Lackawanna Avenue

Lackawanna Avenue last Sunday afternoon.

Church of the Nativity

The Church of the Nativity, Webster & Orchard in South Scranton, last Sunday afternoon.

Mulberry Street

Mulberry Street, looking west from Hitchcock Court on Sunday afternoon.

Harrison Avenue Bridge Project

A few views of the ongoing Harrison Avenue bridge replacement project, from Sunday afternoon.

Step Falls

Step Falls from the Harrison Avenue bridge, yesterday afternoon.

Gondola

An old gondola on a siding near Poplar Street along the D&H Penn Division, from last month.

South Scranton Skyline

South Scranton from behind Lackawanna Station, a couple months ago.

Allen Theatre

45 years ago today I started working at the Allen. I was there at the Allen, and the three neighboring houses for the next eight years. It was quite the time. The two Loew houses were under threat of demolition, the RKO Palace was boarded up, and the streetlights didn't work at night. The conventional wisdom of the era was people wouldn't go downtown to see shows. That thinking was wrong, after a lot of persistance and hard work the theatres survived. Today Playhouse Square is the second largest performing arts center in the country. At the beginning it was just Ray Shepardson and a handful of dedicated followers.

From The Plain Dealer Action Tab, March 17, 1972.

From The Plain Dealer Action Tab, March 10, 1972.

From an article on good lighting in Box Office, September 4, 1954. The front still looked like this into the early 1970's. I even sold tickets in this box office, and changed the sign.

 Rotunda, 1971, William Gesten/Foto Arts Inc.

Auditorium, 1971, William Gesten/Foto Arts Inc.

More about the Allen can be found here.

Jersey Central 1554

CNJ 1554 on Bridge 60 a couple months ago.

Burn 'Em Up Barnes

Johnny Hines in Cleveland to promote his latest picture, Burn 'Em Up Barnes which was shown at Loew's State, from Motion Picture News, October 1, 1921. The building in the background looks like City Hall, which would place this photo on Lakeside Avenue.

Erie Lackawanna C191

EL C 191 at Steamtown last month.

Mears Building

The Mears Building in Downtown Scranton, from January 7.

Chuck Berry

I never got to see Chuck Berry, although I have a lot of his records, even the dodgy fake live one from the early 60's. He did play the Allen, about seven weeks before I started working there. Those early bills from the 50's look like fun dates, must have been chaotic with all those acts scrambling around backstage.

From The Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 15, 1956. The Hippodrome had six floors of dressing rooms on each side of the stage, almost all of which were tiny, more like closets. This was probably one of the last times those rooms would have seen this much use. By this point the Hipp didn't have many stage shows, and the ones they did have didn't have this many acts on the bill.

From The Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 30, 1958.

From The Aquinas (University of  Scranton) December 15, 1972.

From Box Office, December 1, 1956. These pictures were always corny, but entertaining.

Playhouse Square

Will The Lights Go On Again In Playhouse Square? This article was in the Sunday Plain Dealer, March 19, 1972, 45 years ago today. The title refers to the streetlights being out from 13th to 18th along Euclid Avenue. It was pretty dark down there back then, on nights when the Allen was open the marquee was like a beacon of hope. Back then not many people thought the four theatres there would ever re-open. This was the story that got me involved with the project, a week later.

Delaware-Lackawanna 2403

DL 2403 at Steamtown back in January.

Jazz Week

Jazz Week at Reade's Hipp, copied form a similar event down the street at the Allen. From The Plain Dealer, March 22, 1925.

Superstorm XVII - Update II

Travel is still problematic, yesterday we kept seeing autos stuck in the intersection. Have yet to see a plow come down the street. Still no newspaper delivery, thanks Scranton Times. Maybe later we can get a Times Leader at the store.

Superstorm XVII - Update

We barely made it outside yesterday, we're pretty much trapped here. Way too much snow for us to move.

Superstorm XVII

Heavy snow outside, I don't think we'll be going anywhere anytime soon.

Scranton Skyline

View from the Harrison Avenue bridge, last week.

Step Falls

Step Falls from the Harrison Avenue Bridge, last Sunday morning.

Delaware-Lackawanna 4068

DL 4068 at the south side shops a couple months ago.

Loew's Ad

A somewhat unique ad for Loew's Cleveland theatres from The Moving Picture World, March 27, 1920. All four theatres pictured in the ad have been gone for years. The only one I was ever in was the Alhambra at 10403 Euclid Avenue, and demolition had already begun in the fall of 1976.

Water Street Bridge

The Water Street bridge in Pittston last summer. The warm weather can't get here soon enough.

Meadow River Lumber Company No. 1

Meadow River Lumber Company No. 1 rusting away at Steamtown. I wonder if they'll end up cutting this up for scrap like they did with some rolling stock last year.

Harrison Avenue Bridge Project

A few views of the ongoing Harrison Avenue bridge replacement project, from last Sunday.