Abandon Wilkes-Barre Station

*wall art from Pottstown, Pa. Is hard to see but the faces on these miners come right off the wall, quite life like when seen in person.

Let's start at the beginning, Wilkes-Barre was founded in 1769 and formally incorporated in 1806. Like many of the mining towns in the early 19th century, located throughout the north eastern part of the state, it prospered and grew.  As the city grew it became known as "The Diamond City" due to the abundance of coal mining. Migrant workers came and were the laboring forces for the local mines. The mines reached the height of prosperity in the early 20th century before the collapse of the industry following WWII.  I will say I love driving around the city and seeing the homes that were built during this time. Some are still homes that have been kept beautify, others have gone into disrepair. Those are the houses I just wish I was rolling in dough and could just bring them back to the glory they should have stayed in. 

Another town that was established during these glory days of coal mining was Concrete City. you can read and see pictures about that here. 

Another casualty of the end of the coal mining is the railroad station on Wilkes Barre Blvd. Well let me say I did not know the official name of this abandon railroad station was "The Central railroad of New Jersey station". It was built in 1868, in the Victorian style.  After the Anthracite Coal Breakers closed down. By 1961 the station stopped having passenger service.  Over time it became a cocktail bar  and then a club joint before it became abandon, and now it just sits in disrepair. What a shame. Supposedly a developer has bought the property to restore. That was in 2016 and as of 2020 it doesn't look like much as been done to repair it back to its glory. The windows are all broken and boarded up, outer walls are covered in graffiti. Such a sad end to a beautifully structured building.

The station sits just across the tracks (now the street) from the Steigmaier Brewery (established 1857) which was the largest brewery in the Wyoming Valley area. The beers brewed here between 1910 and 1913 were in several expositions through Europe winning Gold Medals in every major exposition that it entered.  The company stopped operations in 1972.  There is a brewery still operating in the area that began in 1905, Lions brewery is just down the street and boast that it is the 15th largest American made brewery. Second in the state. Now I'm curious to what the number one for the state of Pennsylvania is..... Yuengling (out of Pottsville). The breweries number one seller is the Lionhead. Oh I also found out that they acquired the Steigmaier brand in 1974.

*will update with picture of this building next trip up that way.

See you at the next bend in the road, 

Kelli