Civil War museum in Scranton to reopen Monday at new home, at Marketplace at Steamtown

Jun. 26—There's no place like a new home.

The Civil War museum formerly in the basement of Scranton City Hall will reopen Monday at 11 a.m. at its new location at the Marketplace at Steamtown.

In recent months, members of the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Association of Scranton Museum and Library moved its contents to a former salon outside of Crunch Fitness on the marketplace's second floor.

It's the second move in the past 14 years for the museum association that was incorporated Sept. 27, 1894.

Starting around 1904, the museum was housed in the historic Grand Army of the Republic Building at Linden Street and Penn Avenue. It remained there for about a century.

After the Scranton Police Department exited the City Hall basement for a modern headquarters on South Washington Avenue, a former museum volunteer approached former Mayor Chris Doherty around 2006 about using the basement for the Civil War museum. A 10-year lease began in late 2007 and the museum opened there in October 2008.

As that lease was ending in 2017, officials discussed a possible relocation of the museum out of City Hall to make room for city operations. The city renewed a short-term lease for a nominal amount and the museum stayed.

But when City Hall closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum closed too and never reopened.

Now, the museum formerly described as a "hidden gem" will have a chance to shine in its new spot.

Asked if the marketplace might be the museum's forever home, museum Commander Hal Myers replied, "Hopefully, yes, I think this will be the last stop for a while."

Marketplace owner John Basalyga is providing the space to the museum rent-free through the first year, and the museum will pay its own electric bill, Myers said.

Formerly having free admission for all, the museum now will charge an admission fee of $5 per person, and have free admission for children under 12, he said.

The museum also might consider other ways to raise revenue, such as selling T-shirts, hats or souvenirs, he said.

"These are the kinds of things that we have to work out that we never had to deal with before," Myers said. "We're not a rich organization. We always depended on donations and that didn't work out too well some times."

Basalyga bought the moribund, mostly empty Mall at Steamtown in an auction in 2015. He renamed it and has since brought in nontraditional tenants, including Luzerne County Community College, Lehigh Valley Health Care Network/Delta Medix, Electric City Aquarium and Reptile Den, Electric City Dentistry, a Social Security Administration office, Geisinger Wound Care, Geisinger Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Bee's Backyard children's play place, Scranton Shakespeare Festival, and Dress for Success Lackawanna.

Located right outside of heavily frequented Crunch Fitness, the museum will see lots of foot traffic pass by.

The corridor also is where Friends of the Scranton Public Library holds it quarterly weeklong book sales.

Friends group volunteer Joan Hodowanitz hopes patrons of the book-sale and the Library Express Bookstore at the marketplace, as well as of the mall in general, visit the museum.

"My first exposure to the museum was in the basement of City Hall and it was very impressive," Hodowanitz said. "If we lose our history, we lose our roots."

Civil War museum hours will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. It will be closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For information on the Civil War museum, see its website at garmuseum.org.

Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185; @jlockwoodTT on Twitter.