Scranton | ||||||||||||||||||
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![]() The front of the ex DL&W Station, now a hotel on August 4, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
General information | ||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad | |||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 side platform, 1 island platform | |||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1908 | |||||||||||||||||
Closed | January 6, 1970 | |||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1923 | |||||||||||||||||
Former services | ||||||||||||||||||
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Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel | |
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Former names | Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station |
General information | |
Type | Hotel |
Architectural style | Neoclassical |
Location | 700 Lackawanna Avenue Scranton, Pennsylvania United States |
Coordinates | 41°24′20″N75°39′41″W / 41.40556°N 75.66139°W |
Completed | 1908 |
Renovated | 1982–1983 |
Cost | $600,000 |
Affiliation | Radisson |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 6 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison |
Website | |
www | |
Official name | Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station |
Designated | December 6, 1977 |
Reference no. | 77001170 [1] |
The Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, which was built as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station, is a French Renaissance-style building in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
This historic structure was built as a train station and office building in 1908. It closed in 1970, was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 6, 1977; [1] and was then renovated and reopened as a hotel in 1983. [2]
The building retains its original clocks, doors, fountains, stairs, ceilings, walls, and overall appearance.
In the early 1900s, Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad president William Truesdale approved a plan to replace the railroad's Scranton station, an old brick structure located on Lackawanna Avenue near Franklin Avenue. The new station, to be built about seven blocks east at 700 Lackawanna Avenue, would be a far grander structure that would also house the railroad's offices, with the exception of the executive offices in New York City. The railroad commissioned New York architect Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison, who executed the design in a neoclassical style reminiscent of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he had been trained. [3]
Constructed of brick and steel at a cost of around $600,000, [4] it has concrete floors and partitions. The exterior is faced with Indiana limestone and it has an eight-foot bronze clock on the façade. The main entrance leading to the former waiting room is furnished in Formosa, a soft, pinkish-yellow Italian marble. [4] Its Grand Lobby, two-and-a-half stories tall, has an ornamented mosaic tile floor, a barrel-vaulted Tiffany stained-glass ceiling, rare Siena marble walls, and 36 unique Grueby Faience tile murals. The tiles are styled after the work of American artist Clark Greenwood Voorhees, and represent scenes along the DL&W's Phoebe Snow main line from Hoboken, New Jersey, to Buffalo, New York. [5]
A tall radio antenna was installed after a while on the roof; the railroad was a pioneer in the use of wireless communications between trains and terminals. [3]
The building, which was originally five stories tall, had a sixth added for office space by 1923. [6] [7]
The last train, the Erie Lackawanna's Lake Cities, left the station on January 6, 1970. The building was shuttered and neglected, its windows cracking. The marbled lobby was used to store old timetables and railroad ledgers. [8] The dilapidated exterior can be seen briefly in the movie That Championship Season , which was released shortly before the renovations.
Into the mid-1960s, the station served several passenger Erie Lackawanna Railroad (successor to the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western) trains: [9]
Additionally, in earlier years, there was the Keystone Express/Pittsburgh Express (night train to Pittsburgh via Kingston, Bloomsburg and Harrisburg) and unnamed trains to Utica and to Oswego via Syracuse. [10]
During the early 1980s, as Scranton struggled with 13 percent unemployment and a slumping economy, city leaders conceived of a redeveloped station as tourist attraction and rallying point. "Basically, we're looking for people to come to Scranton who would not come to Scranton normally," Mayor James McNulty told the Associated Press in 1982. "We want to give the hotel a dimension as a destination instead of a way station, so this can be some place to go." [8]
The building was later purchased by MetroAction, a Scranton Chamber of Commerce corporation that focused on downtown development. Its redevelopment, the "linchpin of Scranton's downtown revitalization program", was ultimately spearheaded by The Erie Lackawanna Restoration Associates, a group of private investors, and funded to the tune of $13 million through a combination of federal, state, and municipal money, plus donations from banks and other local businesses. [5] The building was renovated as a hotel, furnished by Bethlehem Furniture Manufacturing Corp., and renamed The Hilton at Lackawanna Station. [11] The renovation work was designed by Balog, Steines, Hendricks and Manchester Architects, Inc., and won a 1984 Design Honor Award from the Ohio chapter of the American Institute of Architects. [12]
The building reopened on New Year's Eve 1983, [6] ushered back to life by some 650 partygoers dancing to the Guy Lombardo Orchestra under the direction of Art Mooney. [13] [14]
The station renovation was just half of the railroad-related repurposing meant to enliven downtown Scranton; the other half was Steamtown USA, a museum being built on the site of the old Lackawanna railyard and shops. On February 3, 1984, McNulty stood before the station to welcome the first of Steamtown's exhibits to the city: a 350-ton Canadian Pacific steam locomotive chugging up with a baggage car and five passenger cars. "Welcome to the first day of Scranton's new future," McNulty told a crowd, which cheered. [15]
In 1993, the hotel was purchased for $4 million by DanMar Hotel Inc., [16] which shifted its hotel-chain affiliation two years later from Hilton to Radisson. [3]
DanMar began trying to sell the building in December 2004, to the University of Scranton, many of whose visitors stayed at the hotel, but university officials formally declined the offer in May 2005. DanMar ultimately sold the building for $7 million to Akshar Lackawanna Station Hospitality LP, a unit of El Centro, Calif.-based Calvin Investments LLC, which owned about a dozen hotels at the time. The contract was signed in July 2005 and the sale was completed in October. The new owners pledged to spend $1.5 million to $1.7 million on renovations, to wrap-up in summer 2006, but the work actually took place in 2007 through 2009. [16]
The hotel was the setting, though not the actual filming location, for "Dwight's Speech" in the American television show The Office . Many of the show's cast members stayed at the hotel during the October 2007 fan convention and again during the show's public wrap party in May 2013.
Passenger train service to Scranton may be restored by future phases of the Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project, which could extend New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) service from New York City and Hoboken via the Lackawanna Cut-Off. [17] [18] The trains would pass the old Lackawanna Station building and pull in at a new Scranton station on Lackawanna Avenue. [19]
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Wyoming Valley metropolitan area, which has a population of 562,037 as of 2020. It is the sixth-most populous city in Pennsylvania.
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of 395 miles (636 km). The railroad was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1853, and created primarily to provide a means of transport of anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Northeast Pennsylvania to large coal markets in New York City. The railroad gradually expanded both east and west, and eventually linked Buffalo with New York City.
The Erie Lackawanna Railway, known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route".
The Morristown Line is an NJ Transit commuter rail line connecting Morris and Essex counties to New York City, via either New York Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound Midtown Direct trains use the Kearny Connection to Penn Station; the rest go to Hoboken. Passengers can transfer at Newark Broad Street or Summit to reach the other destination. On rail system maps the line is colored dark green, and its symbol is a drum, a reference to Morristown's history during the American Revolution.
The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.
The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania, especially the Scranton area.
The Lackawanna Cut-Off was a rail line built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). Constructed from 1908 to 1911, the line was part of a 396-mile (637 km) main line between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Buffalo, New York. It ran west for 28.45 miles (45.79 km) from Port Morris Junction in Port Morris, New Jersey, near the south end of Lake Hopatcong about 45 miles (72 km) west-northwest of New York City, to Slateford Junction in Slateford, Pennsylvania near the Delaware Water Gap.
The Metro Rail Maintenance Yard or "South Park Terminal" houses Buffalo Metro Rail's cars in a train shed at the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad terminal in the Cobblestone District of Buffalo, New York. The property is located at the southernmost fringe of the Central Business District. The station was built in 1917, and was designed to handle both steam trains and steamships. The storage and maintenance facility was converted to its present condition in 1982, following the demolition of the former main terminal concourse building "headhouse" of the DL&W Terminal in 1979.
Morristown station is a NJ Transit rail station on the Morristown Line, serving the town of Morristown, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. It serves an average of 1,800 passengers on a typical weekday. Construction of the historic station began in 1912 and the facility opened November 3, 1913. A station agent and waiting room are available weekdays. The station's interior was featured in Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" video in 1984. Just west of the station, at Baker Interlocking, the Morristown and Erie Railway branches off the NJT line. The M&E's offices and shop are here.
Newark Broad Street station is a New Jersey Transit commuter rail and light rail station at 25 University Avenue in Newark, New Jersey. Built in 1903, the station's historic architecture includes an elegant clock tower and a brick and stone façade on the station's main building. In June 1984, the station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its historical significance.
Summit is a train station in Summit, New Jersey, served by New Jersey Transit's Morris & Essex Lines. The station sits between Union Place on the north and Broad Street on the south, with station access via either side, and between Summit Avenue on the east and Maple Avenue on the west. Constructed in 1904–1905 by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in a mile-long open cut, it is one of the few NJ Transit stations with platforms below street level.
The Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority (PNRRA) is a bi-county creation of both Lackawanna and Monroe counties to oversee the use of common rail freight lines in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The designated freight operator of the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority lines is the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad and tourism operator is Steamtown National Historic Site.
Kingsland is a railroad station on New Jersey Transit's Main Line. It is located under Ridge Road (Route 17) between New York and Valley Brook Avenues in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, and is one of two stations in Lyndhurst. The station is not staffed, and passengers use ticket vending machines (TVMs) located at street level to purchase tickets. The station is not handicapped-accessible. Originally part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's Boonton Branch, the current Kingsland station was built in 1918. The station is currently planned to be closed.
Railroad Terminal Historic District is a national historic district in Binghamton in Broome County, New York. The district includes 19 contributing buildings. Four of the buildings were directly related to Binghamton's rail passenger and freight operations, including the passenger station. Five buildings were built as warehouses, and ten were built to house retail activities with residential or office uses on the upper floors. The buildings were built between 1876 and 1910, with a major addition to one of them completed in 1932. This Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad passenger station, with its Italian Renaissance campanile, was built in 1901. For most years of passenger service to Binghamton, Delaware and Hudson Railway and Erie Railroad trains used a different station 150 yards away.
The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations in the United States. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch, which ran from Hoboken Terminal to Bay Street, Montclair. The Erie Railroad's Greenwood Lake Division, a segment from Montclair to Mountain View-Wayne, originally ran from the Jersey City Terminal to Greenwood Lake, NY, and the former Lackawanna Boonton Line ran from Hoboken to Hackettstown, New Jersey.
East Stroudsburg is an historic train station built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1856. The station served as the local stop for both East Stroudsburg and Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The depot, recently known locally as the Dansbury Depot for the restaurant that used the building, is located on Crystal Street in East Stroudsburg. Service to East Stroudsburg ended on January 6, 1970, when the Erie Lackawanna Railway discontinued the Lake Cities. A proposal is currently in place to extend NJ Transit service to a rebuilt East Stroudsburg station. In spring 2021, Amtrak announced plans for potential New York–Scranton route. It is currently used by some of Steamtown National Historic Site's excursion trains.
Lackawanna Transit Center is the main bus station and a proposed train station in Scranton, Pennsylvania, operated by the County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS).
Tobyhanna station is a proposed NJ Transit commuter rail station that is located in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The station forms part of a site owned by a number of public and private entities including the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority.
Pocono Mountain is a proposed New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJT) station located in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania and is part of a site that was formerly utilized as a summer camp. The proposed station site, which will include a 1,000-space surface parking lot, is located northwest of a multi-phased planned development for this area. Access will be from Pennsylvania Route 611 via Pocono Municipal Road/Mount Pocono Road and a local access road and the platform would be situated east of the track.
Phoebe Snow was a named passenger train which was once operated by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W) and, after a brief hiatus, the Erie Lackawanna Railway (EL). It ran between 1949 and 1966, primarily connecting Buffalo, New York and Hoboken, New Jersey.