W. Bunnell, DL&W #322-B, Steamtown NHS Collection

This historic photo, taken by Watson Brunnell for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, shows the passenger terminal as it looked in 1908. A 6th floor was added in the 1920s.

One hundred years ago, the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad completed a new passenger depot in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This depot, now the Radisson at Lackawanna Station Hotel, was built to replace a much smaller station that was located along Lackawanna Avenue near Franklin Avenue, about 7 blocks west. Its Beaux Arts design was created by renowned New York architect Kenneth Murchison in 1906, and took 14 months to complete. It is constructed of brick and steel, with concrete floors and partitions. The exterior is faced with Indiana limestone and an 8-foot bronze clock on the façade. The main entrance leading to the former waiting room is furnished in Formosa, a soft, pinkish-yellow Italian marble. Other areas of the former waiting area and halls are decorated with imported marble, and the barrel-vaulted ceiling is Tiffany glass. Originally constructed as a 5-story structure at a cost of approximately $600,000, a 6th floor was added in the 1920s to create additional office space.

To help celebrate the 100th anniversary of this architectural landmark, Steamtown National Historic Site offers tours of the former railroad station on selected Saturdays and Sundays in May, June and October at 10:30am. Additionally, a selection of historic photographs and reproductions of newspaper adds and press releases are on display at the historic station. And, June through December, an expanded photo exhibit will be on display in the park's Changing Exhibit Gallery in the Visitor Center.

We hope you enjoy these special displays and programs as Steamtown honors the architectural history of Scranton and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad.