Scranton, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania in the 1980s

Work

Jobs leaving town

The old rail yard was gone after Conrail closed it in 1980², and the city lost hundreds of manufacturing and wholesale jobs in the 1980s⁴. Some wholesalers left for larger highway sites and lower business taxes⁴ outside the city.

Faith

Catholic city rhythms

The Diocese of Scranton was not just Sunday Mass: it ran or supported parishes, schools, social services, soup kitchens, food pantries, health care facilities, and recreational institutions⁵. The Catholic calendar and school system still structured much neighborhood life.

Law & power

City hall under strain

Pennsylvania created Act 47 in 1987³ for municipalities in severe financial trouble, and Scranton would enter that system on January 10, 1992³. In the 1980s, people were already living with the pressures that made that later designation possible.

In the air

Revival through heritage

With the railroad economy gone, public hopes turned toward downtown renewal and railroad memory: the old yard had closed in 1980², while its steam-era functions were later restored for interpretation. The coming mall was not yet there; Lackawanna Avenue buildings were not demolished until 1992⁹.

What people feared

Poverty and hollow industry

By 1989, Scranton's poverty rate was 18.2 percent¹. As in other anthracite cities, older mine workings, vacant industrial land, and shrinking tax bases fed worries about safety and services.

Home & table

Schools and changing campuses

The University of Scranton had admitted women university-wide in 1971, and by 1985 women were 48 percent of its largest class to that date⁶. No reliable quick source located here gives a block-by-block picture of ordinary houses in the city during the decade.

Money

A poorer old city

The city shrank from 88,117 residents in 1980 to 81,805 in 1990¹, a loss that narrowed the local tax base. A precise 1980s local price list is a gap: no reliable Scranton-specific grocery price or wage table turned up in this quick search.

Roads & news

Two-paper competition

The Scranton Times launched the Morning Times in 1988⁷ to compete with the Scrantonian Tribune. That newspaper fight ended just after the decade, when the Tribune ceased publication in 1990⁷.

Year by year

1. 1980Conrail closed the old Scranton railroad yard. here²
2. 1980Scranton counted 88,117 residents in the federal census. here¹
3. 1981The first Space Shuttle mission made reusable spacecraft a national subject of conversation. the country
4. 1984James Timlin began his term as bishop of the Diocese of Scranton. here
5. 1985Women made up 48 percent of the University of Scranton's largest class to that date. here⁶
6. 1986The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union brought radioactive fallout and nuclear safety into world news. the world
7. 1987Pennsylvania enacted Act 47 to deal with financially distressed municipalities. the country³
8. 1988The Scranton Times launched the Morning Times to compete with the Scrantonian Tribune. here⁷

Pictures from the time

What the sources say

• Scranton had 88,117 residents in 1980 and 81,805 in 1990, a 7.2 percent decline across the decade. from the sources¹
• Conrail finally closed the old Scranton railroad yard in 1980, after Erie-Lackawanna had been absorbed in 1976. from the sources²
• A 1995 HUD summary said Scranton lost hundreds of manufacturing and wholesale jobs in the 1980s, with some wholesale firms moving to nearby municipalities for larger highway sites and lower business taxes. from the sources⁴
• The city's long decline was tied to anthracite and rail: demand for anthracite began falling in the mid-1920s, gas and oil displaced coal in the 1930s and 1940s, and the Scranton steam locomotive repair shop closed in 1949. from the sources²
• The Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton remained a major institution, with parishes, schools, social services, soup kitchens, food pantries, health care facilities, and recreational institutions in the region. inferred⁵
• At the University of Scranton, women had been admitted university-wide in 1971, and by 1985 the largest class in the school's history at that time was 48 percent women. from the sources⁶
• Scranton Lace Company, still operating in the 1980s, made products such as bedspreads, lace tablecloths, and other lace goods before ultimately closing in 2002. from the sources⁸
• The Mall at Steamtown was not yet present in the 1980s; twenty-four buildings on the 300 and 400 blocks of Lackawanna Avenue were demolished on April 5, 1992 to make way for it. from the sources⁹
• Some Lackawanna Avenue buildings had retail and commercial uses reaching back to the late 1800s. from the sources⁹
• A modern bank building at 101 Wyoming Avenue opened in 1979, just before the decade began. from the sources⁹
• Pennsylvania created Act 47, the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act, in 1987 to help municipalities in severe financial difficulty; Scranton itself was not designated distressed until January 10, 1992. from the sources³
• Local newspaper competition was still strong late in the decade: The Scranton Times launched the Morning Times in 1988 to compete directly with the Scrantonian Tribune. from the sources⁷
• In 1990, the Scrantonian Tribune was bought by its rival, The Scranton Times, and ceased publication, with the owner citing deteriorating economic conditions in the Northeast. from the sources⁷
• The 1989 poverty rate recorded for Scranton was 18.2 percent. from the sources¹
• As across northeastern Pennsylvania's anthracite cities, older mine workings, vacant industrial land, and shrinking tax bases shaped public talk about safety, redevelopment, and municipal services. inferred
• No online source found in this quick search gives a reliable Scranton-specific grocery price list or average wage table for the 1980s. not known
• No online source found in this quick search gives a block-by-block description of ordinary Scranton houses during the 1980s. not known

Sources

1. Places Left Behind Data Charts. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1999
2. Park Brochure: Steamtown National Historic Site. National Park Service
3. Act 47 Financial Distress. Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
4. Scranton Consolidated Plan for 1995 Executive Summary. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1995
5. Diocese of Scranton Historical Overview. Diocese of Scranton
6. An Overview of Women's Contributions to the Life of the University. The Scranton Journal, University of Scranton, 2023
7. P.M. Briefing: Scranton Paper Buys the Other. Los Angeles Times, 1990
8. Scranton Lace Company, Scranton Pennsylvania. Historic Structures
9. Historic Scranton: Downtown Scranton Landmark Buildings and Historic Districts. City of Scranton Historical Architectural Review Board, 2016

Scranton in other decades

Nearby, about the same time