Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail AuthorityPennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority is a bi-county creation of both Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania and Monroe County, Pennsylvania to oversee the use of common rail freight lines in Northeastern Pennsylvania....
.
The PNRRA was created by
Lackawanna CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 213,295 people, 86,218 households, and 55,783 families residing in the county. The population density was 465 people per square mile . There were 95,362 housing units at an average density of 208 per square mile...
and
Monroe County-National protected areas:* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area * Middle Delaware National Scenic River -Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there are 176,567 people, 49,454 households, and 36,447 families residing in the county. The population density was 228 people per square mile...
to oversee the use of common rail freight lines in
Northeastern PennsylvaniaNortheastern Pennsylvania is a geographic region of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton and Carbondale....
, including one formerly owned by Conrail running from Scranton, through the
Pocono MountainsThe Pocono Mountains is a region located in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States. The Poconos, located chiefly in Monroe and Pike counties , are an upland of the larger Allegheny Plateau...
towards
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and the
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
market.
One of its primary objectives is to re-establish rail passenger service to
Hoboken, New JerseyHoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
and thence by connection to New York.
As of 2011, regular passenger train service to Scranton is slated to be restored under a plan to extend
New Jersey TransitThe New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
(NJ Transit) service from Hoboken via the Lackawanna Cut-Off. The trains would pass the Lackawanna Station building and pull in at
a new Scranton stationScranton is the proposed terminus for New Jersey Transit passenger rail service from New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey, via the Lackawanna Cut-Off to Scranton, Pennsylvania. Currently, NJ Transit provides rail service to Port Morris, New Jersey via the Lake Hopatcong station...
on Lackawanna Avenue along the northernmost track east of Bridge 60 (the railroad bridge over the
Lackawanna RiverThe Lackawanna River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It flows through a region of the northern Pocono Mountains that was once a center of anthracite coal mining in the United States...
) and the Cliff Street underpass.
Primary and secondary education
The city's public schools are operated by the
Scranton School DistrictThe Scranton School District is a large, urban school district located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It serves the city of Scranton. Its current superintendent is William King. The district encompasses approximately 26 square miles. According to 2000 federal census data, it serves a resident...
(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 SchoolWest Scranton High School, is a community-based school in the "West Side" neighborhood of Scranton, Pennsylvania opened to the public in 1935, first as a junior high facility and later as a high school. One of the oldest schools in the area, it has about 32 clubs and 17 sports. It hosts grades 9...
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 SchoolScranton Preparatory School is a Catholic and Jesuit college preparatory day school for boys and girls. The current enrollment is 860 students. Prep is fully accredited by the Pennsylvania State Department of Public Instruction and by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools...
, a private Jesuit school, and
Yeshiva Bais MosheYeshivath Beth Moshe is an Orthodox Jewish Seminary located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, founded in 1964. Rabbi Yaakov Schnaidman and Rabbi Chaim Bressler are the Roshei Yeshiva....
, an
Ultra OrthodoxHaredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
school.
Holy Cross High SchoolHoly Cross High School is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton, and is the second largest of four diocesan high schools in Northeastern Pennsylvania...
in
DunmoreDunmore is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, adjoining Scranton. Dunmore was settled in 1835 and incorporated in 1862. Extensive anthracite coal, brick, stone, and silk interests had led to a rapid increase in the population to 8,315 in 1890, 12,583 in 1900, 17,615 in 1910, 20,250 in...
is a Catholic high school operated by the Diocese of Scranton 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 ChildrenThe Scranton School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children is a specialized school located in Scranton, Pennsylvania serving students from Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, USA. Formerly administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Scranton State School for the Deaf was closed at...
.
Penn Foster High SchoolPenn Foster High School is a U.S. for-profit distance education high school. The school was founded in 1890, and was known as "International Correspondence Schools", or "ICS". The school is regionally and nationally accredited. It is headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania...
, a
distance educationDistance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
high school, is headquartered in 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 AssociationThe Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. is one of the governing bodies of high school and junior high school sports for the state of Pennsylvania, United States....
.
Colleges and universities
The city hosts five colleges and universities:
Lackawanna CollegeLackawanna College is a college in Scranton, Pennsylvania with satellite centers in the towns of Hazleton, Hawley, Towanda, and New Milford....
,
Marywood UniversityMarywood University is a selective, coeducational, Catholic liberal arts university located on a campus in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Established in 1915 by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and currently enrolls approximately 3,500 students on a national award-winning campus...
, The University of Scranton,
Johnson CollegeJohnson College is a private, coeducational two-year college located in Scranton, Pennsylvania.Johnson College was founded in 1912 as a trade school by Orlando S. Johnson, a wealthy coal baron...
, and
The Commonwealth Medical CollegeThe Commonwealth Medical College is a new medical school that serves all of northeastern and part of north-central Pennsylvania. It accepted its first class of MD and MBS students in fall 2009. The college initially operated from Lackawanna College, but now educates students in its very own state...
and one technical school, Fortis Institute. The
Pennsylvania State UniversityThe Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
operates a Commonwealth Campus north of the city, in the borough of
DunmoreDunmore is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, adjoining Scranton. Dunmore was settled in 1835 and incorporated in 1862. Extensive anthracite coal, brick, stone, and silk interests had led to a rapid increase in the population to 8,315 in 1890, 12,583 in 1900, 17,615 in 1910, 20,250 in...
, where
ITT TechITT Technical Institute is a for-profit technical institute with over 130 campuses in 38 states of the United States. ITT Tech is owned and operated by ITT Educational Services, Inc. , a publicly traded company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. ITT Educational Services, Inc...
is also located.
Penn Foster Career SchoolPenn Foster Career School is a U.S. for-profit distance education vocational school. The school was founded in 1890, and was known as International Correspondence Schools, or ICS...
, a
distance educationDistance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
vocational schoolA vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...
, is headquartered in Scranton. Other colleges within 30 miles (48.3 km) of Scranton include
Baptist Bible College & SeminaryBaptist Bible College & Seminary was founded in 1932 in Johnson City, New York. It is a fully accredited, Christ-centered educational institution. The College originally used the facilities of First Baptist Church in Johnson City, with the student body growing from the first enrollment of 40...
and
Keystone CollegeKeystone College is a small private college located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its official mailing address is La Plume, Pennsylvania in Lackawanna County; however, much of the campus is in Factoryville, Pennsylvania in Wyoming County. The school was founded in 1868.-History:Keystone Academy was...
.
Libraries
The Lackawanna County Library System administers the libraries in Scranton, including the
Albright Memorial Library and the
Lackawanna County Children's LibraryThe First Church of Christ, Scientist, now also known as Lackawanna County Children's Library, is a building in Scranton, Pennsylvania located at 520 Vine Street. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 1988...
. As of 2008, Scranton libraries serve more than 96,000 people and have a circulation of over 547,000.
Politicians
- Joseph Biden – current Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, former U.S. Senator from DelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
- Frank Carlucci
Frank Charles Carlucci III is a former official in the United States Government, associated with the Republican Party. The most prominent office held by Carlucci was as Secretary of Defense from 1987 until 1989 in the Reagan Administration.-Early life and career:Carlucci was born in Scranton,...
– United States Secretary of DefenseThe Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
from 1987 until 1989
- Robert P. Casey
Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Sr. was an American politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995...
– 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania
- Robert P. Casey, Jr. – current senior U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
- Hermann Eilts
Hermann Frederick Eilts was a United States Foreign Service Officer and diplomat. He served as an American ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, assisted Henry Kissinger's Mideast shuttle diplomacy effort, worked with Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat throughout the Camp David Accords, and dodged...
– former U.S. ambassador to Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
- Terence V. Powderly
Terence Vincent "Terry" Powderly was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish Catholic immigrants. He was a highly visible national spokesman for the working man as head of the Knights of Labor from 1879 until 1893...
– head of the Knights of LaborThe Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
from 1879 until 1893
- Robert Reich
Robert Bernard Reich is an American political economist, professor, author, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997....
– professor, author, and political commentator, United States Secretary of LaborThe United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the Department of Labor who exercises control over the department and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies....
under President Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, from 1993 to 1997
- William Scranton
William Warren Scranton is a former U.S. Republican Party politician. Scranton served as the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967. From 1976 to 1977, he served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations.-Early life:...
– 38th Governor of Pennsylvania and former U.S. Ambassador to the United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
- William Scranton III – served as the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
The Lieutenant Governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Lieutenant Governor is elected every four years along with the Governor. Jim Cawley of Bucks County is the incumbent Lieutenant Governor...
from 1979 to 1987
Arts
- Walter Bobbie
Walter Bobbie is an American theatre director, choreographer, and occasional actor and dancer. Bobbie has directed both musicals and plays on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and was the Artistic Director of the New York City Center Encores! concert series...
– theatre director and choreographer
- Alan Brown
-Movies:Brown's first film, the half-hour narrative O Beautiful, won the Future Filmmaker Award at the 2002 Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, and was an official selection of the 2003 Sundance Film Festival...
– filmmaker
- Sonny Burke
Sonny Burke was a big band leader. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke Ambassadors....
– big bandA big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
leader
- Mark Cohen
Mark Cohen is an American photographer best known for his innovative street photography.-Life and career:Cohen was born and lives in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He attended Penn State University and Wilkes College between 1961 and 1965, and opened a commercial photo studio in 1966...
– photographer
- Bob Degen
Bob Degen Jr is an American jazz pianist. Much of his work has been in the trio format.Degen attended Berklee College of Music in the 1960s and played locally in Boston while there. In the mid-1960s he played in Europe with Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Carmell Jones, and Albert Mangelsdorff, and...
– jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
- Dorothy Dietrich
Dorothy Dietrich is an American stage magician and escapologist, and the first and only woman to have performed the bullet catch in mouth. She was also the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope Dorothy Dietrich is an American...
– stage magician and escapologist, owner of the Houdini MuseumThe Houdini Museum was established in 1988 at 1433 N. Main Avenue in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. It is in a turn-of-the-20th-century building that has been entirely renovated. Houdini performed in Scranton and did several special challenges there. His brother, Hardeen, also appeared in Scranton...
- Cy Endfield
Cyril Raker Endfield was an American screenwriter, film director, theatre director, author, magician and inventor, based in Britain from 1953.- Biography :...
– screenwriter, film director, theatre director, author, magician and inventor
- Jane Jacobs
Jane Jacobs, was an American-Canadian writer and activist with primary interest in communities and urban planning and decay. She is best known for The Death and Life of Great American Cities , a powerful critique of the urban renewal policies of the 1950s in the United States...
– writer and activist with primary interest in communities and urban planningUrban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
and decayUrban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
- Gloria Jean
Gloria Jean is an American singer and actress who starred or co-starred in 26 feature films between 1939 and 1959. She also made radio, television, stage, and nightclub appearances.-Career:...
– singer and actress
- Jean Kerr
Jean Kerr was an American author and playwright born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and best known for her humorous bestseller, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, and the plays King of Hearts and Mary, Mary...
– author and playwright
- Michael Patrick King
Michael Patrick King is an American director, writer and producer for television shows.-Life and career:King was born to an Irish American family in Scranton, Pennsylvania and was raised as a Roman Catholic...
– writer, director and producer for television shows and movies
- Michael Kuchwara
Michael Charlies Kuchwara 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 pieces that were read worldwide...
– theater critic, columnistA columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
and journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
- Gershon Legman
Gershon Legman was an American cultural critic and folklorist.-Life and work:Legman was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Emil and Julia Friedman Legman, both of Hungarian/Romanian Jewish descent; his father was a railroad clerk and butcher...
– cultural criticA cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole and typically on a radical basis. There is significant overlap with social and cultural theory.-Terminology:...
and folklorist
- Bradford Louryk
Bradford Louryk is a multi-award winning American theater artist and actor. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and educated at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, he is best-known for his collaboratively generated solo performance work, which often incorporates multimedia elements and gender...
– multi-award winning theater artist and actor
- Judy McGrath
Judith Ann McGrath, is an American television executive.Named Chairman and CEO of MTV Networks on 20 July 2004, McGrath oversees the networks' channels, including MTV, MTV2, VH-1, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, and Logo...
– television executive, CEO of MTV NetworksMTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
- The Menzingers
- Biography :The Menzingers formed in the wake of Scranton ska-punk bands "Bob and the Sagets" and Kos Mos...
– Punk band
- W.S. Merwin – poet, 17th United States Poet Laureate
- Jason Miller
Jason Miller was an American actor and playwright. He received the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play That Championship Season, and was widely recognized for his role as Father Damien Karras in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist...
– actor and playwright
- Jay Parini
Jay Parini is an American writer and academic. He is known for novels and poetry, biography and criticism.He was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, and brought up in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Lafayette College in 1970 and was awarded a doctorate by the University of St. Andrews in 1975...
– writer and academic
- Cynthia Rothrock
Cynthia Rothrock is an American martial artist and actress specializing in martial arts films. -Martial arts achievements:Rothrock is five-time World Karate Champion in forms and weapons between 1981 and 1985...
– martial artist and actress specializing in martial arts films
- Lizabeth Scott
Lizabeth Scott is an American actress and singer widely known for her film noir roles.-Early life:She was born Emma Matzo in the Pine Brook section of Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of six children, to Ruthenian parents who had emigrated from Uzhgorod, in what is now Ukraine...
– actress and singer, widely known for her film noirFilm noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
roles
- Melanie Smith – actress noted for playing "Emily" on As The World Turns
- Thomas L. Thomas
Thomas Llyfnwy Thomas 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 was the most frequently featured singer...
– Welsh-American baritone concert singer
- Richard Wargo – opera composer
- Ned Washington
Ned Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...
– lyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
- Lauren Weisberger
Lauren Weisberger is an American novelist and author of the 2003 bestseller The Devil Wears Prada, a speculated roman à clef of her real life experience as a put-upon assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour....
– novelist and author of the 2003 bestseller The Devil Wears Prada
- Motionless in White
Motionless in White is an American metalcore band from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Formed in 2005, the group is known for its dark horror-themed lyrics and physical appearances, that of which heavily correspond to gothic imagery. Motionless in White is currently signed to Fearless Records and have...
– gothic metalcoreMetalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
band
Sports
- P.J. Carlesimo – professional basketball coach and television broadcaster
- Nestor Chylak
Nestor George Chylak, Jr. was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1954 to 1978.He was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania of Ukrainian descent, and attended the University of Scranton, where he studied engineering...
– Baseball Hall of Famer and American League umpireIn baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
from 1954 to 1978
- Joe Collins
Joseph Edward Collins was an American Major League Baseball player, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania....
– Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player
- Jim Crowley
James Harold "Jim" Crowley was an American football player and coach. He gained fame as one-fourth of the University of Notre Dame's legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield where he played halfback from 1922 to 1924. After a brief career as a professional football player, Crowley turned to coaching...
– American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach, one-fourth of the University of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
's legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield
- Paul Foytack
Paul Eugene Foytack is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from to .During his eleven year career, he played with the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels, posting a record of 86-87 with a 4.14 ERA...
– Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcher
- Charlie Gelbert
Charles Magnus Gelbert was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the St...
– Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player
- Cosmo Iacavazzi
Cosmo Iacavazzi was an American college and professional football player. A fullback, he played college football at Princeton University and was a member of the Tiger Inn Eating Club. After graduating from Princeton, he played professionally in the American Football League for the New York Jets...
– college and American Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
player
- Edgar Jones
Edgar Francis "Special Delivery" Jones was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League and the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference. Jones played college football at the University of Pittsburgh where he finished 7th in the...
– college and professional football player
- Ralph Lomma
Ralph Lomma 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 windmills...
– popularized miniature golfMiniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
in the mid 1950s
- Matt McGloin
Matthew James "Matt" McGloin is an American football quarterback for Penn State University He is the first former walk-on quarterback to start at Penn State since scholarships were reinstated in 1949...
– college football player
- Gerry McNamara
Gerry McNamara Sucks because he did not get drafted into the NBA.Gerry McNamara is a former American basketball player and current graduate assistant coach. He is a former guard for the Syracuse University men's team, from 2002 to 2006...
– basketball player
- Mike Munchak
Michael Anthony Munchak is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He played college football as a offensive lineman for Penn State University from 1978 to 1981. After his career at Penn State, He was drafted in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the Houston...
– current head coach of the Tennessee TitansThe Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
of the NFL, former college and National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player; member of NFL Hall of Fame
- Brothers Jim and Steve O'Neill
Stephen Francis O'Neill was an American catcher, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball.Born to Irish immigrants in Minooka, Pennsylvania , O'Neill was one of six brothers who escaped a life in the coal mines by playing in the major leagues...
– Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
players
- Jackie Paterson
Jackie Paterson was a Scottish boxer who was world flyweight boxing champion. He was also British champion at flyweight and bantamweight.-Early life:...
– Scottish boxer
- Tim Ruddy
Tim Ruddy but lived in Dunmore, Pennsylvania from his childhood all the way through high school...
– college and National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player
- Marc Spindler
Marc Spindler 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 and WXYT, two Detroit area sports talk radio stations.In 1986, Spindler was...
– college and National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player
- Brian Stann
Brian Michael Stann is an American mixed martial artist and former US Marine who competes as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former WEC Light Heavyweight champion...
– Mixed martial artist currently fighting in the UFC, former WECWorld Extreme Cagefighting was an American mixed martial arts promotion. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: 135, 145 and 155 lbs. To accommodate the smaller...
Light HeavyweightThe light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....
MMA champion
Other notable people who lived in Scranton
- Bishop Joseph Bambera
Joseph Charles Bambera is an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Bishop of Scranton, serving since April 26, 2010.-Early life and education:...
– 10th and current Bishop of ScrantonThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton, of which St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is the mother church, consists of 11 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States....
- Mamie Cadden
Mary Anne "Mamie" Cadden was an Irish midwife, backstreet abortionist and convicted murderer.-Background:...
– Irish midwife and backstreet abortionistAn unsafe abortion is the termination of an unwanted pregnancy by persons lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment lacking minimal medical standards, or both...
- Lisa Caputo
For the astronaut see Lisa Caputo Nowak.Lisa Caputo is currently Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs for Citigroup. She has been has been Founder, Chairman and CEO of Citi's Women & Co. business since January 2000...
– current Executive VP, Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs for CitigroupCitigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
- Howard Gardner
Howard Earl Gardner is an American developmental psychologist who is a professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, Senior Director of Harvard Project Zero and author of over twenty books translated into thirty languages. Since 1995, he has...
– developmental psychologist and professor
- Alex Grass
Alexander Grass was an American businessman and lawyer who founded Rite Aid, one of the United States' largest drugstore chains.-Early life:Grass was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents, Louis and Rose Grass...
– businessman and lawyer who founded Rite AidRite Aid is a drugstore chain in the United States and a Fortune 500 company headquartered in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, near Camp Hill. Rite Aid is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast and the third largest drugstore chain in the U.S....
- Jeffrey Bruce Klein
Jeffrey Bruce Klein is an investigative journalist who co-founded Mother Jones in 1976.For its first issue he found a piece that won a National Magazine Award. He forced the resignation of Ronald Reagan’s chief foreign policy advisor, Richard V. Allen, at the 1980 Republican National Convention...
– investigative journalist who co-founded Mother Jones (magazine)Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
in 1976
- Gino J. Merli
Gino Joseph Merli was an American soldier, and recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II.-Biography:...
– American soldier, and recipient of the Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
during World War II
- Bishop Robert C. Morlino
Robert Charles Morlino is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the fourth and current Bishop of Madison, having previously served as Bishop of Helena.-Early life and education:...
– 4th and current Bishop of MadisonThe Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, is the Roman Catholic Diocese for the southwest corner of Wisconsin. It comprises Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, LaFayette, Marquette, Rock and Sauk counties. The area of the diocese is approximately...
- Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor – 11th bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
(8th archbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
) of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New YorkThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York covers New York, Bronx, and Richmond counties in New York City , as well as Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties in New York state. There are 480 parishes...
, 7th Bishop of ScrantonThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton, of which St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is the mother church, consists of 11 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States....
- Bill O'Reilly
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
– television host, author, syndicated columnistThis list of syndicated columnists comprises columnists whose recurring columns are published in multiple periodical publications .*Ghaith Abdul-Ahad*Yasmin Alibhai-Brown*Timothy Garton Ash*Lucius Beebe*Max Boot...
and political commentator
- Karen Ann Quinlan
Karen Ann Quinlan was an important figure in the history of the right to die controversy in the United States....
– important person in the history of the right to dieThe right to die is the ethical or institutional entitlement of the individual to commit suicide or to undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood to mean that a person with a terminal illness should be allowed to commit suicide or assisted suicide or to decline...
controversy
- Hugh Ellsworth Rodham – father of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
- B.F. Skinner – behaviorist, author, inventor, social philosopher, and poet
- Mel Ziegler
Mel Ziegler and his wife, Patricia Ziegler were the founders of Banana Republic. Along with William Rosenzweig, they also co-founded the Republic of Tea. They eventually sold both companies....
– cofounded with his wife two companies, The Republic of Tea and Banana Republic
Sister cities
Scranton has three official sister cities, as designated by
Sister Cities InternationalSister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
: –
BallinaBallina is a large town in north County Mayo in Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountain range to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west...
, Co. Mayo,
Republic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
–
Balakovo-Twin towns/sister cities:Balakovo is twinned with: Pabianice, Poland Trnava, Slovakia Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States Baku, Azerbaijan-References:...
,
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
–
TrnavaTrnava is a city in western Slovakia, 47 km to the north-east of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a kraj and of an okres . It was the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishopric . The city has a historic center...
,
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
External links