New Photo Tour---Nay Aug Park, Scranton (Erie, Wilkes-Barre: tax, live, moving to)

[weluvpa]

The fishing resort I ran the marina at was destroyed by Ivan and I had lost my job for about a year and I wasn't working on any boats and i own my house up here so I came home and I decided to settle down abit. I still run down here and there for boat jobs when the oppurtunity pops up. I have my USCG Captains license and do deliveries and such when I can.... I just miss the Florida fishin soo much.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

You don't have to allude to a move to the city of Scranton just to try to score brownie points with me! LOL! I'll be glad to help you even if you decide to move to that cul-de-sac wasteland they call South Abington (trying not to sound too bitter! LOL!) !

How about if I choose Glenmaura???

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by mm_mary73

How about if I choose Glenmaura???

I'll still love ya, assuming you demonstrate your three-story grand chandelier's motorized ascender/descender! I saw a house there not to long ago for a mere $4.9 million; I'm sure you could swing that! LOL!

[in2dadark]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

The fishing resort I ran the marina at was destroyed by Ivan and I had lost my job for about a year and I wasn't working on any boats and i own my house up here so I came home and I decided to settle down abit. I still run down here and there for boat jobs when the oppurtunity pops up. I have my USCG Captains license and do deliveries and such when I can.... I just miss the Florida fishin soo much.

Alot of my fishing clients got wiped out by the net ban. One moved to Alabama and became a chicken farmer. Others went pro with their drinking.

I understand you can make alot of money w/ a capatians lic.

I'm sure Tiger Woods, who not too long ago bought a place on Jupiter Island, would need a driver

[weluvpa]

The $$ is good but I was never home and my son just wasn't seeing me enough so I deided to settle down and now I only go on the jobs that are worth it?

[Mark Z]

Originally posted by Princess Sunflower

[quote] My dad's family is from Scranton and we used to go back and visit the relatives every summer and go to Nay Aug Park. My dad was actually a life guard at the pools when he was younger and tell us stories of jumping into the gorge. Wasn't there an old bridge that went across from one side of the gorge to the other? [quote]

Yes, there was a bridge and I remember it from the early and mid 1950s. Originally it served as the entrance to the Luna Park amusement park that was located on the other side of the gorge from 1906(?) until 1916, the year it burned down. There was even a ‘roller coaster’ type ride that went under the bridge on the other side of the gorge. There is also a published booklet, available from somewhere/someone in Scranton, that has the history of Luna Park with old pics of the place. At this time, there were a handful of ‘LUNA PARKS’ in the east. I am not sure but they were probably owned and operated by the same company.

You can check ebay item # 150104301708 for a an old postcard that shows what the entrance looked like way back then.

Regards,

Mark Z.

[Princess Sunflower]

If my Dad told me about Luna Park, I've forgotten about it. The postcard is awesome. Thanks Mark Z.

[Mark Z]

Posted by Princess Sunflower:

[quote]If my Dad told me about Luna Park, I've forgotten about it. The postcard is awesome. [quote]

You’re welcome. I have no doubt your dad never mentioned Luna Park. Neither did anyone in my family (from the Bulls Head section of Scranton) mention it to me. The reason, I believe, is that the park had a short life and existed 100 years ago. Its short existence, to most Scrantonians, was simply ‘lost to time.’ I may have the date of its demise incorrect though. Luna Park may have actually burned down as early as 1911-1912. So, its life was very short – 5 to possibly 10 years.

I only found out about Luna Park about 10 years ago. My curiosity got the better of me and I had wondered why was there a bridge to seemingly ‘nowhere’ at Nay Aug Park. With a little ‘detective work,’ I discovered that Luna Park was on the other side of the gorge in the early 20th century.

I may be imagining (or have dreamed) this but I could swear that in the early 1950s, cars were allowed over this bridge to the other side of the gorge. The bridge, being a footbridge, was only wide enough to allow one-way traffic. A traffic officer handled the traffic from one side to the other and vice-versa. But again, this may be my wild imagination, and fading memory, getting the better of me.

The booklet I referenced yesterday is available from the Lackawanna Historical Society, 232 Monroe Ave., Scranton, PA 18510-2104. The phone is (570) 344-3841. Jack Hiddlestone chronicles the complete history of this park in the book Scranton Luna Park.

The following link provides a little more history about Luna Park with some pictures

http://www.defunctparks.com/parks/PA...ton/lunasc.htm

The Nay Aug Park ‘gorge’ entrance was one of the two entrances to the park. The other entrance was on the far side of the park via a trolley ride up from the valley. Despite the trolley ride, it still entailed a 1/3 mile walk to this other entrance.

At any given time, you can find postcards of Luna Park on ebay by simply typing in the keywords ‘Luna Park Scranton’ in the search field. For the other Luna Parks, simply key in the keywords ‘Luna Park’

As an aside, many amusement parks in the late 19th and early 20th century were termed ‘Trolley Parks’ in that they were built and owned by trolley/interurban companies. The reason that trolley companies got involved in the amusement park business was strictly that, business. More specifically, trolley companies had adequate revenue from Monday to Friday but on the weekends, very few people rode the trolleys and revenues dropped sharply these two days. To fill this ‘void’ and stimulate sales, trolley companies built amusement parks that were in or close to their home base in the hopes that many people would visit their amusement parks. Both Luna Park and Rocky Glen were ‘trolley parks’ as were dozens and dozens of other amusement parks that existed, mostly in the east, during this time period. In many cases, the only, easy and cheap way to get to these parks, prior to automobiles and / or the wide ownership of automobiles by the average person, was by trolley and or interurbans.

[hey-mom]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Hello everyone! Today, after the roads were plowed from this morning's fresh snowfall (Scranton just received its first inch!) , I decided to head on up to Nay Aug Park in Scranton to take some photos of a winter wonderland oasis nestled within the city's Hill Section. I hope you enjoy the tour as much as I enjoyed being out in this beautiful wintry weather! (You'd all better give me some feedback, as I slipped on the ice and fell flat on my rear-end four times trying to get down the hillside to the gorge!)


The Everhart Museum sits prominently at the entrance to Nay Aug Park at the end of Mulberry Street in the city's "Upper Hill" neighborhood.



Some residential scenes from along Arthur Avenue, across the street from Nay Aug Park.


A replica of a working mine shaft in Scranton.



The "Pioneer" trolley.



Some of the park's beautiful scenery. In the Spring, the gardens and landscaping is even more breathtaking.


Another upcoming amenity to the park.


The amusement park that is quite popular in the warmer months.


The large public pool and water slides.


The trailhead of the Davis Trail, which leads visitors down to the breathtaking Nay Aug Gorge.


Footprints (and pawprints), show that this park is friendly to residents and their pampered pooches alike!


An overlook down to an old railroad tunnel.


The overlook was built right around two large trees, including this one.


This is the infamous freakin' bench that I tripped over while trying to back up for a better shot! STUPID BENCH!







The breathtaking beauty and serenity of the Nay Aug Gorge and Roaring Brook Waterfall, which provided me with the perfect setting for a romantic embrace with my ex....sigh!



The Hanlon Pavillion.



The Genesis Wildlife Center.

Well, I hope you'll be inclined now to check out the beauty of Nay Aug Park the next time you're here in the Electric City!

Oh my gosh- I just found this site and just saw these pictures. Brought back loads of memories. I grew up in the Hill section and lived at Nay Aug from the time the snow melted until it returned. The zoo, the amusement park, the pool, the biking, the falls, etc. If anyone has pictures from the 70's or early 80's, I would love them. I never took pictures up there, but my memory has tons of them. Thanks a bunch. I can't wait to visit this summer. I moved after I graduated from high school-the old Central High-no longer there either.

[hey-mom]

[quote=Mark Z;502157]Posted by Princess Sunflower:

[quote]If my Dad told me about Luna Park, I've forgotten about it. The postcard is awesome.

You’re welcome. I have no doubt your dad never mentioned Luna Park. Neither did anyone in my family (from the Bulls Head section of Scranton) mention it to me. The reason, I believe, is that the park had a short life and existed 100 years ago. Its short existence, to most Scrantonians, was simply ‘lost to time.’ I may have the date of its demise incorrect though. Luna Park may have actually burned down as early as 1911-1912. So, its life was very short – 5 to possibly 10 years.

I only found out about Luna Park about 10 years ago. My curiosity got the better of me and I had wondered why was there a bridge to seemingly ‘nowhere’ at Nay Aug Park. With a little ‘detective work,’ I discovered that Luna Park was on the other side of the gorge in the early 20th century.

I may be imagining (or have dreamed) this but I could swear that in the early 1950s, cars were allowed over this bridge to the other side of the gorge. The bridge, being a footbridge, was only wide enough to allow one-way traffic. A traffic officer handled the traffic from one side to the other and vice-versa. But again, this may be my wild imagination, and fading memory, getting the better of me.

The booklet I referenced yesterday is available from the Lackawanna Historical Society, 232 Monroe Ave., Scranton, PA 18510-2104. The phone is (570) 344-3841. Jack Hiddlestone chronicles the complete history of this park in the book Scranton Luna Park.

The following link provides a little more history about Luna Park with some pictures

http://www.defunctparks.com/parks/PA...ton/lunasc.htm

The Nay Aug Park ‘gorge’ entrance was one of the two entrances to the park. The other entrance was on the far side of the park via a trolley ride up from the valley. Despite the trolley ride, it still entailed a 1/3 mile walk to this other entrance.

At any given time, you can find postcards of Luna Park on ebay by simply typing in the keywords ‘Luna Park Scranton’ in the search field. For the other Luna Parks, simply key in the keywords ‘Luna Park’

As an aside, many amusement parks in the late 19th and early 20th century were termed ‘Trolley Parks’ in that they were built and owned by trolley/interurban companies. The reason that trolley companies got involved in the amusement park business was strictly that, business. More specifically, trolley companies had adequate revenue from Monday to Friday but on the weekends, very few people rode the trolleys and revenues dropped sharply these two days. To fill this ‘void’ and stimulate sales, trolley companies built amusement parks that were in or close to their home base in the hopes that many people would visit their amusement parks. Both Luna Park and Rocky Glen were ‘trolley parks’ as were dozens and dozens of other amusement parks that existed, mostly in the east, during this time period. In many cases, the only, easy and cheap way to get to these parks, prior to automobiles and / or the wide ownership of automobiles by the average person, was by trolley and or interurbans.

I lived directly across from what was Luna Park from the late 70's until my parents sold their home in 2002. Go to Elmhurst Blvd (directly across from 60 Elmhurst Blvd) and there was a large rock about 10 feet off the road. There was a plaque on it with information of Luna Park. My father had told me about it when I was younger. I have not been then since they left Scranton, so I am not sure if the large rock/plaque is still there. There were even reminents of buildings way back in the woods there.