Editing Scranton, Pennsylvania (section)

===20th century===
[[File:Washington Avenue, Scranton, PA.jpg|thumb|A 1907 illustration of Washington Avenue]]
[[File:Burning Culm Dump, Scranton, PA.jpg|thumb|Burning [[Spoil tip|culm]] dump, {{Circa|1908}}]]
[[File:Old Post Office, Scranton, PA.jpg|thumb|right|Scranton's old post office in 1911]]
[[File:The National geographic magazine (Page 377) BHL40563374 (cropped).jpg|thumb|City Hall and Soldiers Monument, {{Circa|1919}}]]
[[File:WyomingAveGlobeStore.jpg|thumb|The Globe Store near Wyoming and Lackawanna Avenues in 1978]]
[[File:Scranton, Pennsylvania, restored historic Electric City sign by Carol Highsmith (LOC highsm.04369).jpg|thumb|The Historic Electric City sign, restored in 2008]]
The landmark [[Coal strike of 1902]] was called by anthracite miners across the region and led by the [[United Mine Workers]] under [[John Mitchell (United Mine Workers)|John Mitchell]]. The strike was settled by a compromise brokered by President [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. A statue of John Mitchell was installed in his honor on the grounds of the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton, "the site of the Coal Strike of 1902 negotiations in which President Roosevelt participated. Because of the significance of these negotiations, the statue and the Courthouse were added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1997. John Mitchell is buried in Cathedral Cemetery in Scranton."<ref>{{cite news|author=Sarah Scinto|title=Labor leader's grave restored|url=http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/labor-leader-s-grave-restored-1.1577236|publisher=Scranton Times-Tribune|date=October 30, 2013|access-date=December 16, 2016|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220143732/http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/labor-leader-s-grave-restored-1.1577236|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the [[1900 United States census]], the population of Scranton was about 102,026, making it the third-largest city in Pennsylvania and 38th-largest U.S. city at the time.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42/4269000.html|title=Scranton(city) QuickFacts|access-date=July 24, 2007|archive-date=July 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729083731/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42/4269000.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
At the turn of the 20th century, wealthy businessmen and industrialists built impressive [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] mansions in the Hill and Green Ridge sections of the city. The industrial workers, who tended to be later immigrants from Ireland and southern and eastern Europe, were predominately Catholic. With a flood of immigrants in the market, they suffered poor working conditions and wages.

In 1902, the dwindling local iron ore supply, labor issues, and an aging plant cost the city the industry on which it was founded. The Lackawanna Steel Company and many of its workers were moved to [[Lackawanna, New York]], developed on [[Lake Erie]] just south of [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]. With a port on the lake, the company could receive iron ore shipped from the [[Mesabi Range]] in [[Minnesota]], which was being newly mined.

Scranton forged ahead as the capital of the anthracite coal industry. Attracting the thousands of workers needed to mine coal, the city developed new neighborhoods dominated by Italian and Eastern European immigrants, who brought their foods, cultures and religions. Many of the immigrants joined the Democratic Party. Their national churches and neighborhoods were part of the history of the city. Several [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] churches were founded and built during this period. A substantial Jewish community was also established, with most members coming from the Russian Empire and eastern Europe. Working conditions for miners were improved by the efforts of labor leaders such as [[John Mitchell (United Mine Workers)|John Mitchell]], who led the [[United Mine Workers]].

The sub-surface mining weakened whole neighborhoods, however, damaging homes, schools, and businesses when the land collapsed. In 1913 the state passed the Davis Act to establish the Bureau of Surface Support in Scranton. Because of the difficulty in dealing with the coal companies, citizens organized the Scranton Surface Protection Association, chartered by the Court of Common Pleas on November 24, 1913 "to protect the lives and property of the citizens of the City of Scranton and the streets of said city from injury, loss and damage caused by mining and mine caves."<ref name="kashuba"/>

In 1915 and 1917, the city and Commonwealth sought injunctions to prevent coal companies from undermining city streets but lost their cases. North Main Avenue and Boulevard Avenue, "both entitled to surface support, caved in as a result" of court decisions that went against civil authorities and allowed the coal companies to continue their operations.<ref name="kashuba"/>

"The case of ''Penman v. Jones'' came out differently. The Lackawanna Iron & Coal Co. had leased coal lands to the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Co., an allied interest, which passed the leases on to the Scranton Coal Co. Areas of central Scranton, the Hill Section, South Side, Pine Brook, Green Ridge and Hyde Park were affected by their mining activities. Mr. Penman was the private property owner in the case. The coal operators were defeated in this case."<ref name="kashuba">[http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-takes-on-mining-cave-ins-1.1046286 Cheryl A. Kashuba, "Scranton takes on mining, cave-ins"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617182350/http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-takes-on-mining-cave-ins-1.1046286 |date=June 17, 2016 }}, ''The Times-Tribune,'' October 10, 2010, accessed May 23, 2016</ref>

The public transportation system began to expand beyond the trolley lines pioneered by predecessors of the Scranton Railways system. The [[Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad]], commonly referred to as the Laurel Line, was built as an interurban passenger and freight carrier to [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre]]. Its Scranton station, offices, powerhouse and maintenance facility were built on the former grounds of the Lackawanna Steel Company, and operations started in 1903. Beginning in 1907, Scrantonians could also ride trolley cars to the northern suburbs of [[Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania|Clarks Summit]] and [[Dalton, Pennsylvania|Dalton]]. They could travel to [[Lake Winola]] and [[Montrose, Pennsylvania|Montrose]] using the [[Scranton, Montrose and Binghamton Railroad|Northern Electric]] Railroad. After the 1920s, no new trolley lines were built, but bus operations were started and expanded to meet service needs. In 1934, Scranton Railways was re-incorporated as the Scranton Transit Company, reflecting that shift in transportation modes.<ref>''The Scranton Republican,'' July 5, 1934, "Railway Firm's New Financial Setup Revealed", p. 1</ref>

Starting in the early 1920s, the [[Scranton Button Company]] (founded in 1885 and a major maker of shellac buttons) became one of the primary makers of phonograph records. They pressed records for [[Emerson Records|Emerson]] (whom they bought in 1924), as well as [[Regal Records (1921)|Regal]], [[Cameo Records|Cameo]], [[Romeo Records|Romeo]], [[Banner Records|Banner]], [[Domino Records (1924)|Domino]], [[Conqueror Records|Conqueror]]. In July 1929, the company merged with Regal, Cameo, Banner, and the U.S. branch of [[Pathé Records|Pathé]] (makers of Pathé and [[Perfect Records|Perfect]]) to become the [[American Record Corporation]]. By 1938, the Scranton company was also pressing records for [[Brunswick Records|Brunswick]], [[Melotone Records (US)|Melotone]], and [[Vocalion Records|Vocalion]]. In 1946, the company was acquired by [[Capitol Records]], which continued to produce [[phonograph records]] through the end of the vinyl era.

By the mid-1930s, the city population had swelled beyond 140,000<ref name="autogenerated2"/> due to growth in the mining and [[silk]] textile industries. World War II created a great demand for energy, which led to the highest production from [[mining]] in the area since World War I.

After [[World War II]], coal lost favor to [[oil]] and [[natural gas]] as a heating fuel, largely because the latter types were more convenient to use. While some U.S. cities prospered in the post-war boom, the fortunes and population of Scranton (and the rest of Lackawanna and [[Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Luzerne]] counties) began to diminish. Coal production and rail traffic declined rapidly throughout the 1950s, causing a loss of jobs.

In 1954, [[Worthington Scranton]] and his wife, [[Marion Margery Scranton]], contributed one million dollars to establish the Scranton Foundation (now the [[Scranton Area Community Foundation]]), which was launched to support charitable and educational organizations in the city of Scranton.<ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38103510/scranton-j-worthington-death/ W. Scranton Dies in Florida] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713225107/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38103510/scranton-j-worthington-death/ |date=2021-07-13 }}." Hazleton, Pennsylvania: ''The Plain Speaker'', February 14, 1955, p. 20.</ref>

The [[Knox Mine Disaster]] of January 1959 virtually ended the mining industry in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The waters of the [[Susquehanna River]] flooded the mines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10845647&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id=460522&rfi=8 |title=The Citizens Voice – Knox mine disaster remains in our memory because it is a story of right and wrong |publisher=Zwire.com |access-date=August 29, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107061533/http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10845647&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id=460522&rfi=8 |archive-date=January 7, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msha.gov/District/Dist_01/Reports/Knox/cover.htm |title=cover |publisher=Msha.gov |access-date=August 29, 2011 |archive-date=August 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807031901/http://www.msha.gov/District/Dist_01/Reports/Knox/cover.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The DL&W Railroad, nearly bankrupted by the drop in coal traffic and the effects of [[Hurricane Diane]], merged in 1960 with the Erie Railroad.
Demand for public transportation also declined as new highways were built by federal subsidies and people purchased automobiles. In 1952, the Laurel Line ceased passenger service. The Scranton Transit Company, whose trolleys had given the city its nickname, transferred all operations to buses as the 1954 holiday season approached; by the end of 1971, it ceased all operations. The city was left without any public transportation system for almost a year until the Lackawanna County government formed [[County of Lackawanna Transit System|COLTS]], which began operations in late 1972 with 1950s-era GM busses from New Jersey.

Scranton had been the hub of its operations until the [[Erie Lackawanna]] merger, after which it no longer served in this capacity. This was another severe blow to the local labor market. The NYO&W Railroad, which depended heavily on its Scranton branch for freight traffic, was abandoned in 1957. Mine [[subsidence]] was a spreading problem in the city as pillar supports in abandoned mines began to fail; cave-ins sometimes consumed entire blocks of homes. The area was left scarred by abandoned coal mining structures, strip mines, and massive [[culm dump]]s, some of which caught fire and burned for many years until they were extinguished through government efforts. In 1970, the Secretary of Mines for Pennsylvania suggested that so many underground voids had been left by mining underneath Scranton that it would be "more economical" to abandon the city than make them safe.<ref>{{cite book |title=Facts & Trivia |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |author-link=Isaac Asimov |year=1998 |publisher=Siena |location=Bristol |isbn=0-75252-822-X |page=74}}</ref> In 1973, the last mine operations in Lackawanna County (which were in what is now [[McDade Park]], and another on the Scranton/[[Dickson City]] line) were closed. During the 1960s and 1970s, the silk and other textile industries shrank as jobs were moved to the South or overseas.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

In 1962, businessman [[Alex Grass]] opened his first "Thrif D Discount Center" drugstore on Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton.<ref name=hpn2>{{cite news|first=Mary|last=Klaus|title=Beacon of generosity|url=http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/125143171523020.xml&coll=1|work=[[Harrisburg Patriot-News]]|date=August 28, 2009|access-date=August 31, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=st>{{cite news |first=David|last=Falchek|title=Scranton native and Rite Aid founder Alex Grass dies after 10-year battle with lung cancer |url=http://www.scrantontimes.com/scranton_native_and_rite_aid_founder_alex_grass_dies_after_10-year_battle_with_lung_cancer |work=[[Scranton Times]]|date=August 29, 2009 |access-date=August 31, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> The {{convert|17|by|75|ft|m|0|adj=on}} store, an immediate success, was the progenitor of the [[Rite Aid]] national drugstore chain.<ref name=hpn2/>

During the 1970s and 1980s, many downtown storefronts and theaters became vacant. Suburban development followed the highways and suburban shopping malls became the dominant venues for shopping and entertainment.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

{{external media | width = 210px | headerimage = | float = right | audio1 = [https://grapplepodcast.atavist.com/scranton Scranton, A City That's Seen Many Come and Go], 24:01, Grapple, Keystone Crossroads<ref name="grapple">{{cite web | title =Scranton, A City That's Seen Many Come and Go | work =Grapple | publisher =Keystone Crossroads | date =October 4, 2016 | url =https://grapplepodcast.atavist.com/scranton | access-date =November 17, 2016 | archive-date =November 18, 2016 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20161118163232/https://grapplepodcast.atavist.com/scranton | url-status =live }}</ref> }}
Since the mid-1980s, the city has emphasized revitalization. Local government and much of the community at large have adopted a renewed interest in the city's buildings and history. Some historic properties have been renovated and marketed as tourist attractions. The [[Steamtown National Historic Site]] captures the area's once-prominent position in the railroad industry. The former DL&W train station was restored as the [[Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel]]. The [[Electric City Trolley Museum]] was created next to the DL&W yards that the Steamtown NHS occupies.

Since the mid-1980s the [[Scranton Cultural Center]] has operated the architecturally significant Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral, designed by [[Raymond Hood]], as the region's performing arts center. The [[Houdini Museum]] was opened in Scranton in 1990 by nationally known magician [[Dorothy Dietrich]].