Suprising Scranton & Wilkes-Barre PA [Archive] - Page 19

donybrx

06-20-2008, 01:36 AM

WIlkes-Barre: $20 Million project gets go-ahead..........

http://www.citizensvoice.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19786038&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id=455154&rfi=6

....and 300,000 s.f.casino expansion will debut several weeks ahead of schedule, Total investment = $528 million.........

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Mohegan_Sun-rise__7_17_06-18-2008.html

June 18
Mohegan Sun-rise: 7/17
New casino is set to open ahead of schedule
By Ron Bartizek rbartizek@timesleader.com
Business & Consumer Editor

PLAINS TWP. – Gamblers and gourmands have only a month more to wait for the opening of the new casino at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Chief executive Bobby Soper said Tuesday the permanent casino that has been under construction since May 2007 is scheduled to open July 17.

Construction workers are finishing the new casino at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. A July 17 opening is planned for the 300,000-square-foot building that will house 2,500 slot machines, restaurants and retail shops.

S.John Wilkin/The Times Leader

The 300,000-square-foot facility will contain 2,500 slot machines – more than twice as many as the interim casino that opened in November 2006 – as well as several fine dining restaurants, bars and retail shops.

“There will be some of the newer versions,” of slots, Soper said, plus present favorites. Electronic table games will remain the same for now, he said, until new products are approved by state regulators.

The Dallas-based Metz Group will operate two of the restaurants, a high-end Ruth’s Chris Steak House and a Wolfgang Puck Express, which will offer faster, less expensive versions of the famous chef’s cuisine.

“We’re on schedule to make it,” said Metz president Jeffrey C. Metz. “We’re working fast and furious on the project.”

Many Wolfgang Puck Express locations are in airports; Metz thinks this will be the first in a casino.

The casino layout, with the restaurants and shops surrounding the circular gambling area, will make the Downs family-friendly, Soper said. The food and bar areas in the interim casino are within the casino and state law allows only persons age 21 and over on the gambling floor.

“Now all ages will be able to enjoy the non-gaming amenities,” he said.

Recently passed state smoking regulations forced a minor last-minute rearrangement of the gambling space. “For us it was fairly simple,” Soper said. “It required some changing of the mix of slot machines.”

As a result, smoking will initially be allowed in only about one quarter of the gambling area. “It’s likely that the smoking section will increase some,” he said, but the non-smoking space will always be at least half the total. The restaurants are likely to be fully non-smoking, he said.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is operated by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which purchased the harness racetrack and 400 acres of land for $280 million in late 2004. Since then the Connecticut-based arm of the Mohegan Tribe has spent about $70 million to convert the former grandstand into the interim casino but negotiated a return of about $30 million from previous owner Penn National Gaming.

The new casino will bring the total investment to $528 million.

“We feel pretty good that we’re going to be within or under our budget of $208 million,” Soper said. Swelled by higher materials costs over the past three years, that is well above the original projection made three years ago of $140 million to $160 million.

The number of employees also will be higher than first estimated. Soper said the casino operations will need about 1,100 workers, with another 300-400 to staff the restaurants and shops. Some hiring is still going on, but “we’re confident we’ll be fully staffed when we open,” he said.

Parking for 4,000 cars will be available, Soper said, with 800 spaces devoted to valet service.

The first slots casino to open in Pennsylvania, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs also has been one of the most successful, taking $157 million from gamblers in the 11 months since last July. Those winnings are taxed at 55 percent, but sales from food and beverages are subject to usual business tax rates. The facility also earns money on racetrack betting, both on live racing and through its four simulcast parlors.

Merle Mackin, executive director of the Luzerne County Convention and Visitors Bureau, is looking forward to the opening, which he believes will attract more tourist dollars.

“I can’t wait to see the finished product,” Mackin said. “There’s no question there’s going to be overnights and residual spending.” He said a common estimate in the tourism industry is that about 10 percent of visitors will stay over, which could mean hundreds of full hotel rooms each night.

Soper said some marketing is already being done to bus tour operators, but an all-out effort is ahead. “We want to get them out here to look at the property,” he said. “It’s our hope to draw further geographically.”

The opening will come at a time when the local casino’s closest competitor, Mount Airy Casino Resort, is struggling while its owner, Dunmore businessman Louis A. DeNaples, fights perjury charges. DeNaples’ gaming license has been suspended and he is not allowed to have any role in managing the Paradise Township casino, although he did recently invest an additional $55 million as part of a refinancing plan.

Meanwhile, an expansion of the hotel and gaming floor at Mount Airy has been put on hold.

Soper said he and Downs employees are excited to have the end of a multi-year project in sight. “We’re near the finish line. We’re eager to see the reaction from the community, and confident everyone will be pleased.”

View a layout of the new casino at www.times

leader.com.

North Main Street Gateway Project gets city zoning OK
BY DENISE ALLABAUGH
STAFF WRITER
06/19/2008
Email to a friendPrinter-friendly
WILKES-BARRE — The city’s zoning board approved a $19.4 million project presented by a private developer and members of a non-profit group Wednesday to demolish Rodano’s and the blighted Corcoran Printing and Mary MacIntosh buildings on North Main Street and construct a mixed-use facility for student housing, a day care center and restaurant.

Developer David Yeager of the Radnor Property Group in Wayne, Delaware County, joined attorneys from the non-profit community development corporation Kinship Square to present plans for the “North Main Street Gateway Project.” The four-story, 95,000-square-foot building will include student housing with 173 beds, a restaurant that has not yet been identified which will include 74 seats, a day care center with 30 employees, college offices and classrooms.

Demolition will begin in late summer, Yeager said. He toured the dilapidated Corcoran Printing and Mary MacIntosh buildings and said they are very unsafe and have attracted vagrants. The buildings have been deteriorating for years and are not salvageable, he said.

The Rev. Thomas J. O’Hara, president of King’s College, said he walked through the buildings last month and saw beer bottles, broken glass and syringes.

“We have heard considerable concerns about safety because of transients in these buildings,” O’Hara said.

King’s College invested $50 million in improvements on campus in the last eight years and O’Hara said it was distressing when parents and students would visit the area and see the blighted buildings.

“I think the project will create vitality for that area,” O’Hara said. “It will create a new ambience. It will create brightness.”

Kinship Square, chaired by attorney David Selingo, purchased the Corcoran Printing and Mary MacIntosh buildings from CityVest for $1. The group also purchased the Rodano’s property. Frank Rodano plans to open a new location on Public Square in July.

Kinship Square owns the land at 155-177 N. Main St. and will lease it to the Radnor Property Group, which in turn will lease it to King’s College and other entities.

Landlord Jim Straub, who owns properties at Meyers Court near the project, expressed concerns about parking. He said while he backs the project for eliminating blight, parking in the neighborhood is “horrendous.” He said he purchased property from Ernie Schmid, co-owner of the S&W Restaurant on North Main Street, to offer his tenants spaces.

According to Yeager, King’s College officials and attorney Matthew Turowski, 24 off-street parking spaces will be created at a lot on East North Street for the restaurant. Parking for King’s College employees will be available throughout campus.

dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115

MetroJunkie BJR

06-20-2008, 03:38 PM

^^^ I think that Scranton photos are in the capable hands of one MetroJunkie..... :)

Dony speaks the truth. MetroJ keeps forgetting to upload those...but hold me to it, I will do that before the next full moon!

Vasily: It's also a good idea to take the Scranton Expressway from I-81 South near Dickson City into the city. You'll get a good panorama of the city's skyline and for once realize there is indeed a city down in the hollow while you are zipping along I-81.

Then you can drive thru town, and get on the Central Scranton Expwy to join I-81 again. Basically, the reverse of what Dony said.

A trip up to the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour at McDade Park gives you another nice view of the city. I'm hoping to get up there on the next clear day and take some pics.

bucks native

06-24-2008, 08:24 AM

from here: http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19794895&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=3D6

$5.2M project to close downtown Scranton artery
BY DAVID SINGLETON
STAFF WRITER
06/23/2008

Getting downtown from West Scranton is about to get a little more difficult.

The state Department of Transportation will close the Lackawanna Avenue Bridge to vehicular and pedestrian traffic July 7, a prelude to construction of a new $5.2 million bridge that has been in the works for a decade and talked about for much, much longer.

The construction means the more than 10,200 cars, trucks and buses that use the bridge on a daily basis — not to mention an untold number of pedestrians — will have to find another way to and from West Side for up to 18 months. The project has an anticipated completion date of December 2009.

The payoff for the inconvenience, said Mayor Chris Doherty, will be an infrastructure investment that will help drive development on the west end of Lackawanna Avenue.

“This project needs to be done and, in the end, you’ll have a safer bridge and a more beautiful bridge,” he said.

PennDOT is administering the project for the city. A Mechanicsburg company, Deblin Inc., was awarded the construction contract earlier this month.

PennDOT’s recommended detour will divert traffic onto Seventh Avenue, Linden Street and Franklin Avenue.

The existing but seriously deteriorating concrete bridge, which was built in the 1930s but retains elements from an earlier structure dating to the 1890s, will be replaced with a 251-foot, three-span continuous composite steel plate girder bridge.

Frank Huttel, of Buchart Horn Inc., the design consulting firm, said city officials wanted as much as possible to preserve the integrity of the landmark.

The original concrete arches will be preserved and integrated into the new bridge as ornamental features, he said. In addition, he said, the bridge’s distinctive towers will be replicated, complete with period lighting, and the new concrete throughout the structure will be stained “to look like the old concrete.”

“When you’re looking from a distance, it will look like the same bridge,” Mr. Huttel said.

The long-awaited bridge work is expected to be a catalyst for two other major construction projects in the area.

Businessman Jerry Donahue, who heads the partnership that owns the Central New Jersey depot at the western end of the bridge, said the $4.5 million renovation of the 117-year-old freight station will begin in earnest once he has a bridge construction timeline from Deblin.

Because the bridge contractor requires access to Central New Jersey property, the bridge and depot projects will be coordinated to let the work on both move forward at the same time, he said.

“We’re excited to get going,” said Mr. Donahue, who is converting the old rail freight station into a retail and restaurant complex.

Near the eastern end of the bridge, the County of Lackawanna Transit System wants to start construction by the end of summer on the $11.5 million Scranton Intermodal Center.

The facility, which will serve as a downtown hub for COLTS, commercial buses, taxis and — possibly in the future — passenger rail service to New York, will be built on the south side of Lackawanna Avenue on the site now occupied by the State Office Building parking lot. Construction is expected to take about a year.

COLTS development director Kurt Kempter said there is no question the three projects will cause some disruption at that end of the downtown. At the same time, he said, it’s fortunate they’ll take place simultaneously.

“What we are trying to do is get all of this done together as much as we can so it’s only a disruption once,” he said.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

donybrx

06-26-2008, 12:52 AM

Two articles a' propos the Hazleton Cargoport and one question: what does this [roject have in common with Ithaca?

A. Bill aims to set conditions on cargo airport funding

Two weeks after a state committee recommended conditions be set before lawmakers fund the construction of an estimated $500 million cargo airport near

Hazleton , two local legislators want to do just that.
Sens. Raphael Musto, D-Pittston and Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township introduced a bill that would set standards for the developer, Gladstone Partners LP, to meet.
Their “Cargo Airport Funding Act” requires among other things approval of the project by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, a commitment from one or more air cargo carriers and certification that the developer has invested the greater of $250 million in private funds or half of the total project cost.

For the complete story read The Times Leader tomorrow.

...undt B. .......................

Activist: Airport has gorge
It would cost $210M just to fill gorge to build runway for proposed cargo airport, activist tells county commissioners.
By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter

Most people don’t realize that a gorge would have to be filled in to build the proposed Hazleton area cargo airport runway, environmental activist Drew Magill advised Luzerne County commissioners during their recent meeting.

“The cost of site development before you even put in a runway is $210 million. That’s to move dirt. Almost half of this project is to make this site flat,” Magill told commissioners.

A new state-funded economic impact study said preliminary estimates of “earthwork” have ranged between 20 million and 50 million cubic yards.

Blasting will likely be needed and will increase the average cost of the work, the study says.

To calculate the estimated $210 million cost, the study used the average of 35 million cubic yards and a cost of $6 per cubic yard.

A ridge atop a mountain is being blasted to create the fill, said Magill. He believes the cost will be $20 to $50 per cubic yard.

Magill said he has scrutinized topographical maps and walked the site many times. He said he was always skeptical of the airport developer’s arguments that it was the “perfect site” for an airport because the land is “flat” and does not require mine land reclamation.

“If you fill a gorge thousands of feet across and hundreds of feet deep, you might as well be filling a strip mine in terms of the stability you’d get and the possibility of subsidence and sinking,” Magill said.

A 2,700-foot portion of Catawissa Creek also passes under the western end of the proposed runway/taxiway, which would require a culvert or conduit costing an estimated $900 per square foot, or $2.43 million, the study says.

Additional drainage requirements are estimated to cost another $150,000.

Though Magill spoke at a commissioner meeting, the county has no direct impact on the project because the developer -- Gladstone Partners LP – is asking the state to back $250 million in bonds for construction of the airport. Airport proponents also sought $16.5 million in state gambling revenue for the project.

State legislators are reviewing the impact study before making a decision.

Gladstone spokeswoman Catherine D. Shafer, of cds creative inc. in Forty Fort, declined comment on Magill’s statements.

Minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban told Magill the impact study reaffirmed his belief that the project is not viable.

Hazleton area resident Ann Marie Shelby told commissioners it’s “very unfair” to use gambling money for a cargo airport.

Gladstone recently underwent a change in ownership when attorney Robert Powell of Butler Township said he sold his interest to his partner, attorney Gregory Zappala of the Pittsburgh area.

Study presentation
The presentation on the economic impact study of the proposed cargo airport near Hazleton has been tentatively rescheduled for July 14 at a yet to be determined location.

The state Legislative Budget and Finance Committee had initially set a tentative date of Thursday for the presentation. But scheduling problems have resulted in a delay.

The committee on June 11 released the study on the estimated $502 million airport proposed by Gladstone Partners for land in Luzerne and Schuylkill counties.

State Sens. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, and Raphael Musto, D-Pittston, who introduced a resolution last year to conduct the study, called for the meeting to discuss the details of the study.

vasiliymeshko

06-26-2008, 09:26 PM

Anyone knows what on earth is going on with Frontier Citywide Wireless? I get free access, courtesy of Kings College, and it's wicked fast, but for some reason I haven't been able to get on since last friday. Stinks, since I have a ton of new city photos ready to go. It took me forever, using my sister's dialup, to just connect and get to the forum... any image uploads are definitely out of question for now.

Also due to large number of photos, I will most likely setup a dedicated W-B skyline thread in the US photo section. Less clutter and will probably be seen by more people. I just hope they fix the wireless soon.

EDIT: I started the photo thread here (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=153381), using the three previous images. Feel free to post your comments there as well.

donybrx

06-27-2008, 12:35 PM

from here: http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19794895&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=3D6

...thanks for the article...and I love the depot building to be renovated on the opposite side. I have a picture of it somewhere...in the meantime you can see the proposal in the Facility Design & Development site (same folks who are doing the Wilkes-Barre Intermodal Trans. Center).

Go to their website: http://www.facilitydesignltd.com/

. click on "projects"

. click on "historic reuse"

. click on "Central RR of New Jersey Train Station"

voila.....

vasiliymeshko

06-28-2008, 01:56 AM

Glad to see Murray complex renders from the site and that they finally decide to do something about the place.

You can ignore my network connectivity rant. After a week of outage, we seem to be back online. Whohoo. :banana:

vasiliymeshko

06-28-2008, 02:10 AM

Started to upload pictures to the Photo Thread (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=3640428#post3640428)

vasiliymeshko

06-28-2008, 10:21 PM

Some construction updates

Intermodal Center:
http://img27.picoodle.com/img/img27/4/6/28/f_4m_93ad3a2.jpg

http://img27.picoodle.com/img/img27/4/6/28/f_10m_4f47b03.jpg

http://img27.picoodle.com/img/img27/4/6/28/f_11m_1354f58.jpg

http://img27.picoodle.com/img/img27/4/6/28/f_12m_772bfa2.jpg

http://img27.picoodle.com/img/img27/4/6/28/f_13m_30eefed.jpg

River Commons:
http://img27.picoodle.com/img/img27/4/6/28/f_21m_6107260.jpg

http://img27.picoodle.com/img/img27/4/6/28/f_22m_9dd1913.jpg

http://img27.picoodle.com/img/img27/4/6/28/f_23m_e39a3fa.jpg

http://img27.picoodle.com/img/img27/4/6/28/f_24m_3828b6e.jpg

donybrx

06-29-2008, 05:26 PM

:previous: Wasiliy! Gosh. Who knew? lol...... You're full of surprises! The W-B pics are terrific and a welcome relief from my tiresome verbage. I especially love the shots of the Intermodal Transportation Center. They reveal so much that doesn't show from the angle of the single construction webcam set up by Sordoni Construction....http://www.sordoni.biz/netcam3/cam3.htm

Your first pic looks like some monster is rising behind the Public Square buildings......in a way I suppose that's true....it seem like it'll be a very large structure. I don't quite understand the construction process/method in terms of the staircase/elevator towers being erected fully at first. How will the parking decks get built and attached to them? I suppose that the lateral steel will be attached as base columns are installed and then concrete poured?

The photos have a lot of collateral interest, the (brick) Kirby Center auditorium aspect in the background, the Luzerne National Bank Tower, the rear of the old First Nat'l Bank Building (sittiing dormant, ivy covered).
The photos of the river Commons project reveal the Couthouse and some of the old mansions that used to line the entirety of River Street back in the days of local coal/retail riches....

donybrx

06-29-2008, 05:36 PM

^^^I'm bringing forward the below old post to link the Facility Design website for reference to Vasiliy's pics of the Intermodal Transportation Center.....

Now that the $30 M Intermodal Transportation Center contruction has begun in earnest (or rather in Wilkes-Barre....) I'm bringing forward the Sordoni Constuction Cam link as well as the Facility Design & Develpment, Inc. link to view the renderings so that we can see what's happening where as it takes shape. Remember that the construction cam faces away from downtown but many of the renderings are drawn facing downtown, either South Main St. or Public Square.......the Facility design site has other goodies for browsing, too

---for renderings, go to:
http://www.facilitydesignltd.com/

then:
click on "projects" on page 1
click on "Urban Revitalization" on page 2
click on "Intermodal Center" on page 3 for all 12 renderings.

---the construction cam link:
http://www.sordoni.biz/netcam3/cam3.htm

MetroJunkie BJR

07-02-2008, 07:01 PM

Not sure if this link was posted earlier in the thread, but I thought I should share this with the group:

http://www.500block.com

It's the site for the mixed use project going on along the 500 block of Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton. I was down there today and quite a bit of progress has been made already. It's exciting to see that block coming back to life.

bucks native

07-03-2008, 10:59 AM

The Commonwealth Medical College (until someone buys naming rights)

It's accredited and can now accept applications (NOT! correction: one more hurdle - the agency that accredits med schools will visit at end of July. Presently, it's cleared to be a school but not yet cleared to be a med school.)

August 19, 2008
noon-3PM Tech High block (bound by Washington, N. Gibson, Pine, and Jefferson)

Open house Lackawanna College facilities noon-3PM

Program at groundbreaking:
usual stuff
groundbreaking - silver shovels and hardhats

Program at Lackawanna:
Self tour with 15 minute "teaching" presentations

Reception in cafeteria - ongoing - Sterna's catering

Giveaways:

TBD - something nice for VIPs, something inexpensive for everyone else.

The plan is to provide every first year student with a four-year scholarship. If you want to sponsor a student with a scholarship in your name, it's $80,000.

Ex-Ithacan

07-03-2008, 01:45 PM

Whoa, can't stray from this thread for too long, so much info and stuff going on.

bucks, I'm sorry I don't have an extra $80,000 laying around. :shrug:

;) :D

donybrx

07-04-2008, 02:40 PM

3 ventures joining Wilkes Barre resurgence

(Actually, four including a new club called LUNA)

Downtown Dunkin’ Donuts caf�-style store, Bourbon Street Saloon and a law firm to open in coming months

July 3
3 ventures joining Wilkes Barre resurgence
BILL O ’ BOYLE boboyle@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE – Three new businesses the proprietors described as upscale, vibrant and exciting will soon open in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

New businesses will be moving into vacant spots along South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre.

Owners of the operations – a Dunkin’ Donuts caf�-style store, the Bourbon Street Saloon and a law firm – said they are happy to be part of the city’s resurgence.

The Bourbon Street Saloon will open in mid-July, and owner Ron Kamionka, who also operates the Hardware Bar, said he will open a third venue in October. The third nightclub will likely be called Eclipse Dance Club, the name of his Harrisburg location.

Dunkin’ Donuts has targeted October for its opening. The law firm of Elliott, Greenleaf and Dean expects to start up in August.

Another business – an upscale cocktail lounge and nightclub called Luna – will open by the end of August, according to business partners Lorenzo Medico and Patrick Son.

Dunkin’ Donuts is making a return to downtown Wilkes-Barre in a new location with new features.

A Dunkin’ Donuts store had operated on Public Square near the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts for years but closed in January. It now houses a Curry Donuts operation.

Mike Costa, president of Cope Enterprises, a Pennsylvania company with headquarters in Massachusetts, said he signed a deal with Humford Equities to open the coffee and doughnut shop at 39 Public Square, at the South Main Street corner. Costa said his company has reopened Dunkin’ Donuts stores in Wilkes-Barre Township, West Pittston and Wilkes-Barre.

“We’re very excited about being part of the city and community and both universities there,” Costa, 35, said. “Our plan is to open an upscale Newberry Street image, caf�-style store that will attract local students and professionals that work and visit the downtown.”

The caf� will offer free Wi-Fi and outdoor seating along the fountain, Costa said.

“The reason why we didn’t reopen the former shop is because that location didn’t fit what we wanted to do,” Costa said. “We wanted to open something new and exciting.”

Rob Finlay of Humford Equities said Elliott, Greenleaf and Dean will lease 3,500 square feet on the 10th floor of the office building that houses Frontier Communications. The law office is relocating from its South Franklin Street site.

Kamionka opened the Hardware Bar March 13, and expects the third bar will be serving customers by October.

“We’re trying to create a credible mass of quality facilities in the downtown,” Kamionka said. “Wherever we’ve gone, we have always been on the front end of developing these types of districts. If you have enough places, you become a destination.”

Kamionka said he is excited about the opportunities Wilkes-Barre provides and expects other businesses to locate in the downtown.

“All I can say is that we are thrilled at our success so far in downtown Wilkes-Barre,” Kamionka said.

Kamionka said the new bar will add 15 new positions and will be open 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week. The three bars will employ 85 people.

“We’ll have a lot more tables and it will feature a much more relaxed, comfortable atmosphere,” he said of Bourbon Street.

Costa said the new Dunkin’ Donuts will employ about 25 people.

“In the meantime, we will be sampling products to people at events like the Farmers Market,” Costa said. “We want to establish a presence in the downtown and our marketing and public relations people are already meeting with Chamber of Commerce representatives and the city to discuss possible partnerships.”

Kamionka said he hopes to open two more nightspots next year within one block of the Hardware Bar.

He said he is pleased with the foot traffic and said, “It can’t just be us down there; there have to be other players to create vibrancy in downtown.”

Attorney Jack Dean said his firm has offices in Philadelphia, Wilmington, Del., Blue Bell, Harrisburg and Scranton.

“Obviously, we see a great opportunity in downtown Wilkes-Barre,” Dean said. “We like what’s going on downtown and we are eager to have a presence there.”

Dean said the office will employ four attorneys plus support staff. Dean will work out of the Public Square office, as will attorneys Mark Bufalino, Paul Galante and Paula Radick.

“Mark and Paul recently joined our firm, and we have observed, over the last four years especially, the revitalization of downtown Wilkes-Barre,” Dean said. “It’s a growing community and a place where our law firm can both add to and benefit from that progress.”

Medico said Luna will be different from other bars in the region and will feature a city-like atmosphere that will cater to adults of all ages, but it won’t be a college bar.

“We will attract young professionals and the baby boomers,” Medico said. “We can’t reveal the exact location as yet, but it will be in the heart of downtown Wilkes-Barre.”

Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at

donybrx

07-04-2008, 02:42 PM

...dreaded d.p. ugh.

Ex-Ithacan

07-04-2008, 09:40 PM

W-B keeps on rollin'. Hey MJ, tell them folks in Scranton to get on the stick. ;) :D

donybrx

07-05-2008, 02:51 PM

vasiliymeshko

07-06-2008, 01:12 AM

Well, yesterday was, of course, the big fireworks display at Kirby. I was there and luckily had my camera with me. It was all dark and my night picture taking skills were next to none, but oh well, nice chance to start learning.

Lets start with a very terrible shot from Market Street Bridge, which was all but jampacked with spectators, leaving very little room for scenic image taking.
http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp2m_d2af7bc.jpg

Ok, let's move on to the fireworks
http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp0m_1fd8545.jpg

http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp1m_76e2e3f.jpg

http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp3m_f2c839b.jpg

http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp4m_20e5680.jpg

Downtown scenes afterwards:
Now, in night mode my camera does not like shaking at all (it produces very blurry images) so all my shooting chances were, once again, very limited to places where I could place the camera on things like bridge guardrails, signposts, etc, where it could lie absolutely still (due to me not having/willing a tripod)

Luzerne County Courthouse and surroundings:
http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp5m_b64cc40.jpg

Closer up of courthouse:
http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp7m_2d896dd.jpg

Kings College Campus at night:
http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp6m_9e8b08b.jpg

Downtown from Market Street bridge:
http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp8m_8278df1.jpg

Some random downtown shots:

Frontier Building from Public Square:
http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp9m_fb50e4d.jpg

From Washington Street parking deck:
http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_ko10m_212610d.jpg

From Genetti's parking lot. Final shot, before heading back home:
http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp11m_6579340.jpg

Happy independence day. (yeah, I'm kind of too late with that )

donybrx

07-09-2008, 03:52 PM

:previous: Some great shots there...thanks for posting! I like the first one that you describe as terrible. Despite the er' focus', it's got interesting composition, subject and nighttime mood....the bridge tower on the left anchors/frames it all......

When did the 'frontier' building get its name. And why? Looking at it, I must say that it is about to be in the middle of several new entertainment/food ventures bringing more life downtown. The plaza area will soon be home to Rodano's 10,000 s.f. pizza & pool + stage for live acts. Outdoor tables, too. On the other side of the plaza will be the new Dunkin' Donuts upscale thing ( a la Boston- Newberry) with internet and ourdoor seating, too. Around the corner will be the three new bar/ club/ nightclub installations by the guy from Harrisburg. His (Hardware Bar is already up & running). Opposite is the recent Barnes & Noble College Bookstore/ Starbucks. For other cities this might be rinky dink, but for Wilkes-barre, it's a boom and quite promising. Hope that the new casino expansion opening in 10 days won't detract from the new downtown progress.....

Here's the scoop on the new Rodano's.......

July 7
For Rodano’s, it’s hip to be on the Square
BILL O ’ BOYLE boboyle@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE – There will be a lot of new places on Public Square in the near future and one familiar one – Rodano’s Pizza.

Frank Rodano, a fixture of the Wilkes-Barre restaurant scene, will relocate his successful shop from North Main Street to the downtown.

The new bar and restaurant at 39 Public Square, the site of the former Campus Billiards, will include a 2,000-square-foot game room with pool tables, shuffleboard, table tennis and possibly bocce ball. There will be a large horseshoe-shaped bar and a private dining room for parties, meetings and luncheons, as well as booths and tables and a 2,000-square-foot kitchen.

And the theme, Rodano said, will be fun.

“I’m banking my future down here,” Rodano, 49, said of his new venture. “I really believe great things are happening downtown and will continue to happen.”

Rodano said his current location on North Main Street will close in mid-July, but the new place won’t open until mid-August.

The new restaurant will be huge -- 10,300 square feet of space -- more than double the size of the current Rodano’s at 155 N. Main St. That property, it was announced earlier this year, has been purchased by Kinship Square and Radnor Property Group, and will become part of a $4 million building project to develop a privately owned student housing and retail center across the street from the King’s College Scanlon Gymnasium.

Rodano said he will employ 25 to 30 people in the new place that will feature his trademark pizza, strombolis and calzones. He said the menu will feature several healthy salads, sandwiches and unique breads. The bar will be made of natural wood and stainless steel and will seat 28.

“We will feature what we refer to as a grazing menu for our late-night customers,” Rodano said. “It will be a place where people can have a conversation, enjoy some good food and drinks and have fun.”

Rodano said his new restaurant will be a place where families can come to eat and enjoy the game room.

“It will be a place to have a great meal before and after shopping or a trip to the downtown Movies 14 or the Kirby Center,” Rodano said.

Local artist Kathleen Godwin, director of Arts YOUniverse, is helping with the d�cor. The interior will feature a lot of colors, Rodano said, hinting that he may name the place “Rodano’s Graffiti Bar.”

A stage for artists and groups has been installed to provide entertainment. Rodano also plans to use the courtyard space adjacent to the fountain in front of the Wilkes-Barre Center Building for outdoor seating during the summer.

A Coughlin High School graduate, Rodano says his first job was selling men’s clothing and suits for Richman Brothers. Thanks to the encouragement of Joe Nardone Sr., his first venture into the food industry happened when he purchased the Orange Bowl franchise in the Wyoming Valley Mall in 1980. Three years later, he opened Rodano’s Pizza on Northampton Street, just down the street from the YMCA, and then purchased the former Pappas Pizza, on North Main Street, in 1989.

“This is what I love about the business -- the transformation of a plan. I am so excited to see the new concept come together,” Rodano said. “At night, I walk around the city and there are people out and about; there is a new energy downtown and some new great restaurants. It is the perfect opportunity for us to be a part of the center city resurgence.”

Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at 829-7218

Ex-Ithacan

07-09-2008, 04:54 PM

^ wow, that's a big pizza joint.

@ Vasiliy, nice pics, good to see you had a fun and productive 4th.

vasiliymeshko

07-10-2008, 01:06 AM

When did the 'frontier' building get its name. And why?

I think it's official name still might be 'Wilkes-barre Center' but I got so used to knowing it as Frontier headquarters. Anyway, there was an interesting news article about it in the Times Leader last year

The source is here (http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WB&p_theme=wb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_field_label-0=title&p_text_label-0=Looking%20at%20a%20new%20Frontier&s_dispstring=headline%28Looking%20at%20a%20new%20Frontier%29&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no) and it reads something like this:

LOOKING AT NEW FRONTIER

WILKES-BARRE - Ken Arndt did not view it as an omen when the company's new sign arrived damaged.

The broken sign was sent back and a few weeks ago the signature logo for Frontier Communications Solutions was installed in the pool outside the company's offices on Public Square. It was one of the few things in need of repair in the six months since Frontier arrived, the result of the $1.29 billion sale of Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises Inc. to Citizens....

donybrx

07-10-2008, 07:17 PM

:previous: ....and now we know! Thanks V-M!

http://img29.picoodle.com/img/img29/4/7/5/f_kp9m_fb50e4d.jpg

donybrx

07-11-2008, 12:48 PM

GASP!. Wilkes-Barre again. Murray Project to begin. demolition starting within thirty days.

I thought surely this job went to the back burner for a few years.........so now, it's the $20M Mary MacIntosh laundry project near King's that is underway, the Murray job, the Intermodal Transp. Center, the Riverfront/ river access and park project moving toward completion and the rental/retail complex that has just begun to the near northeast of Downtown. Only the 'Sterling' condominium project is in a holding pattern, boarded up.
_________________________________________________

July 11
Murray Complex project gets green light
Development agreement approved for W-B project, with 14-to-18-month timeline.

BILL O ’ BOYLE boboyle@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE – A $20 million development project in the former Murray Complex took a major step forward Thursday night.

Walter Griffith urges city officials to make a decision whether to accept the recent Luzerne County reassessment figures.

(note: to see renders go to: http://www.facilitydesignltd.com/
....click on "projects", then "Urban Revitaliztion", then "Murray Complex"........)

City council approved a development agreement that outlines the financing for the project and details design and construction plans.

The city entered into the agreement with Siniawa 16 L.P. of Dickson City. Daniel Siniawa is the principal owner of the firm. Robert Sakosky, the company’s vice president, attended the council meeting and he discussed the project.

“We can’t wait to get started,” Sakosky said after the meeting. “We hope to begin demolition within 30 days and the entire project should be ready for occupancy within 14 to 18 months.”

Siniawa purchased the entire Murray Complex for $1.5 million from Thomas Murray at a bankruptcy auction in March 2004. He purchased the 16-acre complex with the intent to construct 55 loft-style condominiums, expand the dining for the former Murray’s Inn, add two more restaurants with courtyards and create 50,000-60,000 square feet of retail space.

Sakosky said the buildings on the site to the right of Ross Street will be taken down. Bricks have been falling from the deteriorating walls, creating an unsafe condition, said council Chairwoman Kathy Kane.

“We intend to renovate the former Murray’s Inn,” Sakosky said. “We want to make it more of a restaurant/bar than a bar/restaurant. We want it to be more conducive to a residential area.”

In other business, Kane asked all city residents for their input on the Luzerne County reassessment. City residents recently received their new property assessments as part of the countywide reassessment, but the city hasn’t decided whether to accept the new county figures established by 21st Century Appraisals Inc. The uncertainty affects only city tax bills. Wilkes-Barre residents’ property taxes for the school and county will be based on the new figures.

Mayor Tom Leighton, who did not attend the meeting, has said he is concerned about the city’s 2009 budget, which is due a month before the Nov. 15 deadline for county assessment appeals. The decision, however, isn’t up to the mayor; council must vote on whether to go with the new figures.

The 2008 city budget totals $37 million and the taxing rate is 73.63 mills. A mill is a $1 tax for every $1,000 of assessed value.

“We do not have to do anything at this time,” Kane said. “We want to gather input from our residents and then make our decision wisely.”

She urged residents to call City Hall and offer their views on the issue.

Walter Griffith of Simpson Street said the city should let taxpayers know as soon as possible whether the county figures will be accepted

Mr. Rochester

07-11-2008, 02:06 PM

:previous: ....and now we know! Thanks V-M!

HECK YES!!! FRONTIER!

vasiliymeshko

07-11-2008, 09:37 PM

.... Murray Project to begin. demolition starting within thirty days....

SHEESH! Finally!!! :banana: In it's current and dilapidated state, the thing is an eyesore, and is ruining otherwise picturesque and beautiful Pennsylvania Boulevard.

Snakeyes

07-12-2008, 05:08 PM

Loving the photos!!!

Keep em coming!

donybrx

07-14-2008, 09:50 PM

W-B: Pennsylvania's first casino to debut its expansion:

Look out Atlantic City, HERE COMES THE SUN
By Ron Bartizek rbartizek@timesleader.com
Business & Consumer Editor

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Look_out_Atlantic_City___HERE_COMES_THE_SUN_07-13-2008.html

PLAINS TWP. – Bobby Soper expects to hear some “oohs” and “aahs” when the doors open and patrons first get a glimpse of the new Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs casino.

He also will be listening for clangs and jingles coming from 2,500 slot machines -- nearly twice the number in the current gambling hall -- as well as ringing cash registers in more than a dozen restaurants and shops.

All those sounds will be music to the ears of the casino-racetrack’s chief executive, who has guided development since the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority of Connecticut purchased the 400-acre complex in January 2005. Twenty months ago the Downs was the first Pennsylvania casino to open, and now it will be the first to make the transition from temporary to permanent facilities.

Soper promises “some special surprises” when ceremonies begin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, with the doors opening by 10 a.m.

Aside from more slots and space – at 300,000 square feet the new building is triple the size of the existing temporary casino adapted from the racetrack grandstand – patrons will find new eating, drinking and shopping options designed to make a visit to the Downs a diversified entertainment experience. Soper expects to see an average of 10,000 visitors per day compared to the present 6,000, as the complex lures gamblers from farther away while enticing local customers to put off visits to established gambling meccas.

“I’m not ashamed to compare this facility with anything in Atlantic City,” Soper said last week while looking over the interior finish work, which includes design features that reflect local and Mohegan tribal themes.

“The overriding objective is to celebrate Wyoming Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania,” said lead architect and Dallas Township native Brian Davis, while making a connection to “and a little bit of enlightenment” of the Mohegan Tribe’s history and heritage.

The non-gambling offerings will include both high-end and modest dining and three bars, two of them with live evening entertainment. The retail choices will be more limited, consisting of men’s and women’s clothing stores, a jewelry shop and the casino’s own store, where gamblers can cash in Player’s Club points for merchandise.

Even though most of them are tenants and not casino-owned, all restaurants and shops will honor club points on a one-for-one basis, said marketing vice president Jim Wise. He expects the new casino to be an immediate success.

“We’re going to see tons of people who’ve never been here before,” Wise said.

Vera Cash won’t be a new face but she’ll be there; the retired 84-year-old Avoca woman comes by every day to play the slot machines in the temporary casino.

“If it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t have anything to do,” she said last week while waiting in the lobby for her son, who is 69.

Still, “I can’t wait for it to open,” she said eagerly last week. A former restaurant manager, she’s looking forward to expanding her routine to include leisurely lunches in one of the 10 new eating places.

The lack of non-gambling amenities in the temporary space, which has only two small bars and a self-service restaurant, has limited the Downs’ appeal, Soper acknowledged.

Joe Weinert, senior vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, a consultant to the industry, agreed: “Playing a slot machine is not the novel experience it was to most people,” he said. “You have to give them more.”

Even so, “they’ve built a product that clearly has resonated with the public,” Weinert said. Proof of that is in the daily “hold” per machine that has consistently averaged above $400, second-best among Pennsylvania’s seven operating casinos and frequently higher than the tribe’s flagship Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut.

That much larger casino is located on tribal land and therefore is exempt from taxation, while Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs pays 55 percent of its slot winnings to the state. Even so, the economics for expansion are compelling; the 1,200 slot machines in the temporary casino have won an average of more than $13 million each month.

While Soper knows the win per machine will decline, overall gambling revenue should jump.

“We’ve had issues with parking capacity, slot machine capacity,” in the temporary casino, he said.

The local casino also was hurt when Mount Airy Casino Resort opened in October. The Poconos attraction owned by Dunmore businessman Louis DeNaples holds about 2,500 slots, restaurants and hotel accommodations. Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs will now leapfrog Mount Airy as a planned expansion there is on hold while DeNaples fights perjury charges related to his testimony during the licensing process.

The gambling industry has been broadening its appeal for several years, to the point that even in Las Vegas, sales in restaurants and hotels now exceed the take from gamblers. Unlike slots revenue, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs’ profit on food, beverages and rent payments is taxed at normal business rates.

Before it opens, the new casino must pass a real-world test in which the slot machines are used at capacity. As he did for the temporary casino, Soper chose to give the proceeds – the casino’s usual winnings that average about 9 percent of wagers – to the United Way of Wyoming Valley.

Doug Harbach, a spokesman for the state Gaming Control Board, said normally there would be two test nights during which regulators verify the casino’s performance. But because the Downs already has been in operation, “this really only required one.”

The expansion will not mean an end to slots in the temporary space. Wise said about 350 machines will be left on the ground level, including all of the electronic table games. The old and new sections are connected by a fully enclosed walking bridge.

Soper insists that live harness racing is still an integral part of the complex. State regulations require at least $5 million of investment in racing facilities, and he said the Mohegans have gone beyond that.

“We spent some significant dollars to incorporate the two facilities,” Soper said. “We have plans to market to racing customers and vice versa. The more people we can attract the more we can expose them to our racing product.”

mohegan sun at pocono downs TIMELINE
coming monday:
Oct. 2004: The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and Penn National Gaming Inc. announce a $280 million sale agreement for the 40-year-old harness racing track and five off-track betting parlors.

Jan. 2005: The authority formally purchases the track and parlors.

Sept. 2005: Work begins on a temporary casino that includes a buffet restaurant and a new racing simulcast area. The grandstand roof is removed and a 16,000-square-foot addition is begun.

Aug. 2006: MTGA announces that a deal for a $30 million refund from Penn National and a pledge by local officials to support requests for up to $15 million in infrastructure grants will allow them to proceed with the casino project.

Sept. 2006: Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs receives approval for the first gaming license issued by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

Nov. 2006: The temporary casino opens to the public with 1,100 slot machines, two bars and a buffet dining area. The final price tag, including renovation of the horse racing facilities and computer systems and other infrastructure that also will serve the permanent casino, is $70 million.

May 2007: Groundbreaking for the 300,000-square-foot permanent casino.

July 17, 2008: Scheduled opening date for the permanent casino. Cost has swelled by about 25 percent to $208 million from original estimates.

How Mohegan Sun is giving the local economy a shot in the arm.

Ron Bartizek, Times Leader business editor, may be reached at 970-7157.

bucks native

07-17-2008, 08:01 AM

The Connell Building on Washington between Spruce and Lackawanna is being converted into apartments. The parking garage next to it is being replaced with another garage. I guess it was old.

New club downtown - Coliseum - on Adams between Spruce and Lackawanna. And, Tinks, an old club on Linden across from the courthouse is being renovated.

vasiliymeshko

07-17-2008, 11:56 PM

Loving the photos!!!

Keep em coming!

Wish Granted ...

Today's collection is from close by, street level perspective.

Meet Northeast Pennsylvania's tallest:
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_0m_3f1586d.jpg

... and also it's second tallest:
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_1m_aa9594e.jpg

View from Public Square:
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_5m_73e73cb.jpg

... another view from the square and South Main St:
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_7m_4a509df.jpg

Nothing but height:
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_9m_81fd762.jpg

Walking along West Northampton St:
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_14m_89951e9.jpg

A view from South Franklin St. I like quite a lot:
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_16m_3bfdb5b.jpg

Let's climb onto the top of Boscov's parking deck:
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_18m_3eab101.jpg

Another view south from the parking deck
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_19m_d0c8a00.jpg

Did somebody say they like the view from Market Street quite a lot???
http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_20m_5524a80.jpg

http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/7/17/f_33m_aa843a2.jpg

Market Street downtown panorama, and this time properly done with multiple images unlike my previous example from Coal Street Park:
(Scroll >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>)
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/407/panofs5.jpg

donybrx

07-18-2008, 12:50 PM

The Connell Building on Washington between Spruce and Lackawanna is being converted into apartments. The parking garage next to it is being replaced with another garage. I guess it was old.

Ae you saying that work is underway? That would be nice. This re-do has been on the back burner for quite some time. Grazi, bucks...........

btw, I see that Commonwealth Medical College has opened its Wilkes-Barre offices! How about that?

Heres' the skinny from the Citizen's Voice

Commonwealth Medical College’s Wilkes-Barre office officially opens

BY DENISE ALLABAUGH
STAFF WRITER

Published: Friday, July 18, 2008 4:08 AM EDT
WILKES-BARRE — Mayor Tom Leighton cut a ribbon to officially open Commonwealth Medical College’s Wilkes-Barre regional campus office on the fifth floor of the Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald building at 15 S. Franklin St. during a crowded ceremony Thursday.

The office will serve as a regional presence for clinical faculty and future medical students, said Dr. Robert D’Alessandri, president and dean.

“We may bring in physicians and other people who are going to be on the faculty for faculty development sessions,” he said. “The concept we developed is really a regional concept.”

Construction of the $120 million, 185,000-square-foot Commonwealth Medical College headquarters will begin within the next six months on Pine Street in Scranton and take two years to complete, D’Alessandri said. Ninety students will be accepted in 2009 and 70 percent will be from Pennsylvania. The goal is to help address a physician shortage in the area, he said.

The Wilkes-Barre office will be used for administrative space and educational programs, he said.

It joined two other regional campuses in Scranton and Williamsport.

D’Alessandri said the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday was a “great step forward in the college’s process in establishing a strong presence in the Wilkes-Barre region.”

“The support of the Wilkes-Barre community — physicians, hospitals, businesses and the colleges and universities — has been overwhelming. We know our students will have a wonderful experience here.” D’Alessandri said. “We want to be part of this community in every way.”

Leighton said he was excited to learn that Wilkes-Barre would be part of the medical school.

“There are a lot of good things happening in the City of Wilkes-Barre,” Leighton said. “This is just another great day in the City of Wilkes-Barre, for all of its residents and the Greater Wyoming Valley. I’m proud to stand here to be the mayor of the city and I’m proud to welcome the medical school and the board of directors here today.”

Wyoming Valley Health Care System and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center have affiliation agreements with the college to assure that students receive a community-based approach to medical education, said Dr. Paul Katz, vice dean for faculty and clinical affairs.

Upon enrollment at the Commonwealth Medical College, students will be assigned a regional community in which they will spend three weeks a year during their first two years of study. In their third and fourth years, students will live and work in the region, serving clinical rotations in multiple settings, including hospitals, doctors’ offices and health departments.

Attorney Murray Ufberg, who serves on the college’s board of directors, offered the college the office in the Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald building.

Dr. Robert English, newly appointed Wilkes-Barre associate dean of regional campus development, will have an office in the Wilkes-Barre location.

English also is the program director of the Wyoming Valley Family Practice Residency Program of United Health and Hospital Services Inc. affiliated with Wyoming Valley Health Care System.

dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115

donybrx

07-18-2008, 01:00 PM

...and Vasiliy. more good photo work!. You put us to shame, young'un.

On that note, a Wilkes-Barre mansion will be used in a 10 page spread in Modern Bride this Dec. .......(who would have guessed that behind this selection there's a local firm that promotes the area, run by two Edwardsville natives, one of whom now lives in the Hamptons?)

Mebbe you should seek them out, Vasiliy??? I'm just sayin'.....

Historic city mansion hosts magazine shoot
BY DENISE ALLABAUGH
STAFF WRITER
Published: Thursday, July 17, 2008 9:13 AM EDT

WILKES-BARRE — Joe Matteo’s meticulous restoration of the Frederick Stegmaier mansion and bed and breakfast will receive national exposure.

Modern Bride magazine selected the mansion at 304 S. Franklin St. from three nominations throughout the country to be featured in the background of a 10-page photo spread in a Victorian edition to run in December or January. A crew did a photo shoot at the mansion Wednesday.

The mansion was recommended by former Edwardsville residents Maggie Asimakopoulos, a location scout, and Nancy Grigor, who created the location-scouting firm Hamptons Locations based in Amagansett, N.Y.

Their firm receives requests for backgrounds from various catalogs, major magazines and clients of all descriptions, Asimakopoulos said. When Modern Bride was looking for a background for the Victorian edition, they immediately recommended the Frederick Stegmaier mansion as the “best fit,” she said.

“As soon as they saw this place, they said this was it,” Asimakopoulos said. “It’s exciting. Joe has been tremendously cooperative and people are in awe over what he has done. It’s literally like walking back in time. This guy is over the top with detail.”

Matteo, a pianist with a flair for architecture and history, has spent the last seven years restoring the mansion, originally built in 1870 by locally renowned Victorian architect Missouria Houpt as his private residence. Frederick Stegmaier, president of the Stegmaier Brewery and son of brewery founder Charles Stegmaier, purchased the mansion in 1906 where it remained in the Stegmaier family until the late 1940s.

Matteo purchased the mansion from Graysha Harris in 2001 for $205,000 and spent a huge amount of money and time restoring it. The mansion is an impressive reminder of the city’s time of great prosperity with its regal Victorian dining room, gentlemen’s and ladies’ parlors, bridal suite, grand staircase and stained glass windows. Model “Pernilla” was photographed in the ladies’ parlor in Victorian clothes Wednesday.

Having the mansion featured as a background in Modern Bride magazine is a great honor, said Matteo, who has been collecting the historic items in the mansion for many years.

“I’m very humbled,” Matteo said. “I got the call last week that I was being considered for a shoot from three properties in the country. Then I got the call late Thursday that I was the one that they chose.”

Located in the River Street historic district, the mansion is now a historical house museum, a banquet facility, a bed and breakfast and apartments. Matteo resides there. Several special events are held there including dinners, showers and receptions.

“I’ve had people who have dined here who said they felt like royalty,” Matteo said. “We try to do everything ‘High Victorian.’ When we do our formal dinners, we have a nine-course high Victorian dinner. We try to dazzle everyone with the china, crystal and silver. This has become like an anchor and has really spurred a lot of interest in development and neighborhood pride.”

Asimakopoulos was impressed to be served on china and crystal at the mansion that she described as “absolutely pristine.”

“It’s very rare that I’m served on china and crystal. These folks have provided us with a very nice experience,” Asimakopoulos said. “We are delighted to shoot here all day.”

In addition to the Frederick Stegmaier mansion, Asimakopoulos said her firm has been developing a catalog of other locations throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania to promote the “beauty and uniqueness” of the area.

dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115

MetroJunkie BJR

07-18-2008, 01:54 PM

donybrx

07-18-2008, 09:32 PM

^^^ Interesting. MetroJ. let us know when you go. Do/does the Stegmaier have a website? It's a B & B yes?

In other news, the new casino seems to be a smash hit, the last word and better than Atlantic City......estimates were that $11.5 Million have been wagered in the first 20 hours....
Posted: July 18
Updated: Today at 11:57 AM
New place in the Sun

By Ron Bartizek rbartizek@timesleader.com
Business & Consumer Editor

S.John Wilkin/The Times Leader

Taking a day to soak up the Sun

“It’s awesome; better than the Borgata,” Verazin said while eating lunch at Bar Louie, one of the new high-end eating places in the casino that opened at 10 a.m. Thursday. “We will not have to go to Atlantic City any more.”

Verazin and her husband, Mike, of Nanticoke, planned to spend most of the day in the casino, alternating their time between the slot machines and restaurants.

“That’s what it’s all about,” said Downs marketing vice president Jim Wise about the new 300,000-square-foot complex designed to attract non-gamblers as well as slots devotees.

Several hundred eager patrons ringed the casino entrance to watch a pre-opening ceremony that featured a traditional Mohegan Tribe ritual, brief public statements and a parachute jump by members of the world champion United States Parachute Team.

In their speeches, both Downs chief executive Bobby Soper and Bruce Bozsum, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, emphasized interior design elements that “not only reflect but celebrate local values.”

With tribal elder William Andrews playing a wooden flute in the background, Bozsum performed a traditional smudge pot ceremony that included a prayer in both native and English languages. Then, as a color guard from the 109th Field Artillery marched past the podium, Soper said the words the crowd had been waiting to hear – “Let the games begin” – which drew a big cheer before the people streamed inside.

While most of the customers headed to the 2,200 slots, it took only 20 minutes for a line to form at a coffee shop in the casino’s food court, and within an hour, there was a longer queue waiting to get into the Timbers Buffet, where a full lunch is priced at $10.99.

Soper said competitive pricing is another way the casino is geared to the local market.

“We wanted to create value,” he said, “and we did not compromise on quality one bit.”

Fine dining restaurants also attracted a crowd, with the Rustic Kitchen logging 30 reservations before noon.

Rustic Kitchen, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Bar Louie and all five restaurants in the food court are vendors who rent space. The casino owns the buffet, two bars and a sushi bar. The mix of eating places was developed from requests by patrons at the temporary casino that opened 19 months ago.

“We listened to what our guests wanted,” Soper said, and that included both affordable and high-end dining.

“It’s not only a gaming story today, it’s been a fabulous day for all the restaurants,” Wise said, speaking by phone at 6 p.m.

Even with a weekday opening that was designed to give the staff a chance to work out service bugs, overall, “it’s business this afternoon and evening that would be an extremely busy weekend night,” Wise said.

Firm figures on the day’s business were not yet available.

Before the opening, Mitchell Etess, chief executive of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which has operated the Mohegan Sun casino on tribal land in Connecticut since 1996, said the Downs facility “establishes us as a full-fledged, multi-jurisdictional gaming company.”

In addition to the casinos in Plains and Connecticut, the Mohegans have alliances with other tribes to build or manage gambling halls in Wisconsin and Washington state. The tribe also has an agreement to develop a state-owned gambling resort in Kansas and is a partner in a plan to develop a gambling, retail and hotel facility at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York.

“We think this is a prototype we can export to our other ventures,” Etess said.

About 350 slots, including electronic table games, remain in the interim casino, which is connected to the permanent casino by an enclosed walkway. A buffet there has been closed and is being renovated into a private function room.

To see additional photos and video, visit www.

timesleader .com

bucks native

07-19-2008, 10:22 AM

Dony, The sidewalk in front of the Connell Bldg is closed by fencing and the ground-floor tenants have moved elsewhere. I haven't had time to assess what - if anything - is going on inside. But the garage is gone. Note that the med school's admin offices are in the bank building across the street.

The owners of the Brooks Bldg are trying to purchase their Spruce St. neighbor (the Connell Bldg. is their Washington St neighbor) for conversion to apartments above, retail below. They've offered 600K, the owner wants 800. It currently houses about 5 ground-floor retail tenants and a ballet school above. It's a nice looking grayish-colored brick building - 3 or 4 floors I don't recall - but the added-on retail fronts give it a cheap look.

At this time, there is no housing planned or in place for the med students.

The first class is pegged at 60, not 90, and groundbreaking is on everyone's schedule, for August 19.

Evergrey

07-21-2008, 04:57 AM

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08203/898407-53.stm

Hazleton mayor named Pa.'s Mayor of the Year

Monday, July 21, 2008
The Associated Press

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, who is best known for a local crackdown on illegal immigration, has been named Mayor of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Mayors Association.

Mr. Barletta is a hands-on mayor who has been on location at crime scenes, said Lititz Mayor Russell Pettyjohn, the chairman of the association's six-member Mayor of the Year award committee. The immigration crackdown was another reason for Mr. Barletta's unanimous selection, Mr. Pettyjohn said.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

vasiliymeshko

07-21-2008, 06:04 PM

:previous: Nice. I had a chance to see him up close during the 2004 campaign. Wish him luck this year.

vasiliymeshko

07-22-2008, 08:33 PM

Well, guess what....

After ages of avoiding it, it finally happened. :banana:
I was able to get another view at downtown Scranton. An this time it wasn't just the limited view from I-81 or another trip no further than Steamtown mall. (Well, actually it was just another trip to Steamtown mall, only this time I decided to go outside and explore some) Expect a photo report somewhere soon.

Ex-Ithacan

07-23-2008, 10:14 AM

Look forward to the pics Vasiliy.

donybrx

07-23-2008, 03:03 PM

vasiliymeshko

07-23-2008, 07:35 PM

Looks like John McCain was here in Wilkes-Barre today, speaking at the Kirby Center. Rats... Missed it...:brickwall: If I knew it earlier, I would have tried to get in.

BTW did you attend the Giant's Despair annual road race this year?
Could not get off work, unfortunately
:tantrum:

MetroJunkie BJR

07-23-2008, 09:53 PM

Looks like John McCain was here in Wilkes-Barre today, speaking at the Kirby Center. Rats... Missed it...:brickwall: If I knew it earlier, I would have tried to get in.

Could not get off work, unfortunately
:tantrum:

My friend was there, front row, taking pics for the Kirby Center. He got "up close and personal" and met McCain. The pics are awesome.
Sorry you missed it Vasily!!

vasiliymeshko

07-24-2008, 02:07 AM

My friend was there, front row, taking pics for the Kirby Center. He got "up close and personal" and met McCain. The pics are awesome.
Sorry you missed it Vasily!!
Any chance we can get some here?

In the mean time I present you.... [lots of drum roll].... Scranton, PA

Back in time, during my first Steamtown visit, this was my first ever non I-81 view of the city, after taking the Moosic exit:
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/3295/40310966no3.jpg

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/5548/66357313dx6.jpg

Lackawanna Ave from Steamtown parking deck:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3597/99237845ez1.jpg

Looking from across the river:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6953/24178366pw1.jpg

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3775/75203173yt5.jpg

Lost somewhere in downtown:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/2548/86047025kc1.jpg

Times antenna:
http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/8091/43639569vv8.jpg

Scranton's tallest. Someone please inform the owners that it's in desparate need of a good wash:jester:
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/4954/10kd9.jpg

http://img383.imageshack.us/img383/5033/11zt9.jpg

With the exception of modern and very good looking Lackawanna Ave, all the rest looks sort of ancient and hopelessly outdated:
http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/6812/12kp7.jpg

Some unknown intersection:
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9785/13gq8.jpg

Courthouse Square:
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/6766/14dy3.jpg

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1031/15ba1.jpg

Fire exits galore:
http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/7056/16rb6.jpg

Despite being a huge of modern steel and glass architecture fan, here is an old building that I did like quite a bit:
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/9292/17ss0.jpg

Scranton's first ever "skyscraper"
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/5383/18bu9.jpg

Kind of reminds me of....
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/9127/plazahotelts0.jpg

Did I say that most of downtown looked old and ancient? Make that veeeeeeery ancient. I felt like I was instantly transformed back to 1920's or something like that. Wilkes-Barre definitely fares much better in this respect:
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/8818/19ih0.jpg

View from one of numerous parking garages, which sem to dominate just about every city block:
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/1343/20wr7.jpg

http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/7785/21oc8.jpg

Finally the little excursion is over and time to head back home. Ah, nothing better than home sweet home:
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2628/22iw2.jpg

So what can I say about my first impression? On the good side I liked the Courthouse square layout and was very impressed with all the progress on Lackawanna Avenue. The not so good side: Well, I was kind of less than impressed with lot's of other thins, in particular lack of modern architecture in the rest of downtown. Probably because I was expecting a much more modern look for a city of 76,000. Also everything seems to be spread out all over the place, unlike closely clustered W-B. Kind of makes the city look smaller than it really is.

OK, I guess that's enough rant for today. Now that I had my first close look, maybe sometime in the future I'll be able to explore it again in more detail.

MetroJunkie BJR

07-24-2008, 04:03 AM

Well, Vasily...first impressions not so good huh.

You sound like a dyed-in-the-wool NEPA-ite:
Wilkes-Barre resident: "My city is better than Scranton"
Scranton resident: "My city is much better than Wilkes-Barre" ;)

Every time I hear "Wilkes-Barre is so awful" I wonder what they are missing. Sure, the housing stock is ramshackle, but the downtown is wonderful. I wish W-B and Scranton could mash-up and have a denser downtown.

The lack of modern architecture in Scranton just shows how far the city declined after the 1940s. We missed a whole era of skyscraper growth. Dammit.

I so totally agree with you about the tallest building in Scranton. When it was owned by a Pittsburgh real estate company, the Bank Towers was well maintained, and atop the building was a PNC Bank lighted logo. Bank Towers was bought by a local firm several years ago and it has gotten dingy and dirty looking. The east-facing side of it is especially shitty-looking. A shame.
Nice comparison of the Scranton Electric Building to the Plaza Hotel in NYC. I never thought of that.

Good pics, but I take your photo posts as a direct challenge to me to get my ass in gear and post the pics I took with Ex-Ith back in frickin' 2006. I am like one of the Slowskys, those turtles in the Comcast commercials.

MetroJunkie BJR

07-24-2008, 04:12 AM

...and what's this. Obama and McCain spending millions to court our blessed votes, and now I see these "Elect Ithacan" buttons all over.

Tom, do you know what's going on here?

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e152/BJr2005/VoteIthacan.png

Evergrey

07-24-2008, 05:23 AM

Is there a rivalry between Scranton and W-B? I always thought they were friends :(

...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_579115.html

Conflict over heating with natural gas develops in Eastern Pa.

By Robin Acton
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 24, 2008

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-07-23/0724ssmith-a.jpg
Howard Smith, who went to work in a mine after quitting the ninth grade, says coal is "all there is around here."
S.C. Spangler/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-07-23/0724scounty-a.jpg
Schuylkill County, the birthplace of America's anthracite coal industry, is considering converting public buildings, such as the courthouse in Pottsville, to natural gas.
S.C. Spangler/Tribune-Review

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/photos/2008-07-23/0724smayor-a.jpg
Schuylkill County Deputy Sheriff Dennis Kane, who is mayor of Ashland, says a proposal to convert county buildings to natural gas heat drew mixed reaction because residents are rooted in the coal industry but have become accustomed to high prices and belt-tightening.
S.C. Spangler/Tribune-Review

ASHLAND -- Howard Smith pulls on a jacket and adjusts the lamp on his hard hat before climbing into the mine car.

He smiles as the car rumbles down the tracks into the cool darkness of the Pioneer Tunnel, an anthracite mine cut into the side of Mahanoy Mountain. For 35 minutes, he'll give two dozen tourists a glimpse of what it's like to dig chunks of glistening black coal from the thick veins running through the bowels of Schuylkill County.

Smith, 51, quit school in the ninth grade to mine anthracite and worked underground for 18 years. Seventeen years ago, he took the foreman's job at the tourist mine, where he conducts inspections, performs maintenance and guides underground tours for some of the attraction's 40,000 annual visitors.

"Coal, that's it. That's all there is around here," Smith said.

People in northeastern Pennsylvania -- the heart of America's anthracite region -- are shocked that Schuylkill County Commissioners Mantura M. Gallagher, Francis V. McAndrew and Frank J. Staudenmeier are considering a switch from coal to natural gas to heat the courthouse and the county prison to save money on energy costs.

The region that includes Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Carbon, Northumberland and Schuylkill counties is home to the largest known anthracite deposits in the Americas. For many who live here, anthracite mining is their heritage; for others, it is their livelihood.

"I'd hate to see something like that happen," Smith said. "Everybody who walks up the street here says it's the craziest thing they ever heard of in their life. But everything today is money and if they think it's cheaper, that's what they're going to do."

Staudenmeier insists there has been no final decision on the controversial issue that reached from the commissioners' meeting room in Pottsville to homes throughout the region that is considered the birthplace of anthracite mining.

"We're considering several proposals," the commissioner said. "I think we need to do what is in the best interest of everyone and run the county as efficiently as we possibly can."

Honeywell International Inc. submitted a proposal to switch from coal to natural gas boilers at the courthouse and prison, and install energy efficient lighting and a new phone system, estimating that the county would save $3.2 million over the next 15 years.

Taking an opposite approach, representatives from the Pennsylvania Anthracite Council and a Pittsburgh boiler manufacturing company, Combustion Service & Equipment Co., contend that coal is king. Natural gas, according to the council, will cost Schuylkill County taxpayers about $5.4 million more than coal over the next 25 years.

Opting for middle ground, PPL Corp., an electricity and natural gas supplier headquartered in Allentown, submitted a proposal that would include flex system boilers that could burn coal or gas, depending upon which fuel source is more economical. And the Pottsville-based Reading Anthracite Co., hoping to preserve the status quo, offered to sell the county coal at 10 percent under the natural gas equivalent.

"It's ridiculous," said Duane Feagley, president of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Council, a group that advocates for the anthracite coal industry. "They're going to spend more by converting to natural gas."

Paul Pack, an engineer with Combustion Service & Equipment Co., said anthracite coal is cheaper than gas and oil. It's also more environmentally friendly because it is cleaner and produces less emissions, he said.

Anthracite, produced from decomposed vegetation that forms fossil remains that are sealed between layers of rock, contains a high percentage of carbon and little sulfur. Although difficult to ignite, the hard lumps of anthracite burn longer and slower than soft bituminous coal found in Western Pennsylvania's coal fields.

The 2000 U.S. Census showed that 67,986, or 1.4 percent, of Pennsylvania's homes were heated by coal. The survey did not indicate how many of the homes used anthracite, rather than bituminous, coal.

Natural gas heated 2,452,941, or 51.3 percent, of Pennsylvania's homes; 1,217,155 homes, or 25.5 percent, were heated with oil. More than 786,600 homes, or 16.5 percent, were heated with electricity. Wood, bottled gas, other fuels and solar energy heated the remaining homes across the state.

Mark Major, executive director of the Schuylkill County Visitors Bureau, takes the ashes out of his 86-year-old mother's coal furnace once a week in the winter. She has lived in the same house since 1961, and although the cost has increased, coal is still the most economical heating source for her, he said.

"Lots of older homes around here use it," Major said.

Every winter, anthracite -- characterized by short, blue, smokeless flames -- is being burned to heat schools, hospitals and public buildings across the state, Pack said. The cost averages about $145 a ton.

Pack, using current costs from coal and gas suppliers, estimated that on a BTU basis, anthracite coal is about one-third the cost of natural gas and one-fifth the cost of fuel oil. Right now, natural gas costs $16.48 per million BTUs; coal costs $6.80 per million BTUs, he explained.

"We've installed quite a few coal boilers in schools and hospitals," Pack said. "The numbers are a huge savings. The bigger the job, the quicker the payback."

The anthracite coal industry got its start in northeast Pennsylvania in 1775 in a mine near Pittston in Luzerne County. Fifteen years later, deposits were discovered in Schuylkill County.

Nearly a century ago, anthracite mining paid the bills for thousands of families in the region. Expensive and dangerous to extract, the rare hard coal known as black diamonds fueled eastern factories during the Industrial Revolution and propelled the United Mine Workers union to power.

In 1914, anthracite mining jobs peaked at 180,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration. Three years later, production peaked at more than 100 million tons, MSHA reported.

In the years that followed, the industry fell into decline and by 1950, production fell to 46 million tons as operations shifted to surface, or strip, mines. The 1959 Knox Mine disaster in Port Griffith, Luzerne County, where a flood killed 12 miners when the Susquehanna River breached the mine, is blamed for the industry's demise.

By 1987, production dipped to 5.2 million tons mined by just 620 deep miners, according to MSHA.

"Anthracite mining is not nearly the industry it was years ago. There are just a few small, individual operators," said Christine Goldbeck, a former journalist who works in state government. She operates the Web site minecountry.com, which is dedicated to preserving the history and culture of the Appalachian Pennsylvania Anthracite Region.

"There's a lot of sentiment there. It's like military families and steel families," Goldbeck added.

In 2006, the last year for which numbers are available, the state Department of Environmental Protection reported that 695 people working at 112 sites produced 7,516,944 tons of anthracite coal.

The DEP reported that 14 underground anthracite mines employed 114 people and produced 270,773 tons of anthracite coal in 2006. Fifty-four surface mines employed 326 people and produced 1,965,377 tons of coal, while 44 coal refuse sites had 255 workers who produced 5,280,794 tons of coal.

Schuylkill County Deputy Sheriff Dennis Kane, a lifelong resident of Ashland who serves as its mayor, said the heating controversy generated a mixed reaction among local folks who are rooted in the coal industry but have become accustomed to high prices and belt-tightening.

People understand that the commissioners have an obligation to do what's best for the taxpayers, he said.

"But with some, when it comes to coal, it's a matter of pride," Kane said.

Goldbeck called the dispute "a very interesting fight." She said she keeps trying to rationalize in her mind how it will play out.

"Are we loyal to our ancestors, or will logic win? Most of us say it makes sense to talk about money and tax dollars," she said.

Back at the county seat in Pottsville, Staudenmeier said the commissioners will consider all options before making a decision in the coming weeks. In recent meetings, Gallagher promised that the new system will be in place before the next heating season.

The commissioners indicated there may be room for a compromise, with coal at the courthouse and gas boilers at the prison and at the county's Rest Haven nursing home in Schuylkill Haven.

With that in mind, Staudenmeier, who predicted a brutal winter because of high energy costs, said coal is still on the table.

"I recognize that we sit in the middle of anthracite region," he said. "Shame on us if we don't consider coal."

Robin Acton can be reached at racton@tribweb.com or 724-830-6295.

vasiliymeshko

07-24-2008, 12:30 PM

Nah, who says anything about rivalry? If we have hopes for this area to improve, I'd say that's the last thing we need. It's just that I was expecting something big, I guess, especially after you take a look at a map and see how Scranton all but eclipses W-B in land area. Glad you liked the pictures. I hope I can go there soon again, and take an even closer look.

EDIT: Should I also post then in the Photo section, for more to see?

vasiliymeshko

07-24-2008, 12:42 PM

I am like one of the Slowskys, those turtles in the Comcast commercials.
http://www.smileyhut.com/laughing/rofl.gif

Evergrey

07-24-2008, 01:23 PM

EDIT: Should I also post then in the Photo section, for more to see?

Yes. There's a lot of interest in Scranton these days due to The Office

vasiliymeshko

07-24-2008, 02:05 PM

You sound like a dyed-in-the-wool NEPA-ite:

Heheh. I think I like that (so much I think I'll use that as my custom user title from now on). I guess not bad sor someone with only 8 years in the valley. Now what if I had lived here all my life?;)

Ex-Ithacan

07-24-2008, 02:38 PM

@ Vasiliy -- love the pics. I guess I'm one of those old fogeys who loves the old buildings. I remember walking down Lackawanna with my Mother and Aunt while they were on a shopping trip to the Globe department store. The streets and sidewalks were still fairly bustling back in theose days (early 60s). It sometimes does seem as though time has stood still for the city in many ways. btw, this building looks as if there's been some additional floors added through the years:

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/7056/16rb6.jpg

And as Evergrey said, go ahead and post them in the city photos sub-forum.

@ MJ - I'm not "officially" a candidate yet, but I think I'll jump into the race after the conventions are over. :D
And the article about the coal industry = :( . I remember seeing the big basement coal bins in my grandparent's house in pekville, and my great-grandmother's house in Jessup (she shoveled that stuff well into her 80s).

btw, that Schuykill County Courthouse is one impressive rascal sitting up on that hill overlooking the downtown.:yes:

MetroJunkie BJR

07-24-2008, 04:46 PM

Vasiliy:

I received approval to post a few pics of John McCain's visit to W-B yesterday. Hope you enjoy.

Please note that I am not posting these to advance any political agenda. Just doing it for an SSP friend who requested to see them!

The following photos are the property of The F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts / Joe-Angel Rodriguez Photographer

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e152/BJr2005/McCain261.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e152/BJr2005/McCain263.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e152/BJr2005/McCain277.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e152/BJr2005/McCain200.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e152/BJr2005/McCain361.jpg

vasiliymeshko

07-24-2008, 05:51 PM

Wow. These look great! A very big thanks for posting them!

vasiliymeshko

07-24-2008, 06:10 PM

And as Evergrey said, go ahead and post them in the city photos sub-forum.

Posted

vasiliymeshko

07-24-2008, 06:47 PM

Atlantic City, PA :haha:

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3992/000060nh1.jpg

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/946/000062uu2.jpg

http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/5295/000063ii1.jpg

http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/9928/000064ur8.jpg

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/9919/000065oq6.jpg

http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/4210/000066ic8.jpg

http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/4656/000067wc4.jpg

An interesting find down Fox Hill Rd in Plains Township:
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/1766/tunnelbg6.jpg

MetroJunkie BJR

07-24-2008, 08:09 PM

OK guys, here it is! My long-awaited Scranton photo thread. I have many more pics to add. The thread is on the City Photos page.

Ex-Ith...get ready, the pics I took of you are coming up in my next post! Heh heh :rolleyes:

Between my and Vasiliy's photo tours, it's an embarrasment of riches for Scranton fans, lol.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=3692754#post3692754

MetroJunkie BJR

07-24-2008, 08:11 PM

Vasiliy....love that pic from Fox Hill Rd. in Plains Twp. Very cool bridge/tunnel you'd never expect. What a structure.

Ex-Ithacan

07-25-2008, 12:45 PM

^ I agree, that is a cool shot. And the casino looks huge.

I checked out your thread MJ, and you gotta start hanging out with a better quality of forumer. ;)

donybrx

07-26-2008, 05:28 PM

...NOT good news, not at all for W-B or Scranton which also has a Bsocov's downtown within the Steamtown Mall...........

July 26
Reports: Boscov’s chain ailing

Mid-Atlantic chain, which has W-B store, tries to stay afloat, say sources.
The Times Leader staff

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Reports___Boscov_rsquo_s__chain_ailing_07-26-2008.html

The Boscov’s department store chain, which has a store in downtown Wilkes-Barre, is in financial trouble, according to several published reports.

The 97-year-old family-owned chain, based in Reading, is fighting to stay afloat amid declining consumer spending across the mid-Atlantic region, the New York Post and Reuters reported Friday.

Nearly half of the major suppliers to Boscov’s have stopped merchandise shipments for lack of payment, sources told The Post.

Commercial lending giants such as CIT Group Inc., GMAC and Milberg were additionally cited by the paper as putting a stop to guaranteeing deliveries to Boscov’s stores.

Boscov’s, which operates about 50 mid-price stores selling clothing, appliances, electronics and furniture, is searching alternatives to a bankruptcy filing, according to The Post and Reuters, including the closure of up to 10 money-losing stores.

The family that owns the chain reportedly reinserted $28 million in equity into the company.

Boscov’s employed 200 people in Wilkes-Barre in 2006, according to The Times Leader files.

The local department store in the first block of South Main Street is more than a century old. The store was the chain’s first downtown location, according to stories published in The Times Leader.

Retailer Albert Boscov purchased The Boston Store in 1980, and a year later hosted Boscov’s grand opening in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

Company officials could not be reached for comment.

Ex-Ithacan

07-26-2008, 10:24 PM

That is some bad news. And the sad thing is, if Boscov's goes, it's not very likely and other big retailers would step in to take over the old stores. The economic climate right now,and the struggle by all department stores, kind of make a takeover unlikely imo.

donybrx

07-27-2008, 03:32 PM

^^Alas...and alack, evun.....I'm afraid you're right, EX.

Boscov's responded (as follows, fellows) with what is hopefully not just spin.....

Posted: July 27
Updated: Today at 6:08 AM
Boscov’s ready for long run, exec says
Company that has had store in W-B since 1981 eyes back to school, Christmas sales.
By Richard L. Connor rconnor@timesleader.com
Editor and Publisher

Boscov’s officials say they are not going anywhere.

Although Boscov’s, like most other retailers, has been affected by a downturn in consumer spending, the chief executive for the regional department store chain said the company is not in danger of failure.

“People are not buying houses, they’re not buying sheets or mattresses or beds. As gas prices have gone up, sales have gone down, but we’re not collapsing at all,” Kenneth S. Lakin told the Reading Eagle.

He was responding to reports in the New York Post and trade publications that suppliers are withholding merchandise from the 49-store, family-owned chain due to slow payment.

“This happens at different times of the year; they put you on credit hold if you’re one minute late,” Lakin told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We are going to get right with them, as quickly as we can.”

He said the stores will be well stocked for back to school and the holidays. The company, based in Exeter Township near Reading, is not seeking bankruptcy protection, Lakin said.

Times Leader Editor & Publisher Richard L. Connor said Boscov’s has been a community asset and reliable advertiser since taking over the former Fowler, Dick & Walker store on South Main Street in downtown Wilkes-Barre since 1981.

“I was here when Boscov’s not only rescued our last major, locally owned department store but also saved downtown,” Connor said. “They have been our partner and we theirs in every sense of the word for 30 years. They are our largest single, local advertiser and they have always paid us on time and still do.

“They gave this city new life and they have stuck by us with their downtown location through times good and tough.”

Boscov’s has done more than do business in the region, Connor said.

“I was fortunate to be among the members of the original committee to work with Al Boscov and his regional store manager at the time, Tom Jacobs, on reclaiming and renovating the F.M. Kirby Center,” Connor said. “This is a company that has put money back into our community over and over. We owe it to them to give them our full support and we stand ready to do that. It is a smartly managed company and I am confident that if these rumors of problems are real, then they are temporary.”

Lakin said that although the 49-store, family-owned chain so far has closed only one store, in Nanuet, N.Y., it may have to consider closing others. He would not specify which ones.

“We have no ideas of what stores might be closed at this time, but we’re looking at it very carefully,” he said.

Brian McFarland, 20, of Pittston, who was shopping at the downtown Wilkes-Barre store on Saturday evening, said he would be sad if the department store closes. He said he has fond memories of going shopping on “Cracker Jack” days.

“My grandma used to take me here when I was little,” McFarland said. “This one was just the one we always came to.”

Elizabeth Dymond, 18, of Pittston, said she, too, would be sad if the store closes.

“It’s been here my whole life,” Dymond said. “There are not a lot of things in this area that really stick around for a long time. This is the only thing that’s been on the Square that I remember always being here.”

Other Northeastern Pennsylvania stores are located in the Laurel Mall in Hazleton and the Steamtown Mall in Scranton. Retail consultant Burt P. Flickinger III said he expects the mid-priced retailer to survive.

“Boscov’s is being forced to use more of its working capital to finance its inventory. I think it should survive. I think suppliers and creditors will advance credit through the holidays,” Flickinger said.

“I was here when Boscov’s not only rescued our last major, locally owned department store but also saved downtown ...."

Richard L. Connor

Editor & Publisher, The Times Leader

Evergrey

07-27-2008, 11:47 PM

I've never been to a Boscov's... is it like a Bon Ton?

donybrx

07-28-2008, 01:00 AM

I've never been to a Boscov's... is it like a Bon Ton?

.... dunno. I've never been to the Bon Ton, tho there is one at Wyoming Valley Mall.......

Boscov's is middle market, I guess. The W-B store is large---- several floors + parkade. They sell furniture, appliances, men's & women's clothing..about like a small Macy*s I suppose....then specialty stuff, e.g Godiva and a full range of candy's cookies, breads, etc. plus in store dining.... it isn't as good as it's predecessor, Fowler, Dick & Walker's The Boston Store, but it's very useful. It's alsp one of the last independently owned department store chains in the country. Wilkes-Barre's is one of the last free standing downtown deparment stores under private ownership.....

Ex-Ithacan

07-28-2008, 03:57 PM

^ I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Mr. Lakin is right.

vasiliymeshko

07-28-2008, 06:54 PM

Let's hope for the best.

In meantime some good news. Kings has posted a huge rendering of North Main Street Gateway in the lobby of Student Center, as well as a link on their website.
Hope progress starts as soon as possible:
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/2811/78596398il8.png

donybrx

07-30-2008, 01:33 PM

^^ Not shabby.....thanx, Vasiliy........ :)

since it's current, follow-up on Boscov's:

(interesting side note...
.....“To give you just one example of what direction things are going in downtown, the (Sen. Barack) Obama campaign couldn’t find a temporary storefront for their campaign headquarters and that says a lot,” Vonderheid said.........)

1. Status....
http://www.citizensvoice.com/articles/2008/07/29/news/wb_voice.20080729.t.pg4.cv29cdboscovs_s1.1841800_top3.txt

2. Remedy?
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/homepage/20080730_Boscov_s_sails_into_retail_turbulence.html

1. Boscov’s CEO says Wilkes-Barre location not in danger of closing

BY DENISE ALLABAUGH
STAFF WRITER
Published: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 4:11 AM EDT

WILKES-BARRE — Boscov’s has no current plans to leave downtown Wilkes-Barre despite weak sales in a bleak economy, Chief Executive Officer Ken Lakin said Monday.

While Lakin said the chain is struggling and some of its 49 stores might close, the downtown Wilkes-Barre store is not one of the closings right now.

“We have no intention of leaving the area at this time,” Lakin said. “Retail sales have been extremely volatile. It’s difficult to predict the future, but right now, it doesn’t look bad for Wilkes-Barre.”

About 130 people are employed by Boscov’s store in Wilkes-Barre. Some people can’t remember downtown Wilkes-Barre without Boscov’s. The store, a survivor in a difficult and competitive industry, has remained downtown since 1981. When Al Boscov purchased the former Fowler, Dick and Walker department store in 1980, it was hailed as the key to the downtown’s revitalization. Lakin, Boscov’s nephew, took over as chairman and chief executive of the nation’s largest privately owned department store chain after his uncle retired in 2006.

Twenty-eight years after Boscov’s opened in downtown Wilkes-Barre, some have expressed concerns about the condition of the store and the parking garage.

“Things are difficult. When things are difficult, renovations and expansions get put on the back burner,” Lakin said. “The economy is in tough shape. Customers are hurting, so we’re hurting. Banks are afraid to lend. There’s gridlock in the lending industry. It’s difficult to get financing for anything.”

Todd Vonderheid, CEO and president of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, said with the difficult national economy impacting retail, there are always concerns about closings but he assured chamber officials are willing to work with Boscov’s to help anyway they can.

“Boscov’s has been a terrific corporate citizen in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Vonderheid said. “We hope nothing but the best for Boscov’s in the region. We are available to help as well as the other key stakeholders. We will be prepared to listen to whatever Mr. Lakin says or asks for. We’ll work with any business in the region depending on what their issues are and what their problems are. We worked hard with the city, county and state to increase foot traffic downtown and that has clearly happened.

“People are still going to Boscov’s to shop,” Vonderheid said. “I think Boscov’s is a strong enough chain that if the economy is doing well, Boscov’s will do well. Clearly, there are more people downtown and more opportunity for Boscov’s.”

dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115

Since Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 opened in a $31 million renovated complex at East Northampton and South Main streets in 2006, Vonderheid said a half million more people came downtown last year. Boscov attended the grand opening of the movie theaters in July 2006.

“To give you just one example of what direction things are going in downtown, the (Sen. Barack) Obama campaign couldn’t find a temporary storefront for their campaign headquarters and that says a lot,” Vonderheid said.

New businesses that have opened downtown in recent years have mostly included restaurants and nightclubs and retail downtown has been lacking. The downtown has been transforming into an “entertainment district, not a mall,” Vonderheid said.
-------------------------------

2. Boscov's sails into retail turbulence
By Maria Panaritis

Inquirer Staff Writer

Most shelves were full yesterday at Boscov's in Plymouth Meeting Mall, but the scene of normalcy concealed the turbulence rattling the region's only surviving family-owned department store chain.
The Reading company, in the hunt for a private-equity deal to rescue it from a potential merchandise shortage ahead of the critical fall shopping season, has waded into the kind of troubled waters that pulled California department store Mervyn's L.L.C. into Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday.

The extent of Boscov's financial troubles remained unknown because, unlike firms traded on Wall Street, the privately held company does not report to government regulators. Chief executive officer Ken Lakin said earlier this week that he was searching for equity partners to raise cash that banks have been reluctant to lend. The chain needs money to free up merchandise deliveries.

But in turning to private equity for an infusion to pay for stalled shipments, the department store chain could be in dangerous territory.

A private-equity deal could result in Boscov's losing the autonomy that the family-run chain has retained for 97 years, after resisting consolidations that gobbled up other family companies such as Gimbels, John Wanamaker, and Strawbridge & Clothier, retail and equity experts said.

A private-equity partner would likely want to buy a portion of the business, said Seth J. Lehr, a partner in equity firm LLR Partners Inc., of Center City.

A more profound issue is the very problem facing Boscov's - inventory-shipment problems. Such problems can be a precursor to bankruptcy, as was the case with Mervyn's, another privately held chain.

Here is why: In retail, there is a cadre of lenders known as "factors." When suppliers deliver large shipments to retailers, factors pay them a portion of what they are owed, up front. The lenders front the money as long as they believe the retailer can sell the goods and fully pay the supplier down the road, Lehr said.

But when those lenders become insecure about a retailer, they refuse to pay up front. Suppliers then pull back on deliveries, Lehr said. Retailers must scrounge for cash to unlock the stalled delivery.

Merchandise flow - particularly heading into the back-to-school months that begin in August and presage the critical holiday shopping - is essential if a retailer is to survive the current downturn, said Lehr, who has invested in retail companies.

"It's normally someone in the factor community that drives someone into bankruptcy," he said, "because the goods won't flow."

The economic troubles curbing consumer spending in light of soaring gasoline prices hurt retailers across the board. Shoppers have been spending more time in discount stores to stretch their dollars. Boscov's, which says it caters to "Middle America," has not been immune.

It is impossible to assess the gravity of the challenges facing Boscov's, said Philadelphia retail expert Brian Ford. But the company has been "resilient," surviving when others liquidated during bad economic waves - Bradlees, Clover, Two Guys, to name a few, Ford said.

"They have consistently been creative enough and insightful enough to weather and handle any crisis," Ford said.

But gun-shy credit markets are leaving all sorts of businesses in a cash crunch. And resorting to private equity means Boscov's likely will face stiff terms, including potentially sharing control of the company.

"Private equity usually seeks collateral, and if the inventory is already pledged as collateral on existing loans, they will be looking for other kinds of collateral that might include real estate, fixed assets or stock in the company," Ford said.

By the same token, cutting a deal with private equity can protect a company in the event it falls into bankruptcy, depending on how the deal is structured. If tied to an equity deal, the company's real estate and assets could be shielded from creditors.

"Giving some away is always better than having more of it taken away" in bankruptcy, Ford said.

The company, which operates stores in six states and considers Philadelphia one of its core markets, has focused on cutting expenses through layoffs and other measures in recent months. Lehr called such measures necessary for any retailer hoping to avoid bankruptcy.

donybrx

07-30-2008, 04:20 PM

Sterling update:
Considerable foot/ repair/ legal work having been done...................

Venerable Hotel Sterling ready for development
]Building owner CityVest hopes to partner with co-developer for construction, marketing.

link & photo.... http://www.timesleader.com/news/Venerable_Hotel_Sterling_ready_for_development_07-30-2008.html

WILKES-BARRE – The Hotel Sterling, once the crown jewel of a vibrant downtown, is fully prepped and poised for a return to glory.

CityVest executive director Alex Rogers said the Riverfront project is key to luring a developer to transform the vacant and gutted Hotel Sterling into a commercial and residential property.

PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER

Now, all it needs is a developer.

Alex Rogers, executive director of CityVest, which owns the building, said he is optimistic construction will soon begin.

Rogers said he can’t provide a timetable for the start of the $100 million project but said numerous potential developers have toured the gutted building.

“Just because there isn’t any activity going on there, no heavy equipment or work crews, doesn’t mean the project isn’t progressing,” Rogers said. “We are hopeful that we will enter into a partnership agreement soon with a developer who has experience in urban downtown revitalization projects.”

Rogers said he is interviewing co-development firms that will partner with CityVest for the construction and marketing stages of the project. The environmental abatement and demolition phases have been completed, he said.

“We’ve added extra protection to the roof and on the architectural side, we’ve completed the conceptual floor plan layout and schematic design,” Rogers said. The historic hotel will be an integral part of the Riverfront Park development that is under way.

“The views are simply breathtaking and the developers have commented on the economic development going on in the city,” Rogers said.

Major obstacles to the estimated $100 million project have been met, including acquisition of the hotel, parking lot area and adjacent buildings. Back taxes have been satisfied, Rogers said.

The project costs have been boosted by federal, state, county and local funds.

Plans call for the restoration of the first floor to resemble the hotel in its original state. Retail spaces will be on the first floor, offices on the second and condominiums on the third through seventh floors.

The entrance will be from the proposed parking area along West Market Street. There will not be a River Street entrance. A multi-level parking lot will be built and the second-phase building would be built on top of that, Rogers said.

“To have a property that has so much potential and then add the $30 million Riverfront Project with the portals, walkways and amphitheater will be a wonderful gift to the community,” Rogers said. “And the threat of flooding has been taken away as well.”

Rogers said the city’s downtown has “blossomed,” and he realizes the importance of the Sterling to its continued revitalization.

“There has been a lot of hard work done getting the project to this point,” Rogers said. “We are hopeful we can continue making progress toward completion of this challenging project.”

Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at 829-7218.

vasiliymeshko

07-31-2008, 03:10 PM

Guess from where? http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/522/12569606qp6.jpg

Wilkes-Barre density: http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3790/12569609ww3.jpg

MetroJunkie BJR

07-31-2008, 03:54 PM

Guess from where? http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/522/12569606qp6.jpg

Wilkes-Barre density: http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3790/12569609ww3.jpg

I love your Wilkes-Barre pics. You capture the city well and make it look larger somehow.

I am gonna guess that was taken somewhere in South WB, but where... hmm, I don't know.

vasiliymeshko

07-31-2008, 05:11 PM

I am gonna guess that was taken somewhere in South WB, but where... hmm, I don't know.

Close....

donybrx

07-31-2008, 07:43 PM

:previous: It's more in the direction of Hazle Street.....but a little more northy, off PA Blvd, past the tall brick apartment building, somewhere in the lower heights?...roughly opposite and well east of where Abe's Hot Dogs is on South Main.

vasiliymeshko

07-31-2008, 08:12 PM

:previous: Almost. Actually the spot is from top corner hill of Moyallen Street. Here is the Google segment of the area. I should note that although you can't see it from satellite view, the spot towers very high above Hazle Street, with the above open view towards downtown. Perfect spot for picture taking.
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1631/62431239bf0.jpg

donybrx

07-31-2008, 09:00 PM

^^Exactly what I said ....... :)

vasiliymeshko

07-31-2008, 10:58 PM

Today was a jampacked NASCAR day at Public Square, ahead of Sunday's Pennsylvania 500. Of course there was no way whatsoever I was going to miss something like that. Get ready for a ton of photos (about 80 to be somewhat precise)

donybrx

08-01-2008, 01:22 AM

^^^ Bet it was exciting and lively for downtown! One request.......

limit the number of photos if possible...some folks still have dial-up....it takes awhile to download more than half a dozen, for example..... thanks...

vasiliymeshko

08-01-2008, 01:51 AM

OK, I will split them into multiple parts, then.
Here is part 1 - NASCAR visits Wilkes-Barre:
((( to donny, Sorry if this is a little bit too many. I noticed your reply only after I already posted the first part)))

Approaching the square from South main Street. Someone ought to tell all that traffic that due to obvious reasons, the Public Square is CLOSED:
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/8599/78167941dq7.jpg?femilo

The official Pace Car:
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5264/15370741lq8.jpg?femilo

Dale Earnhardt, Jr:
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/741/54273170jo6.jpg?femilo

The National Guard had a camera booth, and all who wished, could pose for a picture with the car. Mine should be ready on their website in about 48 hours. When it is, I will definitely post it here:
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/3063/71376307wh7.jpg?femilo

Trailer that transports the show car:
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1525/20851541gt0.jpg?femilo

Small cars:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/3042/39173982hy2.jpg?femilo

A souped up Porsche:
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/4244/67701273ie0.jpg?femilo

The Public Square 500! Gentlemen, start your engines:
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/7527/36812815is3.jpg?femilo

Like I said, Public Square was closed off to traffic:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/5581/38323889ca4.jpg?femilo

This car is actually a lot smaller that it looks:
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/7363/77263195we9.jpg?femilo

Another look:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/4013/10ph0.jpg?femilo

A closer look at the Pace Car:
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5749/11kp2.jpg?femilo

From the front:
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/4242/12ve3.jpg?femilo

US Army both, with Mark Martin's car:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/52/13yf4.jpg?femilo

Closer look:
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/885/14ol5.jpg?femilo

Even closer...
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9308/15eg3.jpg?femilo

Ever wanted to know how a NASCAR Cup car look inside? Now you know:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1300/16rf5.jpg?femilo

Some fancy street cars, courtesy of Motorworld:
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/6356/17pz5.jpg?femilo

An interesting lineup of racecars:
(Turned out to be one of my favorite from the whole batch)
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/3685/18im6.jpg?femilo

Very busy public square:
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/3830/19ka6.jpg?femilo

Another look at the fancy street cars:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8076/21mx4.jpg?femilo

Me (in the red shirt) A very big thank you to the Army team member who kindly agreed to pose for the shot:
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/708/22sr0.jpg?femilo

The regular Hillclimb winner:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/3527/23nk4.jpg?femilo

Dale Jr's car ready to be rolled back into the transporter:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7255/24cz6.jpg?femilo

From another angle:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/9215/25wr3.jpg?femilo

Crowd starts to thin out and head home:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6515/26yl9.jpg?femilo

With Mark Martin going to Hendricks Motorsports next year, I wonder who's going to drive the 8 car:
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/955/27cz1.jpg?femilo

I think I quite much like the little car. I was kept drawn back to it:
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/7231/28jl1.jpg?femilo

Being that I was in downtown already, it was only fitting that I would take more city photos, but those I will leave for next part. Later I will post Part 2 (Downtown from street level 2) and part 3 (Downtown from River Commons Park)

vasiliymeshko

08-01-2008, 02:51 AM

And here's the shot of me taken by the National Guard cameraman. They have just made it available online, much sooner than I expected:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7289/12964aas0.jpg

donybrx

08-02-2008, 01:38 PM

More nice stuff, Vasiliy!; it's a terrific event for downtown to host, bringing crowds and business. Happy that this is right up your alley, too. From your photo, you look as thought you're ready to fling yerself into one of those beasts and fly around....:)

The shots also paint downtown as a very urban setting....always good....

There are other revelations in your photostory....i.e., I notice that they've made a 'cut' into the (fugly, banal ) one story retail-strip-mall-type low rises owned by Finlay...there on South Main. I assume this will be the South Main
entrance to the Intermodal Transportation Center......it also breaks up those montonous structures ( built to replace the various old 3 and 4 story buidlings that were demo'd after the Hurricane Agnes' floods).

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/8599/78167941dq7.jpg?femilo

This photo (below) shows two of the elevator/stairwells being erected for the Transportation Center (background to the right of the old (greek revival) bank and left of the 10 story office building......).

...envisioning the completed parking structure to be built between these towers, it's clearly going to visually infill a lot of space...maybe even eliminating the mountain view in the background from your perspective. It's gonna be a big structure, at any rate.......

Crowd starts to thin out and head home:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6515/26yl9.jpg?femilo

vasiliymeshko

08-02-2008, 09:41 PM

This photo (below) shows two of the elevator/stairwells being erected for the Transportation Center (background to the right of the old (greek revival) bank and left of the 10 story office building......).

I was going to show them a little closer in Part 2 (which I'll probably post either tomorrow or on Monday). Guess a little bit of sneak peak doesn't hurt

vasiliymeshko

08-02-2008, 10:53 PM

By the way, yesterday Jimmie Johnson won the pole for tomorrow's race. My prediction (and hope) is that Hendricks cars do good in the race.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5163/pole193ds8.jpg

vasiliymeshko

08-03-2008, 10:30 PM

OK. Part 2 images of my downtown adventures is here (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=153381)

donybrx

08-04-2008, 06:27 PM

Posted: 10:08 AM
Updated: 12:45 PM

Boscov's files for bankruptcy, W-B store will stay open

The South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre Boscov's department store is not one of 10 that will close immediately, said Maralyn Lakin, a senior vice president of the company.

“Wilkes-Bare is a wonderful market for us,” Lakin said. “You’re important to us. We love being in your market.” Lakin does not anticipate the city store being added to the list in the future.

The nearest store that will close is Harrisburg East, Lakin said, meaning the Steamtown Mall, Scranton and Laurel Mall, Hazleton stores also will remain open. Most of the closed stores are among the 10 Boscov's purchased after the merger of the Federated and May department store chains in 2006.

10:08 a.m.

Boscov's, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday and put it up for sale. The Reading-based chain that has operated a store on South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, since 1981, listed $538 million in assets and $479 million in liabilities as of May 3, in a court filing. In the filing the company said it will close 10 unprofitable stores and is exploring a possible sale to a third party. No list of stores targeted for closing was released.

Boscov's executive vice president Michael Hughes said the company has had productive talks with creditors and intends to emerge from bankruptcy as soon as the first quarter of 2009.

Check back at timesleader.com for updates through the day and look for a full story in Tuesday's Times Leader.

Evergrey

08-04-2008, 10:30 PM

how could this happen to Boscov's? :( They're closing two here!

donybrx

08-04-2008, 11:15 PM

how could this happen to Boscov's? :( They're closing two here!

In all probability, the problem is likely/ largely a consequence of over-eager expansion.....oupled with a general slowdown in the retail sector....so...

It's safe to assume that Boscov's has to drop some stores in order to encourage/ assure prospective private financiers as to their good faith commitment to resolution of the company's ills....hope it works or it's curtains for Wilkes-Barre's store sooner or later...curtains, china, ladies undergarments, notions, potions and all......

Posted on Sun, Aug. 3, 2008

Did expansion lead to Boscov's woes?

Things have gone south for the chain since new leadership bought 10 used stores.

By Maria Panaritis
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/26215589.html

Inquirer Staff Writer

At the time, it was a hopeful milestone in the life of one of the region's most resilient family businesses: On Jan. 31, 2006, Al Boscov and brother-in-law Ed Lakin - patriarchs who had shepherded the Boscov's department store chain for decades - cashed out and retired.
Though not evident at the time, that momentous day may have marked the beginning of the crisis now gripping the Reading company as it tries to avoid bankruptcy in an economic downturn that has pushed other retailers to the brink and beyond.

Within a week of handing the reins to a third-generation family leader, Boscov's announced ambitious expansion plans, fueled by the demise of other famous department stores that had left behind empty anchor sites across the region.

Though times were good and the economy relatively strong then, the money spent on buying and occupying the 10 new stores may have helped drain the chain of the financial cushion (and cash) it now needs to convince suppliers it can pay its bills.

Chief executive officer Ken Lakin, 54, who assumed control, has been searching for a private-equity deal to generate the cash needed to avoid bankruptcy. He said no one imagined things unfolding the way they have as the economy has gone south over the last 12 months.

"I don't think anybody could have envisioned the downturn in the lending community, the contraction of the trade, and the pressure that's been applied to the consumer by higher prices and less lending, less credit availability," Lakin said. "It's a perfect storm."

Lakin has declined to discuss the rampant rumors over the last week that Boscov's may be flirting with bankruptcy.

Looking back to when he took over as chairman in early 2006, Lakin said the company had taken steps to replenish the cash it lost in buying out his father, then 82, and uncle, then 76.

"The two principals in the company had been looking for a way to capitalize their 50 years of blood, sweat and tears that they put into building the business from nothing to a 40-store chain," Lakin said.

With help from an investment bank in Reading, the company entered into a private recapitalization agreement around the time of the Lakin-Boscov retirements and replaced, dollar for dollar, the money given to both men as part of their buyout package, Lakin said.

The opportunity to buy 10 properties from Federated Department Stores Inc. in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey - including five old Strawbridge's locations - was "a surprise."

Nobody would have imagined that in our lifetime," Lakin said, referring to the fact that Federated, which owns Macy's, would have gobbled up all those stores and then put so many on the block.

A few months later, in April 2006, Boscov's sold its credit card portfolio to HSBC Finance Corp. for a reported figure of $199 million. Retailers sell such assets to generate cash.

Boscov's swiftly renovated the 10 stores it bought. By year's end, it intended to have all open, raising Boscov's store count to 50 in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.

The company was unveiling its new mall-based department stores even as big-box retailers such as Target Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Kohl's Corp. were cropping up in freestanding sites and shopping centers.

Boscov's was determined to keep its affordable but old-school model in play - the kind of store where shoppers could buy wicker furniture, homemade fudge, furniture, clothes, toys and appliances all under one roof.

Boscov's adhered to this even though other family-owned department stores had abandoned the model before disappearing.

"There was Wanamaker's, there were a bunch of Strawbridges, there was a Snellenberg, there were the Lit Brothers, there were the Gimbel Brothers . . . There always was a family," said Philadelphia retail expert Brian Ford.

"Boscov's has found a way to move it from generation to generation," Ford said. Lakin said the company kept true to its traditional sales model because it continued to fare well.

"My uncle loved to say, you can keep throwing these departments out and send the customer down the mall to somebody else or across the street to somebody else," Lakin said, "or you can try to overcome the obstacles of providing those goods and services and find a way to do it."

Boscov's has seen its customers return - even if they have defected for a time to the big-box competition, he said.

"We've absorbed Wal-Marts and Targets and Kohl's and power centers and things like that," he said.

But taking on the debt to buy the additional stores has been a strain on the company - particularly over the last 12 months, as the national economy has deteriorated and taken consumer spending down with it.

Boscov's began to show cash-flow problems in February, said Bob Carbonell, chief credit officer at Bernard Sands L.L.C., which helps apparel manufacturers determine the creditworthiness of retailers.

Months later now, some of his clients are withholding shipments to Boscov's because they fear the retailer may not be able to pay for the merchandise in full down the road, he said.

"Bernard Sands has been advising its clients to hold shipments for several weeks now," Carbonell said.

The shipment logjam has spurred Boscov's to hunt for cash. The company needs to continue receiving merchandise to make it through the back-to-school season. Lakin said he began searching for private-equity investors after traditional lenders demurred.

Boscov's tried to assuage suppliers in March by announcing it had refinanced some debt, freeing up additional cash.

"I would say creditors saw that as a positive step at the time and perhaps expected more to come of it than what actually materialized," Carbonell said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boscov's Highlights
Key points in the recent history of the 97-year-old retailer:

January 2006: Al Boscov and Ed Lakin retire and cash out. Company recapitalizes to replenish buyout cash.

February: Buys 10 Strawbridge's, other old stores.

April: Sells credit card business for $199 million.

Fall 2007: Subprime crisis strikes U.S. economy.

Winter: Dismal shopping season hurts retailers.

February 2008: Suppliers begin to detect payment trouble.

March: Boscov's reassures vendors it has cash.

July: Some vendors stop delivering inventory.

Lenders rebuff requests for emergency financing.

Boscov's says it is looking for a private-equity deal.

Rumors swirl of potential bankruptcy.

vasiliymeshko

08-06-2008, 06:31 PM

I've gotten around to finally post part 3 (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=155563) of my NASCAR day adventures (photos from river commons) and also reorganized part 2 (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=155562) (downtown buildings) Hope you enjoy it.

donybrx

08-07-2008, 07:29 PM

Another project for Wilkes-Barre!

Mixed-use plan in works for bottling plant
BY NICHOLAS SOHR
STAFF WRITER
Published: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 4:11 AM EDT
A private developer has plans to transform the Stegmaier Bottling House on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard from a four-story warehouse into a mixed-use project, including residential units, a restaurant, retail space and an art gallery, according to written descriptions and blueprints filed in the city’s zoning office.

The six-story Nelson Furniture building next door would be demolished, according to the documents, and a two-story parking garage attached to the Bottling House would be built in its stead.

“It’s an exciting project,” said Mayor Tom Leighton on Tuesday night after a city council work session. “It just goes to show the city is moving in the right direction when you have development like that on the boulevard.”

Leighton deferred specific questions to the project’s developer, Greenspace Properties LLC. Documents filed with the zoning office seek a zoning variance on behalf of Greenspace, property owners Clifford and Ruth Melberger, and the city. Melberger and a Greenspace official did not return phone messages seeking comment Tuesday.

According to the documents, the inside of the Bottling House will be renovated to house 47 apartments, a 172-seat restaurant, an art gallery and two other retail spaces.

Leighton said the project, which he has been discussing with the developers for more than two years, could provide the impetus for more improvements to the area.

“Every time you have development of that magnitude, it spurs other development,” he said.

The two-story parking garage would be extended into the path now taken by Lincoln Street, which runs parallel to the boulevard behind the bottling house. The plans call for the city to cede almost 5,000 square feet to the development and wrap the final section of Lincoln Street around the garage.

Council will vote on the measure during Thursday’s meeting.

nsohr@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2052

(Please Note: I believe that it's the long, lower building on the photo's right......below)

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/captclint/stegmaier1.jpg

vasiliymeshko

08-08-2008, 02:44 AM

Nice to see hope for yet another forgotten lot. There is also a huge stretch of empty land across the whole Stegmaier complex, where Coal Street meets Wilkes-Barre Bouleverd (by the way, whatever happened to McGroarty's old plans to extend Coal Street to Union/Penna. Bouleverd intersection, and also make it 4 lanes all the way to Highland Park?). If I'm not mistaken, the lot also holds KOZ status. I've always imagined how a tall tower might look there.

vasiliymeshko

08-08-2008, 03:13 AM

Anyway, while looking online for any information as to what might have happened to coal Street plans, I came across a very interesting Times Leader article on history of Cross Valley Expressway.

July 16, 2007

Expressway had great economic, sociological impact on Valley

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/3699/cross3071520070l5t3jnxs6.jpg

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7945/cross4071520070l5svj3lh6.jpg
It all started as a rough sketch on a dinner napkin.

Thirty-three years after its inception, the Cross-Valley Expressway opened on Nov. 8, 1991.

Thirty-three years and more than $90 million later, the Cross-Valley Expressway stands as a testament to putting the area on maps as a metropolitan area, rather than just numerous small towns linked by one-way streets.
It’s a little over 2 miles of roadway that changed the face of the Wyoming Valley forever.

The completed roadway makes an easy connection for travelers coming from Interstate 81 or the Pennsylvania Turnpike and heading to downtown Wilkes-Barre, the West Side communities or the Back Mountain, or vice versa.

Take the long way home

In the mid-1950s, residents of the burgeoning Back Mountain area had quite a haul to Wilkes-Barre. From the winding Luzerne-Dallas Highway (which was built in the 1920s) through the congested, residential streets of Luzerne and Kingston, and over the decrepit metal-grate North Street Bridge (now the updated Veteran’s Memorial Bridge).

Not to mention truckers, coming into the area from Interstate 81 with a load to deliver, had to navigate an intricate web of residential streets, traffic lights, hills and signs, to get to downtown Wilkes-Barre.

There had to be a better way to get around the Wyoming Valley, said Edward Schecter, one of the original planners and former executive at the chamber of commerce.

An original design for the roadway was paved at a weekly breakfast meeting among friends.

“To get home we would have to wind our way across one of the bridges, drive through Kingston and other boroughs, find our way onto a windy road which led to our various homes,” Schecter said. “No one had a straight way to get to the Back Mountain.”

By the mid-’70s, after the Agnes Flood, people wanted to escape flood waters and move to higher ground, Schecter said.

“There was a flood of people moving to the Back Mountain,” he said. “The population doubled, possibly tripled.”

A direct route through the Valley was needed, he said.

Paved with red tape

On Oct. 15, 1958, the Luzerne County Planning Commission met and discussed extending the Luzerne-Dallas Highway, with a bridge across the Susquehanna River to link with state Routes 315 and 115.

But nothing came of the idea for several years because there was no way to communicate their intentions to the state, except through politicians.
In 1961, the state Department of Transportation approved a feasibility study. But by the end of the decade, not much else was accomplished except on paper: studies were done, public hearings were held, rights-of-way were acquired. But after that it was hurry up and wait.

Kingston’s Park Place neighborhood put up a pretty good opposition to the project, due to noise concerns. Also, funding issues moved the start date from 1966 to 1968 to 1969.

Other hurdles included inflation, environmental concerns and changing engineering requirements.

Build it and they will drive

After the project finally got under way, the state slashed highway funding. Now the Cross-Valley was on a pay-as-you-go plan.

In 1977, the first leg of the project, the bridge over the Susquehanna River, from Kingston to River Street in Plains Township, was complete. And in 1980, the bridge was linked to state Route 309 – the highway leading to the Back Mountain.

In 1984, a connector was added to connect Wilkes-Barre’s Conyngham Avenue – called the Downtown Distributor – that gave access to downtown Wilkes-Barre.
The only thing lacking was the 315-115 connector, from the Peach Orchard section of Wilkes-Barre. This would also give access to Interstate 81 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Northeast Extension.

The project stalled for several years. An alternative was proposed – the North Street Extension, which would run from North Street in Wilkes-Barre to state Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Township, similar to today’s Coal Street Expansion project.

The plan would have essentially cut the expressway in half, and much of the value of the roadway lost.

Finally in 1984, the state committed to finishing the Cross-Valley Expressway as originally designed.

And 33 years after its inception, the roadway opened on Nov. 8, 1991.
At one point, the roadway was added to part of State Route 309. After running concurrently with Interstate 81 for several miles, 309 exits onto the Cross-Valley. The route then continues northward as an arterial through Shavertown and Dallas, to its end at state Route 29 at Bowman Creek, south of Tunkhannock.

Kanjorski said the final section of highway was paved with 80 percent federal funding and 20 percent state funding.

Impact, economic and otherwise

“Almost immediately, we recognized an increase in truck traffic,” said Jeff Box, president and CEO of the Northeast Pennsylvania Alliance, a regional economic development agency.

When he was Kingston Township manager, Box remembers shortly after the Cross Valley was complete, he watched a car carrier full of new cars traveling down 309 – and all the cars on the carrier were covered with snow.
“We didn’t have snow in the area yet, so I knew those cars were coming from the Buffalo or Southern Canada area.”

It was obvious the Cross-Valley had become a shortcut to Interstate 81.
Back Mountain officials at the time were worried about the increase in traffic.
“Trucks aren’t going to stop as easily as cars,” said then Kingston Township Police Chief Paul Sabol at a 1991 meeting. “And it’s not going to be as easy to clean up the accidents.”

But on the flip side, Box said the economic impact of the roadway is massive.
“You can still live in relative countryside, relative suburbia atmosphere, and you’re a few minutes from the urban center and the shopping centers,” Box said.

U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, said he uses the Cross-Valley on a regular basis and it cuts his travel time in half. And he, he said, it opened up the area to development.

“The overall impact of the roadway was it made us realize how important infrastructure is,” Kanjorski said. “It helped market the Wyoming Valley and helped with manufacturing, industrial and office jobs. It helped add 25,000 jobs to the area.”

“Instead of being known as a lot of small towns, the Cross-Valley helped unify us and put us on the map as a major metropolitan area,” Kanjorski said.
Schecter agreed.

“There’s no question the Cross Valley changed the face of the Wyoming Valley.”

The lost exits

One quirk of the highway is the missing exit in both directions. Westbound on the Cross-Valley, you won’t find an Exit 5. Eastbound, you won’t find an Exit 4. But in both directions there’s an Exit 1, Exit 2, Exit 3 and Exit 6.
Drive to Dallas and you jump from Exit 4 to 6. Drive back to Wilkes-Barre and you jump from 5 to 3.

The answer’s easy, according to Times Leader archives.

Because Exit 4 puts you near Rutter Avenue in Kingston and Exit 5 lets you off at Wyoming Avenue.

All the other exits put you in the same place, regardless of which lane you’re leaving. If 4 and 5 both dumped you at the same point – Wyoming Avenue, say – then they would have the same number (4) and there would be one fewer exit (5 instead of 6).

Box predicts some changes to the Cross-Valley in the future.
He said a corridor study of the roadway is in the initial stages. He predicts intersection work, traffic signal modification and perhaps some widening.
And Kanjorski said the loop around the Wyoming Valley may one day be complete.

The Cross-Valley and South Cross-Valley on two sides, Interstate 81 on the other. The only thing missing is a freeway across the West Side.

“We may see that someday,” he said. “It would probably go along the river, along (U.S. Route) 11. Then the circle would be complete.”

MetroJunkie BJR

08-08-2008, 02:57 PM

Stegmeier building: Yes, dony, it is the low building on the right. The taller building is already in use as an office building.

Mr Dyed in the Wool NEPA-ite: The Coal Street plans are still "on the way" from what I've heard. I think 2009 is the start date.

Also, GREAT article about the Cross Valley Expwy!

MetroJunkie BJR

08-08-2008, 03:29 PM

This appeared a few days ago in The Times-Trib.
Good news for that corner of the city. Can't wait to see plans, renderings.

NJ Real Estate Company Makes Plans for Scranton

BY JAMES HAGGERTY
STAFF WRITER
Published: Friday, August 1, 2008 10:18 AM EDT

A New Jersey real estate company plans to erect a six-story building at a key downtown intersection.

“We like Scranton,” said Mike Sargenti, president of RSM Properties, Paramus, which bought the rundown building at Linden Street and Wyoming Avenue this week for $595,000 from Edward and Agnes Golden, of Scranton. “We think things are coming back. We’d like to be a part of it.”

RSM plans to level the building, which housed Markowitz Brothers newsstand and a shoe shine shop, and replace it with a six-story structure with a retailer on the first floor and apartments on the five upper floors. Demolition will start within a month, Mr. Sargenti said, but he would not disclose the estimated cost of the building or put a timetable on its construction.

The transaction reflects expanding interest in Central City real estate and a growing market for downtown residential space.

“There’s a lot of people that want to live downtown, and there’s nothing available,” said Charles Hibble, president of Weichert Realtors Hibble & Associates, who represented both parties in the sale.

“The success that our local investors and others have experienced here is being communicated well and attracting more investors,” said Austin Burke, president of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. “There are other outside investors currently looking at projects in the city as well.”

Mr. Sargenti has some familiarity with Scranton. RSM owned the Mercantile Building at Spruce Street and Penn Avenue from December 2006 until September, when it sold the property for $1.03 million to SA Realty Inc., which is headed by Sunita Aurora, broker/owner of One Source Realty, Clarks Summit.

“We’ve been looking ever since,” he said. “City life is coming back, not just in downtown Scranton, but everywhere.”

RSM’s pricey acquisition of a 70-foot-by160-foot lot with a building it will demolish demonstrates a strong market for downtown property.

“You can’t get a deal anywhere downtown,” Mr. Hibble said. “I’ve never seen this much energy and this much excitement focused on downtown.”

Some activity relates to the anticipation of the proposed Commonwealth Medical College, which is expected to open in the fall of 2009.

“The medical school is certainly an economic engine and a driver of our overall real estate spending for downtown,” Mr. Burke said. “The fact that the (real estate) market is tightening up and it’s difficult to find property is an indicator of the revitalization.”

Mr. Sargenti, whose company owns properties in five cities and has architectural and construction divisions, said the one- and two-bedroom apartments will be marketed to an upscale clientele.

“You’re going to see a hub of young professionals flock there, and we want to be part of it,” he said. “We know there’s a market out there for it.”

bucks native

08-09-2008, 01:34 PM

Nice find, Metro. Here's more:

Scranton Lace building project gets state boost

BY DAVID FALCHEK
STAFF WRITER

Published: Friday, August 8, 2008 12:54 PM EDT

An ambitious project to turn one of Scranton’s most notable buildings into housing, office and retail space received a $4.5 million jump-start from the state.

The Scranton Lace building — where New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s father once worked — and its patina-covered clock tower, it is hoped, will be transformed into a “mixed-use development” and revive the lower Green Ridge neighborhood.

The grant was announced by Gov. Ed Rendell during his 16-stop statewide tour doling out $82 million in new state investments in bridges, business development and community improvement projects in Lackawanna and Luzerne. As part of his bus tour, Mr. Rendell is announcing $642 million in new state investments in 25 counties that will leverage more than $1.3 billion in private and local investments to keep nearly 30,000 Pennsylvanians working.

Perhaps the best-known portion of the Scranton Lace project, spearheaded by Scranton Tomorrow and the Minneapolis-based Artspace Projects Inc., would provide 35 living and working spaces for artists.

Other aspects of the project include 250 market-rate apartments, a fitness center, restaurant and retail space. The project could start by late 2009, after improvements on the Lackawanna River levee are complete and more funding comes through, said Jody Cordaro, partner in the $69.5 million project.

The massive complex is more than 600,000 square feet. Minneapolis-based Artspace, which has developed 646 residential units in 15 buildings in other parts of the country, is interested in the three-story, 60,000-square-foot, J-shaped north side of the building.

Andrew Michaelson, a property development specialist with Artspace, said the group prefers historic industrial buildings because of their large windows, high ceilings and sound-dampening qualities.

Some other projects that Mr. Rendell announced Thursday include:

■ Jordan Gilmor Inc., Avoca, a software firm, received $91,000 to invest in equipment, leasehold improvements and job training for an office building under construction at the Landing Point Office Park at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.

■ $1.5 million for the Murray Complex in Wilkes-Barre, which is the former Hazard Wire Rope facility, to be redeveloped as 55 residential condo units and about 49,000 square feet of commercial/retail and restaurant space.

■ $4 million for the Stegmeier Bottling House in Wilkes-Barre to be converted into a mixed-use building, including commercial, retail, residential and parking.

JIM DINO, staff writer, contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

donybrx

08-11-2008, 08:54 PM

Interesting tidbit...Wilkes-Barre's thriving showbiz/ vaudeville past:

When there was no business like show business in Wilkes-Barre
BY WILLIAM C. KASHATUS
CORRESPONDENT

Published: Sunday, August 3, 2008 8:18 AM EDT

http://www.citizensvoice.com/articles/2008/08/03/lifestyles/wb_voice.
20080803.c.pg1.cv03cdkashatuscol_s1.1847455_fea1.txt

Three simple words that mark the beginning of a film production and ones that will hopefully inspire millions of moviegoers across the nation.

There is magic in the movies. If only for a few hours, the big screen draws viewers away from their ordinary lives to watch and relate to the experience of others in a detached but powerful way.

Some performances induce laughter, others bring tears. But the audience seems grateful for the opportunity to know the richness, the complexity and the irony of events without having to cope firsthand. Good movies, like good actors and actresses, afford viewers the rare opportunity to discover what is truly meaningful in their own lives.

Through the years, residents of the Wyoming Valley have enjoyed and admired several entertainers. Some of them were vaudevillians, who made personal appearances at Wilkes-Barre’s Poli’s Theater. Others performed on the silver screen at the Savoy or the Paramount on Public Square. Regardless of the venue, the performances have captured the imaginations of the audience and provided a respite from the challenges and struggles of everyday life in the hard coal region.

During the 1920s and early ’30s, Wilkes-Barre was a major vaudeville stop for some of the biggest stars, who traveled to a different major city each week of the year.

Poli’s Theater on South Main Street was the major venue.

Built in 1908 by S.Z. Poli, a New England theater owner, Poli’s had three shows a day and often sold out its 2,400-seat auditorium.

These live theatrical shows consisted of several short acts and typically included song and dance, comedy, acrobats, magicians and trained animals. They also cost very little to stage since there were few if any scene changes.

At a time when the hard coal industry was prospering, the wealthy as well as the working class enjoyed the money and leisure time for such inexpensive entertainment.

People flocked to Poli’s by the hundreds to catch such stars as Charlie McCarthy, Abbott and Costello, Amos and Andy, and the Dorsey Brothers. Many of the vaudevillians agreed that the local audience was notoriously demanding and that “if you could succeed in Wilkes-Barre, you could perform anywhere.”

If true, Bob Hope was among the greatest successes in the Wyoming Valley. Hope, who became America’s favorite comedian, originally performed at Wilkes-Barre in the mid-1920s in a song and dance act called the “Dancemedians” with partner George Byrne. Hope eventually went solo, developing a series of comedic skits that landed him a regular spot on national radio and, later, television.

George Burns and Gracie Allen were another popular vaudeville duo. Playing straight man to his wisecracking wife, Burns developed his trademark arched eyebrow and cigar smoking routine in the Wyoming Valley; these idiosyncrasies later played well on Broadway.

“Wilkes-Barre was the place to experiment,” said Burns. “If Gracie and I went to Wilkes-Barre and did a joke, whether it got a laugh or not wasn’t the point. We wanted to get the line right, so that when we got to New York we could tell the joke and get a fair reaction.”

In the mid-to-late 1930s, vaudeville gave way to the silver screen as dozens of small community theaters were built in the Wyoming Valley. While the smaller theaters showed second- or third-run films, the most recent releases premiered at the Comerford, the Savoy on Public Square, and the Capitol among Wilkes-Barre’s other large movie palaces.

Michael Comerford was the driving force behind the theater movement in Wilkes-Barre. A native of the Plymouth-Larksville area, Comerford believed the theater was “a distinct community institution,” and the theater owner, “a community leader.” After amassing a $20 million fortune in a chain of Northeastern Pennsylvania movie theaters, he turned his attention to Wilkes-Barre, where he established the Savoy, the Capitol, and his namesake, the Comerford, which opened Aug. 18, 1938.

The Comerford was an eye-catching art deco structure fronted with cream, lavender and blue terra cotta tile and highlighted by a brilliant, neon-lit marquee.

Inside, the theater boasted more than 1,800 seats and featured the most up-to-date facilities, including hearing-aide equipped seats, an advanced air-conditioning system and even a nursery staffed with a matron.

The lobbies were decorated with oval, rose-colored mirrors, tall, fluted columns, and solid bronze railings and doors. A pendant-chandelier — similar to the one in New York City’s Empire State Building — hung in the central lobby.

The Comerford was a place to take a date, go with friends, or go as a family. Valley residents flocked there in 1939 to see Clark Gable in the epic film, “Gone with the Wind.” Gable, in his most famous role, played Rhett Butler, a dashing Civil War firebrand who romanced Scarlett O’Hara, played by Vivien Leigh.

Again, in 1943, moviegoers turned out in record numbers to see Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca.” Bogart played Rich Blaine, a hard-pressed nightclub owner who walked a fine line between the Nazis and the French underground while romancing Ilsa Lund, played by Bergman.

Others preferred more family-oriented films like “It’s A Wonderful Life.” This 1946 classic starred Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, a small-town savings and loan operator who was down on his luck until he discovered how many lives he had touched.

Walt Disney’s first animated classic, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” (1937) attracted hundreds of the Valley’s children to the Comerford in 1944 when it was re-released.

These and other movie classics offered local residents a reprieve from the routine of everyday life and an ongoing topic of conversation. Young women tried to speak like Greta Garbo, or to hold a cigarette like Joan Crawford. Some even dyed their hair blond to look like Mae West.

Other sex goddesses of the silver screen like Marilyn Monroe with her breathy voice and shapely figure represented the fantasies of American males during the family-oriented 1950s. All of these film stars were introduced to the Wyoming Valley by Wilkes-Barre’s movie palaces.

The Comerford was the city’s largest movie venue and retained that status even after it was transferred to the Paramount Co. in 1949. But the “Paramount Theater,” like other single-screen cinemas across the nation, proved cost-ineffective.

By the mid-1970s, the Paramount was showing closed circuit boxing matches or rock concerts just to draw audiences. Unable to compete with more modern cinema complexes, the Paramount closed its doors in 1977.

Eight years later, the building was renovated and, in 1986, re-opened as the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, a venue that still continues the Wyoming Valley’s rich heritage of entertainment.

William Kashatus teaches history at Luzerne County Community College. He can be contacted at Bkashatus@luzerne.edu.Edward F. Hanlon and Paul Zbiek, “The Wyoming Valley: An American Portrait.” Sun Valley, Calif. American Historical Press, 2003.

Kurt Montz, “Wilkes-Barre Theater Legends,” Showbill (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.: F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, 1986), pp. 5-14.