Wow! What an awesome experience! You folks on City-Data truly missed out on a wonderful opportunity to see the breathtaking insides of some of the most ornate homes in the "Garden Village."
I was actually shocked by the turnout. There must have been literally
hundreds of people swarming the town to appreciate all this fine day had to offer. Since this event likely raked in a few thousand dollars for the West Pittston Historical Society, I'm certain this will likely become an annual fund-raiser, and I look forward to seeing twelve different sites featured next year.
For those of you that missed out on the fun, I took the liberty of snapping about fifty photos on my journey today to help bring the "Garden Village" into your living rooms.
Enjoy!
1.) 31 Exeter Avenue, Abena Residence
Exterior of the home, which is currently on the market (Attn: Wealthy New Yorkers/New Jersians seeking Mayberry in PA!)
The circular side drive, which features a fountain and a vintage Range Rover. The stucco home in the background is also on the market.
First-floor fireplace.
Second-floor bedroom.
This impressive loft-style master suite encompasses the entire third floor of this historic home.
The view out the window of the third-floor master suite.
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2.) 101 York Avenue, Scalzo Residence
The home's impressively-restored exterior, featuring striking stone work. My sister, Amy, is on the right.
The side yard pool, accented by my aunt and uncle from Atlanta.
The impressive Civil War-era gun collection owned by the Scalzo family is prominently mounted on the wall of the foyer tower.
The "game" room.
I was freaking my aunt and sister out with stories about the deer heads coming back to life and attacking. LOL!
An awesome 200-year-old tree (older than the town itself) rises prominently between this home and the next-door neighbors' residence.
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3.) 100 Luzerne Avenue, Geisinger Residence
Exterior of this impressive home, which used to house a doctor's office, as well as a gentleman's club in the early 20th-Century. We were dismayed to learn that the house is rarely-occupied, as the homeowner is often in his second home in Stroudsburg.
Entering the foyer, one would be remiss to not take note of the beautiful woodwork featured on the ceiling and stairway.
This dining room had some funky wallpaper.
An apparent guest bedroom.
A beautiful marble second-floor bathroom.
Two images of the second-floor sunroom.
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4.) 406 Susquehanna Avenue, Recupero Funeral Home
The impressive exterior of the home-turned-funeral home, which was originally built for a wealthy Pittston banker who moved to the region from Scotland. I was especially fond of the large Corinthian columns.
The second-floor is occupied by the owners and is correspondingly roped off, but I managed to sneak a peak up the stairs to snap an image of this gorgeous stained glass window.
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5.) 704 Susquehanna Avenue, Melberger Residence
The patriotic exterior of this riverfront home was very inviting. The residence is owned by the family who owns Diversified Information Technologies in Scranton.
I just had to take a picture of this unique rear stairway, located in the kitchen.
Yes, I AM a fan of stairways, as can be seen by an image of the home's primary front stairway. Living in a ranch home, I miss having two stories very dearly and can't wait to live in a historic two-story of my own in Scranton's Hill Section in the upcoming years.
I took a keen liking to the stained-glass in the top of this Dutch door.
Shown here is the mule statue purchased by Mr. Clifford Melberger for his residence. Originally from the "Miles of Mules" art project, which littered the metroplex with all sorts of the colorful stone creatures, these were eventually auctioned off for charity. A similar one in Downtown Scranton was recently stolen and smashed by some uneducated people with no appreciation for the arts.
While traversing the manor's elegantly-appointed and lushly-landscaped grounds, I came across the opportunity to photograph two Monarch butterflies.
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6.) 303 Philadelphia Avenue, Dowse Residence
The home's exterior. Seated on the front porch was a professor of mine at King's College, who I didn't realize was also a new resident of the Garden Village and a budding member of its historical society.
Here are some built-in bookshelves. Overall, this home proved to be quite a disappointment as compared to others we have been in. A lot of the original history and character of the home had been compromised over the years, and it was almost gut-wrenching to see the sorry effects of a lot of botched remodeling jobs over the years, including some unimpressive molding in the rear family room. The only saving grace to the home was being able to secretly gawk at a large graduation photo of the couple's rather attractive son.
Otherwise we really couldn't determine why this home was on the tour.
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7.) 502 Susquehanna Avenue, Vough Residence
The home's very attractive exterior.
Awesome stained glass windows highlighted the first landing of the stairway in the foyer.
I just love taking random photos of my sister when she least expects it! LOL!
I was eyeing up that awesome grand piano in the side parlor.
The scalloped clapboard shingles on this home deserved a closer look.
Here's the view of the river the homeowners get to enjoy. It's absolutely marvelous except for when the river rises and flows right into their homes.
The frequent flooding is probably the primary reason why the borough's population continues to decline.
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8.) River Shores, Delaney Residence
Shown here is one of the newest homes in West Pittston. This home was built as a primary residence for the developer of the adjacent River Shores gated community, but we recently learned that he will soon be putting this royal beauty onto the market to move into another larger home he is building just down the street.
I took this picture of the lower-level half-bath to showcase the funky wallpaper.
The luxurious master suite bathroom.
A view from the second-floor fitness room down into the living room below.
This photo was taken from the second-story catwalk and highlights the full two-story wall of windows in the living room that was designed to overlook the river.
A second-floor "Jack and Jill" bathroom is wedged between two more bedrooms. Those elevated sink basins are apparently the modern rage in bathroom renovation.
I know this photo is a bit blurred, but this is actually a double-vertical ceiling fan suspended from the vaulted ceiling in the living room with a snake figurine in the center. It truly had to be seen to be appreciated.
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9.) Wyoming & Montgomery Avenues, First Methodist Church
The church's striking exterior, which is visible from miles away in the valley's upper east side.
The church's interior. We couldn't stay for long, as a nearby high school reunion for the West Pittston High School was coming in for a special reunion service, as one of the class members' father was a minister at the church.
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10.) Montgomery Avenue & Spring Street, Trinity Episcopal Church
(Did not visit---sorry!)
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11.) Exeter Avenue & Warren Street, First Presbyterian Church
The church's impressive stone exterior.
The interior of the church, which was amongst the most striking I've ever been in here in Greater Pittston. Another wing of the church hosted various historical trinkets and items to browse through, along with some historians and authors to converse with.
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12.) 200 Exeter Avenue, West Pittston Library
The West Pittston Library was the "home base" of sorts for the tour, with various trinkets and refreshments available. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with some of the little old ladies inside about the borough's vibrant history. I also enjoyed the historic pictures of Downtown Pittston that were on display; apparently Pittston wasn't always such a run-down, poverty-infested town after all. On the contrary it used to be a THRIVING place!
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Well, I hope you enjoyed seeing what you all missed here in the gorgeous "Garden Village," which is, in my opinion, one of the nicest communities in NEPA. Be sure to come next year!
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