New Scranton Photo Tour---West Side (Hyde Park/Providence) (Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton: crime, homes)

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by MovingBack2PA

Paul, I am a former resident of West Side, and stumbled over the great pic's...boy, does THAT bring back memories....*sigh*
However, I am not sure, if I am misunderstanding you....but, Catalano's is an Italian deli, home of the BEST italian hoogies (yes, it's a hoogie and NOT a sub!!!) you will ever find in the entire area, as well as a vast veriety of italian specialties!!!!
Pop in and try it...it is so worth it, and you will not be disappointed (if you appreciate and like italian food, that is)
They have been there for many, many years......and I had been going there since 1991, but from what I am told, have they been there way longer then that.
Anybody can add some info on that???

My bad! Sorry! I mixed-up Catalano's with another new Hispanic business in the neighborhood that I forgot to photograph! Even the dorkiest of us can make mistakes from time to time as well! LOL!

[MB2]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

My bad! Sorry! I mixed-up Catalano's with another new Hispanic business in the neighborhood that I forgot to photograph! Even the dorkiest of us can make mistakes from time to time as well! LOL!

That's ok, my friend....lol
But, you should STILL pop in and try it...just for the heck of it.....YUMMMMMMYYYYYY!!! LOL

[mm_mary73]

I think it's a shame that the old North Scranton Junior High is being allowed
to crumble into oblivion. It would be amazing as condos and such, but "what to do with it?" been going on for more years than I can recall off hand! Shameful. Anyway, saw my grandparents old neighborhood, my old boyfriend's, and looked for West Scranton High School - Paul, how could you forget ***sigh***

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Scranton is unique in that most of its neighborhoods each have their own business district, as opposed to just the city's main downtown area, about a mile away from Hyde Park.

I think this is probably due to the fact most of these neighborhoods were once separate from the city, back in the day, they were either another town or borough. Then they were eventually annexed or incorporated into the city itself, I know Hyde Park and Providence were two areas. That's why those two areas have their own "downtowns".

I was just thinking about all the different neighborhoods and old sections of the city and the ones I could come up with (I know there's more and some overlap):

North Scranton
East Scranton
South Scranton (South Side)
West Scranton (West Side)

Tripps Park
Hyde Park
West Park
Keyser Valley
Slocum Hollow
Lincoln Heights
Bellevue
The Flats
The Hill Section
The Plot
Pine Brook
Minooka
Green Ridge
East Mountain
Providence
Bull's Head
Midtown
Downtown/Center City

[ScranBarre]

There's also "Petersburg," which is a small, isolated neighborhood near the newer "Lofts @ The Mill" complex, more or less to the east of Heil's Place off of Wheeler Avenue near the Dunmore town line. I'm also quite curious as to what exactly delineates the "Upper Hill" from the "Lower Hill." I've always just assumed it was Harrison Avenue, as it is the busiest north-south thoroughfare that bisects the Hill Section. Oddly enough, the old mansion on the corner of Jefferson & Mulberry, which is being restored into a bed & breakfast by a NYC couple, (The Colonnade 401) , is often coined as the "Lower Hill," even though I always thought of that intersection as being "Center City." There's also "Lower Green Ridge," the flood-prone part of Green Ridge to the south of the Green Ridge Shopping Center.

Where exactly are the following neighborhoods, as I've never heard of them:

"The Flats"
"Lincoln Heights"
"Midtown" (as opposed to "Downtown/Center City")

It's just awesome to realize that our city has such a patchwork of unique little neighborhoods! We're just like a less-hilly Pittsburgh or a less-trendy NYC.

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Where exactly are the following neighborhoods, as I've never heard of them:

"The Flats"
"Lincoln Heights"
"Midtown" (as opposed to "Downtown/Center City")

The Flats would be just south of downtown and east of the Bellevue area of West Side. If you're coming down Washington past General Dynamics to the bottom of the hill where it is flat, that area is known as the flats, it's mostly commercial businesses located there, like the South Side shopping center and South Side Bowl and the Salvation Army. It's probably one the flatest parts of the city, hence the name. I would include it with "South Side" in the broader sense.

Lincoln Heights is in West Scranton, if you go along Main St. towards St. Ann's street, I think everything from Main St. east to 5th and then Colan Ct. north to Locust St. would be LH. Like I mentioned before a lot of these "neighborhoods" might overlap a street here of there.

Midtown is where they want to put the new Medical School, where Midtown apartments are located. So I would say everything north from Vine St. where Lackawanna College is, to Ash St. would be Midtown. I would say Midtown is bordered by the Downtown to the South, the lower Hill to the East, Capouse Neighborhood to the West, which is along the river and then Greenridge to the North. (Yes, I think Vine is the cutoff of Downtown going North, some might disagree)

The Hill is little tricky on what is lower and upper. I think Harrison might be a little too high, maybe Irving or Taylor might be closer to the dividing line. I might say that the "lower Hill" would be bounded by Jefferson, Linden, Taylor or Irving and then Gibson to the North (but that's just my humble opinion).

I think Downtown would be bounded by Jefferson, Vine, Mifflin and Lackawanna. I would say the Mansion on Jeff and Mul would be Center city, but if it was located on the other side of Jeff, I would say Lower Hill. Jefferson is probably the dividing line of the Lower Hill and downtown.

I think everything west of Sanderson would be Lower Green Ridge and everything East of that, Upper Green Ridge.

[MB2]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

The Flats would be just south of downtown and east of the Bellevue area of West Side. If you're coming down Washington past General Dynamics to the bottom of the hill where it is flat, that area is known as the flats, it's mostly commercial businesses located there, like the South Side shopping center and South Side Bowl and the Salvation Army. It's probably one the flatest parts of the city, hence the name. I would include it with "South Side" in the broader sense.

Lincoln Heights is in West Scranton, if you go along Main St. towards St. Ann's street, I think everything from Main St. east to 5th and then Colan Ct. north to Locust St. would be LH. Like I mentioned before a lot of these "neighborhoods" might overlap a street here of there.

Midtown is where they want to put the new Medical School, where Midtown apartments are located. So I would say everything north from Vine St. where Lackawanna College is, to Ash St. would be Midtown. I would say Midtown is bordered by the Downtown to the South, the lower Hill to the East, Capouse Neighborhood to the West, which is along the river and then Greenridge to the North. (Yes, I think Vine is the cutoff of Downtown going North, some might disagree)

The Hill is little tricky on what is lower and upper. I think Harrison might be a little too high, maybe Irving or Taylor might be closer to the dividing line. I might say that the "lower Hill" would be bounded by Jefferson, Linden, Taylor or Irving and then Gibson to the North (but that's just my humble opinion).

I think Downtown would be bounded by Jefferson, Vine, Mifflin and Lackawanna. I would say the Mansion on Jeff and Mul would be Center city, but if it was located on the other side of Jeff, I would say Lower Hill. Jefferson is probably the dividing line of the Lower Hill and downtown.

I think everything west of Sanderson would be Lower Green Ridge and everything East of that, Upper Green Ridge.

Good info...
The only thing I knew of what and where it was are the "Flats" and "Lincoln Heights".
I learned something today.....
Thank's.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

The Flats would be just south of downtown and east of the Bellevue area of West Side. If you're coming down Washington past General Dynamics to the bottom of the hill where it is flat, that area is known as the flats, it's mostly commercial businesses located there, like the South Side shopping center and South Side Bowl and the Salvation Army. It's probably one the flatest parts of the city, hence the name. I would include it with "South Side" in the broader sense.

Lincoln Heights is in West Scranton, if you go along Main St. towards St. Ann's street, I think everything from Main St. east to 5th and then Colan Ct. north to Locust St. would be LH. Like I mentioned before a lot of these "neighborhoods" might overlap a street here of there.

Midtown is where they want to put the new Medical School, where Midtown apartments are located. So I would say everything north from Vine St. where Lackawanna College is, to Ash St. would be Midtown. I would say Midtown is bordered by the Downtown to the South, the lower Hill to the East, Capouse Neighborhood to the West, which is along the river and then Greenridge to the North. (Yes, I think Vine is the cutoff of Downtown going North, some might disagree)

The Hill is little tricky on what is lower and upper. I think Harrison might be a little too high, maybe Irving or Taylor might be closer to the dividing line. I might say that the "lower Hill" would be bounded by Jefferson, Linden, Taylor or Irving and then Gibson to the North (but that's just my humble opinion).

I think Downtown would be bounded by Jefferson, Vine, Mifflin and Lackawanna. I would say the Mansion on Jeff and Mul would be Center city, but if it was located on the other side of Jeff, I would say Lower Hill. Jefferson is probably the dividing line of the Lower Hill and downtown.

I think everything west of Sanderson would be Lower Green Ridge and everything East of that, Upper Green Ridge.

Yes, that's it! Until the Army Corp of Engineers fixed the river, the "flats" ALWAYS flooded. I agree with your upper/lower Hill section - when I was doing floral delivery during the winter, my uncle referred to the streets as upper/lower etc. and I remembered where I was going!!!!!!

[asdf]

Great pics. I remember going into catalano's (Italian) deli since the early 1970's, and it was old then. I recently visited Scranton and stopped in for one of their 99 cent italian hoagies. You can't beat that. That place still has a poignant smell of parmesan cheese. (God, I hope its the cheese).

Hyde Park pictures are great, but you totally skipped the famous and historic St. Ann's Monastery Shrine in the Lincoln Heights part of West Side. If you continue to travel south on Maine Avenue towards Taylor, you would see it majestically perched on a hill, on St. Ann's Street. That place is really hopping in early to mid July, around the feast of St. Ann when the novena to st. Ann occurs. This novena attracts busloads and busloads of people. The shrine is really beautiful and the stories about the "miracles" are great. You really need to experience (religion aside) to get a feel for the region.

The story of the novena gives great insight into people of the area. It was an area populated by miners (some obvious "company houses" on Sloan St.) The land around the area was very unstable because of all of the mining underneath. The new church (St. Ann's) was at risk of "caving in". The parishoners (many of Irish descent) prayed a novena to St. Ann. The church still stands, and the novena is now a yearly event, patronized by thousands. They serve refreshments on the monastery grounds. Don't leave without getting some potatoe pancakes to go.

[Sukie]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Good afternoon everyone! It's another sunny, happy day in NEPA! The birds are chirping, there's a gentle breeze, and although my allergies have my eyes watering like a faucet, I still managed to swallow an Alavert and head on up to what has now become one of my favorite parts of Scranton---"The West Side."

I'll admit that before today I was only familiar with North Main Avenue, which is the "downtown" area of West Side. I had never ventured up and down the many side streets to get a true "feel" for the residential neighborhoods of the area, and I just based my assumptions of West Side on what I had been told by others. Now, I can see that West Side is actually a much, much nicer area, overall, than what I had been lead to believe, and I hope you all grow to love it just as much as well! Prior to the tour I envisioned West Side to be nothing but a bunch of ugly little white aluminum-sided, run-down homes cramped on top of each other, as is commonplace in Scranton's "Upper South Side," Pittston, and "The Heights" area of Wilkes-Barre. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find a wide variety of different architectural styles and eras represented, with most of the homes being generously-sized for an inner-city neighborhood, and 90% of them being very well-kept (even though I did run into a seedy, run-down area along Theodore Street near some high-voltage power lines and a noisy freeway underpass that turned my stomach sour).

If ConorsDad is happy to call this neighborhood home, then I can see that he and I both get along so well on here because we have such similar tastes. In fact, West Side is still within walking distance to Downtown Scranton, and I'd be more than happy to consider purchasing my first starter home in Hyde Park instead of the Lower Hill if one became available. I saw throngs of homes for sale all over West Side, which worried me a bit; perhaps "WeLuvPA" is right in that most Scrantonians are fleeing due to their hatred of the city. Even the home of a guy I went on a few dates with---a charming little Cape Cod-style home with great city views directly across the street from the Howard Gardner School---is on the market!

This is by far my largest photo tour yet (over 130 images), so please allow me to post all of them before interjecting with replies. I have barely scratched the surface of this wonderful part of the city, but after spending more than three hours walking non-stop in flip-flops, I began to get sore feet. I wanted to also snap a photo of West Scranton High School, but that didn't happen, so I'll instead insert an aerial image of it from the internet that was taken by WNEP-TV's "Skycam 16" helicopter.

Enjoy!


Welcome back to Scranton---The Electric City!

(PHOTOS TO BE CONTINUED BELOW)

SWB: I noticed in one of your posts that you hope to run for mayor someday. If I should find myself in Scranton at that time, you'll get my vote. What an eloquent, dedicated NEPAtonian you are!

I have a question for the group. There's an outside chance I might move to Scranton. Does anyone know anything about the little area east of 81 and west of Lake Scranton? Right off the railroad? Is that a desolate area? Just curious if housing is in an iffy area over there. (I've never been to Scranton--just am perusing housing options online so have little "actual" context.)

Thanks to anyone with information!