Scranton: Economy

Major Industries and Commercial Activity

Once a one-industry town, Scranton is still dominated by manufacturing enterprises, primarily in the nondurable goods sector for companies such as Proctor & Gamble and Techneglas. However, between 1995 and 2000, major financial and professional services corporations such as AT&T, Fleet Financial Group, Cigna Health Care, and Alliance Fund Services opened large offices locally. Since that time, there has also been a marked increase in the number of people employed in the health, education, and social services industry—close to 25 percent of Scranton's employed population. Defense contractors also play an important role in the region's diversified economy, and construction, utilities, retail trade, and government make up a large part of the economic base. Tourism is also a growing industry.

Items and goods produced: apparel and related products, plastics, compressors, automotive components, heating and air conditioning equipment, candy, fabricated metal products, records and compact discs, caskets, books, furniture, chemicals, electrical equipment, glass products, tank parts, ordnance supplies, and other products for the Armed Forces

Incentive Programs—New and Existing Companies

Many programs available in Lackawanna County can be combined to form a comprehensive funding package for an eligible project. The primary programs are administered through SLIBCO (Scranton Lackawanna Industrial Building Company), PEDFA (the Pennsylvania Economic Development Financing Authority), PIDA (the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority), and SIDCo (the Scranton Industrial Development Company). Working together under the auspices of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, these organizations coordinate public and private sector resources to purchase industrial sites, construct shell buildings for lease to outside industry, develop raw land into industrial parks, and generally promote the region to corporate officials worldwide and assist expanding local businesses and industries.

Local programs

The University of Scranton McDade Technology Center serves as a resource for high technology businesses seeking to locate or expand in the Scranton area. Skills in Scranton, a business/education partnership run by the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce since 1989, has created a forum of communication between business and education to address the employment needs of Northeastern Pennsylvania's employers. The organization helps businesses with job training and re-training, and helps new graduates with making the school-to-work transition.

State programs

Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development is the main source of funding and other economic growth programs for state businesses. Funding programs offered by the state include bond financing, grants, loans and loan guarantees, tax credits and abatements, and technical assistance. The state's tools include the Job Creation Tax Credit Program, which provides a $1,000-per-job tax credit for businesses that create new jobs; 25 percent of the tax credits allocated each year must go to businesses with less than 100 employees. The Opportunity Grant Program provides funds needed to create or preserve Pennsylvania jobs to businesses involved in manufacturing, exporting, agriculture, and research and development. The First Industries Fund is a grant and loan program aimed at strengthening Pennsylvania's agriculture and tourism industries. Loans up to $200,000 can be used for land acquisition and construction, machinery purchase, and working capital. The state also runs a number of technology investment programs, which are designed to help create and bolster new and existing technology companies within the state. Program areas include funding, assistance programs, industry initiatives, and research and development.

Job training programs

There are a number of widely used state and federal programs to help employers reduce the costs of hiring and training workers. The Customized Job Training Program reimburses local employers for up to 75 percent of certain job training expenses, including instructional costs, supplies, contracted services, and travel costs. In return, companies must demonstrate an increase in employment opportunities, improved wages, and job retention. The Workforce Investment Act brings together area employers and unemployed or dislocated workers and trains those workers for employment with those companies at no expense to either party. Funds from this program can be used for job placement, skills assessment, labor market information, and training services.

Development Projects

A variety of projects are underway or have been completed in the Scranton area since the early 2000s. Almost $300 million has been invested in a variety of city improvement projects; recent construction projects include the $16 million Southern Union Headquarters, the $2.3 million Marquee Theaters, the $11.5 million Hilton Parking Garage, the $3.5 million police headquarters, and the $4 million Riverfront Sports complex. Infrastructure improvements include a number of road paving and improvement projects, the Meadow Avenue Flood Protection Project, the renovation of a number of area bridges, and the rehabilitation of the Merrifield Pumping Station.

Scranton's Nay Aug Park recently underwent a major renovation, including work to the Harlon's Grove Amphitheater, John Cleland Greenhouse, Rose Garden Fence, and Wildlife Center. The park's electric service and heating were also upgraded, the Davis Trail was restored, and workers installed safety rails along various pathways and constructed observation decks. Other neighborhood parks that have undergone rehabilitation include Weston Park, Weston Field, Crowley Park, Robinson Park, Jackson Street Playground, and Dorothy Street Playground. Scranton's downtown revitalization projects alone have totaled more than $26 million in improvements.

Economic Development Information: Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, 222 Mulberry St., PO Box 431, Scranton, PA 18501; telephone (570)342-7711. Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Room 1700, 7th and Forster Sts., Harrisburg, PA 17120; telephone (717)787-5279

Commercial Shipping

Scranton's proximity to Northeast Corridor markets is enhanced by an excellent transportation network. Five major interstate highways are accessible within 30 miles of the city's center, and both Manhattan and Philadelphia are two hours's drive from Scranton. Rail customers have access to Norfolk Southern, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and several other short lines, including the Lackawanna County Railroad Authority. Dozens of major trucking terminals and package delivery companies also service the area. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, a full-service facility located nine miles south of Scranton in Avoca, maintains inland port-of-entry facilities and an adjacent foreign trade zone, enabling Scranton to accommodate a growing international market. The northeast Pennsylvania area has a number of general service airports, heliports, and private service airports.

Labor Force and Employment Outlook

In recent years the city has experienced an influx of financial and service companies lured there by low costs and easy access to New York and Philadelphia. Scranton has also seen a large increase in jobs available in the fields of education, health, and social services; a number of hospitals that serve the area are located in Scranton. The city also draws an increasing amount of tourism traffic from visitors of the nearby Pocono Mountains resort area and visitors to the Steamtown National Historic Site.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Scranton metropolitan area labor force, 2004 annual averages.

Size of nonagricultural labor force: 255,700

Number of workers employed in . . .

construction and mining: 10,300

manufacturing: 35,200

trade, transportation, and utilities: 57,500

information: 6,400

financial activities: 14,100

professional and business services: 20,800

educational and health services: 47,600

leisure and hospitality: 21,900

other services: 10,200

government: 31,700

Average hourly earnings of production workers employed in manufacturing: $13.87 (metropolitan area average)

Unemployment rate: 5.3% (metropolitan area; April 2005)

Cost of Living

Lackawanna County is a family-oriented, non-transient community. Housing costs are relatively low, with one-bedroom, one-bath apartments typically renting for less than $800 a month, and houses for purchase range from $100,000 to $300,000.

The following is a summary of data regarding several key cost of living factors in the Scranton area.

2004 ACCRA Average House Price: Not reported

2004 ACCRA Cost of Living Index: Not reported

State income tax rate: 3.07%

State sales tax rate: 6%

State property tax rate: none

Local income tax rate: 3.4% (city of Scranton)

Local sales tax rate: none

Local property tax rate: 82.122 mills on land, 17.86 mills on improvements (city of Scranton), 29.7293 mills on real estate (Lackawanna County)

Economic Information: Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, 222 Mulberry St., PO Box 431, Scranton, PA 18501; telephone (570)342-7711

SCRANTON

SCRANTON , city in N.E. Pennsylvania, U.S.; county seat of Lackawanna County. The earliest Jews, who came to Scranton before the Civil War, lived in Wilkes-Barre, where a synagogue existed, and came to Scranton to peddle their wares. Scranton grew because of the large coal fields located nearby. Many immigrants, just after the Civil War, were brought to the area just to become miners. The Jews came to open stores and businesses.

By 1860 there were enough Jews who had settled in the city so that they could form their own congregation, "Anshei Hesed." The synagogue was actually incorporated in 1862. Itinerant rabbis assisted them throughout the war. In 1866 a property was purchased on Linden Street. Just prior to Passover in 1867, on a Friday afternoon, the synagogue building was dedicated with great fanfare in the city. The guest speaker was Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise, then a rabbi in Cincinnati. A few years later when he founded the Reform movement in America with a rabbinical school, huc, and a congregational arm, uahc, "Anshei Hesed" was one of the first congregations to affiliate.

Rabbis served two functions in Scranton – first as the spiritual leader and second as the Jewish educator. At times the rabbi even led a school in German and English, teaching both secular and religious subjects. In 1869 the Amos lodge of B'nai B'rith was founded with 18 members. The lodge still exists and holds two annual events of substance. One honors a local Jewish leader; the second has become most noteworthy as the Americanism Award Dinner. Over the 40 years of its existence until 2005, the award was given to leading citizens of the community, including Governor William Scranton, a Scranton native.

Even before the major Eastern European immigration started, Hungarian Jews began to find their way to Scranton as early as 1877. The first Orthodox synagogue was founded in 1886 by Hungarian Jews and was located in the "Flats," where the immigrant population of Jews, Irish, Italians, and Polish lived. The "Flats" became a major center of the Jewish community until the synagogues, butcher shops, and Hebrew schools were flooded out in 1956.

The second Orthodox synagogue formed was located in downtown Scranton and included Lithuanian and Russian Jews, who prayed differently than their Hungarian brethren. That synagogue was listed in the first volume of the American Jewish Yearbook as established in 1895. When the wealthier Reform Jews began to move to the Hill section, they built a new synagogue in that area and became "Temple Hesed." Their original building was sold to a new Orthodox group and was renamed the "Linden Street Synagogue." Several fascinating tales about the building are recorded in a book by A.B. Cohen.

In 1907 a young, brilliant yeshivah graduate got a job in Scranton at the local Montefiore School. His name was Harry Wolfson and he became a legend in America Jewish academia. Within a few months he completed grammar school. By the time he graduated Central High School in Scranton in 1910, he had earned the right to be the valedictorian and had also been awarded a four-year scholarship to Harvard College. Once Wolfson entered Harvard he never left, ultimately being given the Littauer Chair, the first Judaica chair in an American university. Wolfson had a soft spot in his heart for Scranton, maintaining ties with people whom he had met during his three years in the community.

The Jewish community of Scranton grew rapidly before World War i. One noted rabbi who served the "Linden Street Synagogue" was Wolf Gold. After moving to New York, Gold was very active in Mizrachi and became the head of America Mizrachi before making aliyah in the 1930s. When Israel became a state on May 14 1948, Gold was in Jerusalem because of the siege. He could not attend the signing of Israel's Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv, but space was left for him and two others. He and Golda Meir are the only American signatories on that monumental document in Israel's history.

Shortly after World War i, led by M.L. Goodman, a Scranton news baron, a Conservative synagogue, Temple Israel, was founded in 1921. The synagogue benefited from the great interest of the leadership in Jewish education. In 1923 Louis Wolf was hired to be a teacher. The following year Dr. Max Arzt became the rabbi of Temple Israel. Between the two, Temple Israel created one of the most outstanding afternoon Hebrew schools complemented by a Junior Congregation, which became a model for Conservative synagogues throughout the U.S. At Temple Israel Arzt produced an outstanding weekly bulletin, gave excellent sermons on the topics of the day rooted in traditional sources, and made it quite clear what a synagogue-center could accomplish.

In the early 1930s, Scranton Jewry grew to 8,000 and then its numbers began to diminish. With clothing factories, needlework trade and other industrial plants, Scranton Jews made it possible for Scranton itself to have sufficient employment in 1935 for 135,000 people. Arzt left in 1939 to become the vice chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary. His students continue to remember him and his talented educator Louis Wolf.

Following World War ii, during which 1,200 Scranton Jews served, Temple Israel grew dramatically, with a Hebrew school of 375 at its peak. The rabbi, Simon Shoop, who served from 1949 to 1990, led the congregation to become the most traditional Conservative synagogue in North America. Shoop, who had a doctorate, was one of the first to teach courses on the Holocaust, which he initiated at the University of Scranton and Marywood University, both Catholic schools. Among Shoop's students was Professor Michael Brown, a Jewish historian at York University in Canada, and Professor Mark Harris of the usc film school, who won three Oscars for documentary films, including The Long Way Home and The Kindertransport.

Another student of the Shoop era, Ralph Levy, has invented many toys including the talking "Furby."

A most fascinating personality arrived in Scranton from Baltimore in 1955. His name was Harry Weinberg, and he had bought all the bonds of the Scranton Transit Company, which had been on strike for over 300 days. Weinberg, without any formal education, was an entrepreneur in the most exciting way. During his decade in Scranton, he bought almost a quarter of million dollars of real estate in the city. His love was for transit companies. He bought the Dallas Transit company and other companies in the West. He also bought the Fifth Avenue Bus Company, even though the mayor of New York said that he would not let Weinberg run it. Within a week in the early 1960s, Weinberg made over a million dollars when he had to sell.

He was actually looking at Hawaii as a real center for financial growth. First, he purchased the Honolulu Transit Company. Once he saw the possibilities in that area, he moved to Hawaii. From 1966 until 1989, Harry Weinberg became the largest landholder in Hawaii. His fortune began to grow and his main interest was in creating a major foundation. By the time of his death in 1991 the Jeanette and Harry Weinberg Foundation was worth almost a billion dollars. Just before his death he promised the University of Scranton 6 million dollars for a new library building and for a Chair of Jewish Studies. The library was completed in 1992 and the Jesuits all call it the Weinberg library. Professor Marc Shapiro holds the Weinberg Judaica chair.

Since 1980 there has been a definite change in Scranton, as Temple Hesed and Temple Israel have grown smaller. The Orthodox community is led by the Lakewood Yeshiva branch in Scranton. Rabbi Moshe Fine, a rabbi in the community for 27 years, has built the Orthodox community through his teaching, his determined leadership, and his pastoral skills. There were about 3,000 Jews in Scranton in 2005; almost half were Orthodox Jews.

In 2002 Rabbi David Geffen of Temple Israel received agreement from Father McShane, president of the University of Scranton, for an exhibit on the history of the Jews of Scranton to be mounted at the university. The exhibit was held in the spring and summer of 2004, curated by Arnine Weiss, a noted educator. Scranton thus participated in the 350-year celebration of the Jews' arrival in New Amsterdam.

[David Geffen (2^nd ed.)]

Scranton: Recreation

Sightseeing

The historic Scranton Iron Furnaces, located in the heart of the city, are a potent reminder of the city's industrial past. The four interconnected stone blast furnaces, once operated by the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company, closed in 1902; they were rededicated in the 1980s and have been completely rehabilitated. The National Park Service runs the Steamtown National Historic Site, located on 40 acres of the Scranton yard of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. This facility houses one of the nation's largest collections of standard-gauge steam locomotives. The collection includes the 1.2 million-pound 1941 Union Pacific Big Boy, one of the largest steam locomotives ever built, and a tiny 1937 H.K. Porter industrial switcher. Steamtown's Technology Museum and History Museum are housed in existing portions of the Roundhouse, dating from as early as 1902. The History Museum displays a timeline of railroading as well as exhibits that detail life on early railroads. The Technology Museum features a sectioned steam locomotive, caboose, and boxcar for visitors to explore.

The Houdini Museum is the only museum in the world devoted entirely to the escape artist Harry Houdini, and features antiques, memorabilia, magic, and artifacts. Three miles outside the center city, McDade Park is the site of the Lackawanna County Coal Mine Tour, considered one of the area's premier tourist attractions. The tour features an underground rail car trip 300 feet below the earth to the floor of the mine and exploration of three coal veins. The area also offers tours of interesting architectural sites and of the area's first commercial winery.

Arts and Culture

The Greater Scranton area hosts a variety of artistic and cultural events throughout the year. The striking Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral, located downtown, was designed by architect Raymond M. Hood following a Neo-Gothic and Romanesque design. The cathedral is home to the Community Concerts Association, the Broadway Theater League, and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. The Philharmonic, dance troupes, and other professional entertainers also appear at the F. M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre. The Scranton Public Theatre performs comedies, drama, and original plays at the intimate Lucan Center for the Arts downtown from fall through spring. In summer, this professional repertory company sponsors the Pennsylvania Summer Theatre Festival at McDade Park, five minutes from the center city.

The history of the Scranton region is interpreted through exhibits at the Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum. Its collections highlight the lives and living conditions of the people who worked in the area's anthracite mines and textile factories, including replications of a family kitchen, a local pub, and a church. Another destination of historical significance is the Catlin House, headquarters of the Lackawanna Historical Society. Inside this 1912 English Tudor-style manor, visitors can view an extensive collection of books, photographs, clothing, and furnishings. A pictorial history U.S. Marine Corps from the American Revolution to the present can be traced at the U.S. Marine Corps League Museum. Founded in 1908, the Everhart Museum at Nay Aug Park features fine arts and natural history exhibits. The history of a local newspaper is presented in an outdoor display of artifacts and pictures known as the Scranton Times Newseum.

Festivals and Holidays

Scranton is a city that loves festivals and special events. The city starts out the year with First Night Scranton, a visual and performing festival that is punctuated by a fireworks display at midnight. In March, the town celebrates holds the nation's fourth largest St. Patrick's Day parade. Spring brings cherry blossom and wine tasting festivals, outdoor concerts, and music festivals. The Lackawanna Arts Council arranges festivals, exhibits, and special attractions, including the annual fall Arts Festival. Various ethnic and church festivals are scheduled during spring and summer, culminating in La Festa Italiana on Labor Day Weekend, which draws thousands of revelers to downtown's Courthouse Square. And in June, the U.S. Navy performs at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport's Airshow.

Sports for the Spectator

Summer nights are perfect for taking in a game of professional baseball, so area residents head to Lackawanna County Stadium to watch the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The team plays 72 home games each season. Auto racing fans are drawn to Pocono International Raceway, considered one of NASCAR's most competitive speedways; it is located just 30 minutes from downtown Scranton and features a 2.5-mile tri-oval track. Horse racing fans are entertained at Pocono Downs in nearby Luzerne County, where harness racers compete on what is said to be the fastest five-eighths-mile track in the world. The Wilkes-Barr/Scranton Penguins, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, delight hockey fans during their 40 home games at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza. The Scranton Eagles play fifteen semi-pro football games each year in the Empire Football League, and the University of Scranton's sports teams compete in the NCAA Division III.

Sports for the Participant

Scranton is at the center of one of the Northeast's most popular skiing areas. Facilities for the expert and novice alike are available at Montage Mountain Ski Resort, just five miles from downtown Scranton; skiers can also choose from more than thirteen other ski areas within driving distance. Montage Mountain features a number of challenging "black diamond slopes," snowboarding facilities, scenic chairlift rides, an ice skating rink, tubing, and hiking and picnic areas for summer entertainment. Cross-country skiing and snowmobiling are a few of the other popular wintertime activities; in the summer, residents and visitors enjoy water sports in the many area lakes and streams. Golfing, biking, fishing, hunting, and hiking are also popular pastimes. In October, the Steamtown Marathon attracts 1,500 entrants to a race given 14 of a possible 15 stars on marathonguide.com, with particular praise for the race's organization and volunteers. The city maintains dozens of indoor/outdoor sports and leisure areas.

Shopping and Dining

Downtown Scranton recently underwent a burst of commercial growth, bringing a number of new national chains to the area. A variety of specialty stores, antiques shops, and independent boutiques are also located in downtown Scranton. The area has also developed a reputation as an outlet center. The Mall at Steamtown offers two levels of specialty shops and a food court, and Viewmont Mall, anchored by major department stores, features dozens of specialty stores. From mid-July to Thanksgiving, local produce and baked goods are sold at Scranton Co-op Farmers Night Market, minutes from downtown Scranton.

Scranton's population is ethnically diverse and the city supports a number of ethnic restaurants, including Asian, French, German, Greek, Italian, Middle Eastern, and Mexican fare. Local ethnic favorites include pierogies, halluski, and halupkies. Diners can also enjoy a range of other restaurants, from fine dining establishments to classic dinners, steakhouses, cafes, and pubs.

Visitor Information: Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, 222 Mulberry St., PO Box 431, Scranton, PA 18501; telephone (570)342-7711. Lackawanna County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 99 Glenmaura National Blvd., Scranton, PA 18507; telephone (570)963-6363; email [email protected]

Scranton: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

Elementary and secondary public education in Scranton is monitored by the Northeast Educational Intermediate Unit, one of many such agencies in Pennsylvania. The Scranton metropolitan educational system is considered to be among the best in the country. More than 60 percent of public high school graduates go on to higher education; the rate is even higher for private school graduates in the area. Average class sizes are small, with an average graduating class size of 187. More than 85 percent of high school seniors graduated in 2003, and that same year the attendance rate was over 93 percent.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Scranton public schools as of the 2004–2005 school year.

Total enrollment: 8,560

Number of facilities elementary schools: 13

secondary schools: 3

high schools: 2

Student/teacher ratio: 15:1

Teacher salaries average: $54,315

Funding per pupil: $9,100 (2002-2003)

The Diocese of Scranton operates a parochial school system that spreads across multiple counties. Private schools include Yeshiva High School, Hebrew Day School, Baptist High School, and Scranton Preparatory School (Jesuit).

Public Schools Information: Scranton School District, 425 N. Washington Ave., Scranton, PA 18503; telephone (570)348-3402. Pennsylvania Department of Education, 333 Market St., Harrisburg, PA 17126; telephone (717)783-6788

Colleges and Universities

Scranton, known as the world's center of education by mail, is home to Education Direct, one of the oldest and largest distance learning institutions in the world. Founded in 1890, the school has provided credit courses and personal enrichment studies to more than 13 million students in nearly every country in the world. The University of Scranton, a Jesuit institution, is noted for its outstanding academics and progressive campus and technology. The school was founded in 1888 and serves approximately 4,800 students. For eight years in a row, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the University of Scranton among the 10 finest master's universities in the North. Marywood University, a Catholic co-ed institution established in 1915, offers 60 academic programs including the arts, sciences, fine arts, social work, nursing, and music. Its 115-acre campus in suburban Scranton is said to be one of the prettiest in the state.

Scranton is also home to a technical school and a junior college. Lackawanna College, in operation for more than 100 years, offers associate's degrees in science, applied science, and arts, and also offers a variety of certificate programs for its 1,000 students. Johnson College offers twelve associate's degree programs and specializes in technical skills and general education. It boasts small class sizes and an attractive 65-acre campus. A number of other higher education institutions are located near Scranton, including Baptist Bible College, King's College, East Stroudsburg University, and Bloomsburg University.

Libraries and Research Centers

The Scranton Public Library is housed in the Albright Memorial Building, an early-Renaissance-design structure noted for its stained glass windows depicting the art of bookbinding and its marble floors and fireplaces. The library's holdings include thousands of volumes as well as U.S. government documents, compact and laser discs, and videotapes. The library maintains a special collection on local history; special services include free computer classes, teen and children's programs, and Books by Mail. The Lackawanna County Children's Library is housed in the renovated Marion M. Isaacs Building next to the main library; there are six other branches county-wide and a bookmobile servicing outlying areas.

The Lackawanna Historical Society Library also offers a wide range of research materials, much of it related to genealogy and local history. The library holds more than 6,000 books, more than 5,000 photographs, more than 1,200 maps, an extensive manuscript and scrapbook collection, and local newspapers.

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Memorial Library at the University of Scranton offers a collection of more than 450,000 books in a technology-rich environment. Its special collections include rare books and historical documents, and the library's electronic resources include an online catalog, 110 internet databases, and access to more than 13,000 full-text journals. Marywood College's library holds more than 200,000 volumes plus thousands of items on microform and various other media. It also offers a wide variety of computer training workshops.

Public Library Information: Albright Memorial Library, 500 Vine St., Scranton, PA, 18509; telephone (570)348-3000; fax (570)348-3020

Scranton: History

The first European settlers in Scranton were the Abbott brothers, who founded a gristmill there in 1786. In 1800 the Slocum brothers took the mill over, named the area Slocumville, and began a charcoal furnace for iron manufacturing. When the Scranton brothers arrived in 1840, they built the iron furnace that would later grow into the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company. The community was named Harrison in honor of President William Henry Harrison in 1845; later the name was changed to Scrantonia then shortened to Scranton. The abundance of coal in the region attracted many other industries. In the 1880s the Scranton Steel Company was founded; it later merged with the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company to become Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company. This company's move to Buffalo in 1902 dealt a heavy blow to Scranton's economy, but the growing importance of anthracite (hard) coal eventually earned the city the nickname "Anthracite Capital of the World." In the early 1900s, most of the hard coal mined in the country came from the Scranton area. The declining demand for coal after World War II forced Scranton, earlier than other industrial centers, to endeavor to find ways to diversify its economy. Its Scranton Plan, a revitalization plan devised in 1945, has been used as a model for other cities in decline. However, the plan had limitations.

By the end of 1991, after running a deficit for more than three years and projecting a 1992 deficit exceeding 23 percent of its $33 million budget, Scranton was designated a distressed municipality by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A financial plan drawn up by the state and intended to prevent Scranton's imminent insolvency called for state technical assistance and aid in return for Scranton allowing the state to reorganize municipal government, raise temporary taxes, and dictate terms of labor contracts while the plan was in effect. After implementing these measures, the situation brightened in the mid-1990s. Scranton had more projects, more revitalization, and more economic development than almost any other city its size in the country, and tourism was on the increase. Today, Scranton has recovered from its past troubles and is a thriving town with a diverse economy, involved community, and rich cultural attractions. Each year, more and more visitors discover this hidden gem at the foothills of the Poconos Mountains.

Historical Information: Lackawanna Historical Society, The Catlin House Library and Archives, 232 Monroe Ave., Scranton, PA 18510; telephone (570)344-3841