Lackawanna Avenue Commercial Historic District

Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton is a commercial district of three-and-one-half blocks plus one adjoining square block, lined mostly by three- and four-story buildings of brick, stone, tile and stucco, most dating from the late nineteenth century. The buildings were erected as Scranton grew into a center of the anthracite coal and manufacturing industries. Scranton's population rose from fewer than 10,000 in the early 1860s to over 35,000 by 1870, and the Avenue became its commercial heart, with banks, hotels, shops and offices. Upper floors retain their Renaissance Revival, Romanesque Revival and Commercial character, with projecting cornices, pedimented parapets bearing dates and initials, and corbelled blind arcading. Along Wyoming and North Washington Streets, larger buildings built for banks, corporate offices and department stores reflect the city's later growth. The district is significant for documenting that period of prosperity.