Wilkes-Barre Photo Tour (Part One) (Scranton, Kingston: middle-class, loft, condominiums)

[ScranBarre]

Good afternoon everyone! Well, my 8 AM science class down at King's was actually canceled today, so I instead decided to set out on foot to take some photos of Wilkes-Barre. Here you'll find my first 100 photos of what will be several photo tours to come to highlight some of Wilkes-Barre's most-attractive areas. As you can see, I did take your poll results to heart, as Wilkes-Barre, at the time, was leading the pack with three votes! LOL! If you haven't done so already, please check out my poll in the other thread and cast your vote for what area you'd like to see presented on here on Thursday. If Wilkes-Barre is still in the lead, then I'll likely head to the Parsons/Miners Mills neighborhoods of North Wilkes-Barre to snap some photos. If another area should happen to come along and break the Diamond City's lead, then that area will instead be photographed.

Here's a little background information on Wilkes-Barre. The city has a population of slightly over 40,000 residents and is the county seat of Luzerne County, which is home to over 300,000 residents. Together with its sister city of Scranton, about 18 miles to the north, both cities serve as the commercial hubs of a metropolitan area of over 600,000 people. The city recently celebrated the bicentennial of its incorporation as a city in 2006, even though it was settled back in the 1700s. A former coal mining boom town, Wilkes-Barre was, at one point, one of the wealthiest communities in America. After the Knox Mine Disaster in 1959 toppled the local mining industry, the economy in the city began to decline. In 1972, Hurricane Agnes stalled out over the Wyoming Valley, sending the Susquehanna River flooding over its banks and displacing hundreds of thousands in the area. Between 1972-1990s, Wilkes-Barre continued to decline and fall into disrepair, as crime began to increase, the malls destroyed downtown merchants, and suburban housing developers began sucking up the city's middle-class. Recently, Mayor Tom Leighton has been quite successful in restoring civic pride in the city through his "I Believe" campaign. New growth is occurring all over the city, and there's a definite sense of optimism again throughout the city. While crime still remains an issue in the city, many blighted properties are giving way to new retail ventures, restaurants, loft housing, etc. I still haven't fully-decided myself as to whether or not I'll be settling in the Hill Section of Scranton or the Wilkes University area of South Wilkes-Barre, as both areas have won my heart over. I hope you enjoy my photo tour as much as I enjoyed taking these photos!

P.S. Since uploading these photos may take quite some time, please hold off on your comments for approximately one half-hour after I post this first message that you're reading right now, as 100 photos is quite an undertaking. I just don't want the photos to be interrupted by a couple of other replies that will become lost in the middle.

[ScranBarre]

The Stegmaier Building along Wilkes-Barre Boulevard sits majestically at the eastern gateway to downtown, near the intersection with Coal Street.




Here you can see progress well underway on the Hotel Sterling project, in which CityVest, a local non-profit downtown revitalization organization, is rehabilitating the historic corner structure of this long-vacant eyesore into 50 condominiums, office space, and ground-level retail boutiques and restaurants. You can see crews hard at work to dismantle the old multi-story tower behind the corner building, which was crumbling beyond repair.




Work is well underway on the massive improvements to the Susquehanna River waterfront. The county is currently developing a "RiverWalk", which can be accessed through two large portals in the levee wall and will be host to a park-like setting along the serene riverside. Future plans also call for the "calming" of River Street with a center-lane tree lawn, along with various sculptures, exhibits, etc. Work should be completed by 2008, and this new project, along with the Sterling project directly across River Street, should both add to the improving liveability of the Diamond City. Note the Luzerne County Courthouse, which is the large domed building in the distance along River Street.




Just a sampling of the many historical markers located throughout the downtown area and along the riverfront.




A few photos I've snapped of the city at various times over the past few months from the upper-stories of the buildings here on the campus of King's College.


Two large gargoyles of eagles proudly adorn the entrance to the Market Street Bridge, which is one of two bridges that connects Wilkes-Barre with its inner suburbs of Kingston and Forty Fort on the "West Side" of the Susquehanna River.

[ScranBarre]

Some of the historic structures along River Street, between the Hotel Sterling and the campus of Wilkes University.


This building located along River Street houses the engineering department of Wilkes University, along with the very popular Sordoni Art Gallery.



The Dorothy Dickson Darte Center on the campus of Wilkes University, which has hosted such notables as Colin Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and John Edwards, among various concerts, artist meet & greets, etc.


A lousy image of the Luzerne County Courthouse I snapped while driving by in heavy commuter traffic along River Street. I'll be showcasing this absolutely-breathtaking structure, along with, hopefully, some pictures of the interior, in future photo tours of Wilkes-Barre.

[ScranBarre]

Some of the various structures in and around South Franklin Street and Wilkes University.


My favorite home in the entire city, located along South Franklin Street!

[ScranBarre]

Some more residential scenes, namely from along Riverside Drive.






A few of the many historic houses of worship in and around Center City.


The Kirby Health Center, located along North Franklin Street near the campus of King's College.





A few more images of North Franklin and West Union Streets near the campus of King's College.

[ScranBarre]

A few more tidy South Wilkes-Barre streetscapes.


This cute little home currently on the market in the neighborhood caught my eye. I can picture my future partner and I living here and walking all over the downtown to various conveniences.


Some see images like this one and think "blight." I see potential. Could anyone else picture themselves fixing up this former showplace and having themselves a true "diamond in the rough?"


Well, that's it for the first photo tour of Wilkes-Barre, but I haven't even touched the surface of all this fine city has to offer. There's still the Diamond City Entertainment District, Parsons/Miners Mills, the "Heights", and the "West Side" to show you all, along with many others, for what should be a grand total of well over 1,000 images. Please tell me what you think! Should I continue these photo tours, or are they "getting old?"

[stevo6]

Thanks SWB. I love the tours, however in this case I think you've missed some key views, specifically around Public Square. But keep it up- its very helpful in giving one an impression of a place.

[DeLorean]

looks good, I enjoy the tours, I often find I'm talking to myself saying "aah, yeah I have seen that, or yep, I agree I like that one too"

Personally, I would expand the tours a little bit. I know you like to take pictures of the really nice and impressive houses, but I like to see the big "fixer uppers" too. I think those are the ones where you can get a real bang for your buck. I love seeing some of the great old houses around the city that are in need of fixing up, I think it's so neat how a house that looks pretty rough in just a few months time can be totally restored to it's former grandeur, and often times this is the cheaper route to take than just buying one that's already in good shape.

Anyway, keep up the good work, I love the photo tours!

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by stevo6

Thanks SWB. I love the tours, however in this case I think you've missed some key views, specifically around Public Square. But keep it up- its very helpful in giving one an impression of a place.

Thanks Steve. Well, as I said, this was just the first in several photo tours of Wilkes-Barre that I'll be posting. I have Public Square on the agenda, as well as the new entertainment district on South Main & Northampton, Parsons, Miners Mills, the Heights, and the West Side. The city is simply far too massive to cover in just one lone tour.

[ScranBarre]

I just wanted to "bump" this thread back to the first page so it could potentially garner more interest. I've now had several inquiries about Wilkes-Barre, and I wanted to make sure that they could easily find this thread when browsing around, and that I could easily find it when I choose to add part two on (which should be next week if this brutal cold snap ever abates!)