109 YEARS AGO - Hundreds attend dance atop the under construction Martins Creek Viaduct

Brian Fulton, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·2 min read

Sep. 3—Sept. 3, 1914

Hundreds dance in the clouds

Over 200 people danced the night away some 150 feet up in the air atop the soon-to-be-completed Martins Creek Viaduct near Kingsely.

The guests for this one-of-a-kind event hailed from Scranton, Kingsley, Glenburn, New Milford, Nicholson, Alford, New Milford, Binghamton, New York City, Yonkers, New York, Minneapolis, Glen Ridge, Morristown and South Orange, New Jersey, and Lunchburg, West Virginia.

Upon arriving at the viaduct, guests boarded a homemade elevator that hoisted them up to the concrete floor of the bridge.

Guests found the bridge was transformed into a woodland grove with evergreen trees decorated with Japanese lanterns. The dance floor was 100 feet long by 50 feet wide, and Oppenheimer's Orchestra was nestled among the trees.

The menu for the evening of dancing in the clouds included "pate de fois gras, Welsh rarebits, ice cream, and nearly everything else that one reads about when the high cost of living is under discussion."

The event ran until 12:30 a.m. and trains took the guests back to Scranton and Binghamton.

The evening was arranged by the Talbot and Company of New York, the construction firm that was building the viaduct for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.

The railroad bridge was 1,600 feet in length and 150 feet tall. Work was completed on the span in January 1915.

Davidow announces

plans for theater

Myer Davidow announced on Sept. 2 plans for a new theater along Spruce Street in Scranton.

More concrete details would come out in the coming weeks, but Davidow offered that the theater would have seating for 1,500 to 1,900 with an arcade entrance at Wyoming Avenue and Spruce Street.

Davidow said he also was working with two New York City theatrical men on the project.

Brian Fulton, library manager, oversees The Times-Tribune's expansive digital and paper archives and is an authority on local history. Contact Brian at bfulton@timesshamrock.com or 570-348-9140.

Brian Fulton, library manager, oversees The Times-Tribune's expansive digital and paper archives and is an authority on local history. Contact Brian at bfulton@timesshamrock.com or 570-348-9140.