Re: (erielack) ex Lackawanna Scranton station bought

["Jim Guthrie" <jguthrie_@_pipeline.com>]

> A California-based real- estate investment firm has purchased the historic
> Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel in Scranton, promising to upgrade the
> nearly century-old landmark with updated guest rooms and a fancier decor.


Scranton is one of those towns that simply can't figure out what to do --  
The Mall sapped what little life was left out of downtown, as has the habit 
of tearing down beautiful old buildings for the sake of another bank 
drive-throiugh.

Night life is awful -- try to find a place for a simple pizza and a beer at 
7:30 in the evening. Try to find a place to buy a bottle of wine without a 
roadmap and perhaps local sherpa guide. A movie? A show? A walk from the 
hotel for dining other than the hotel restaurant?  Well, I guess with the 
Radisson and Hilton near each other, there's at least the chance of variety 
<g>.

The opportunities to re-use old buildings to encourage the kinds of 
specialty shops and boutiques that create foot traffic and make the place a 
"destimation city" for something other, than, say, high school wrestling 
tournaments -- has been repeatedly foiled for one reason or another. Like so 
many struggling cities, Scranton can't tell the difference between a Nail 
Salon and a Candle Shop. No one drives 200 miles to a nail salon -- but 
people will go some distance and stay and spend money of they know there's a 
critical mass of specilized shops to go along with the tourist attractions. 
And Malls are a dime a dozen.

I don't think it helps that Steamtown is cut-off from the city by the Mall, 
either. I suppose this could be overcome by the Electric City Trolley 
stopping at the crossing for passengers, with an attractive pedestrian way 
leading to it. Opportunities for hotels, Steamtown and events at Montage 
Mountain might open up -- except that NIMBY's have killed the latter as a 
possibility. The hotel vans should make regular trips to the Anthracite 
Museum and Mine Tour, also.

I appreciate seeing the Electrc City sign restoration -- at least 
**someone** is paying attention. But as a regular visitor for various rail 
related events such as ARHS, ELHS and next week, the eldcps convention, 
anthracite history events, such as the 100the Anniversary of the Great 
Strike a few years ago, and other historical research -- the overall 
impression remains that no one really has a clue.

One wishes the new owners of the Radisson well -- I hope they make it. A few 
years ago, I was shocked at the notion of paying that kind of money for a 
hotel room without a way to successfully connect a modem to a phone line or 
otherwise access the Internet [I stopped making reservations to stay there 
when I found I could do WiFi at the Howard Johnsons for lesss than half the 
price <g>]. It sounds like the new owners are ready to move forward. But I 
think the CofC has to get a clue -- or perhaps a downtown business 
association has to spin off from it to revitalize the central part of the 
city if both the Hilton and out beloved DL&W station are to survive and 
prosper.

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie



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