Renovation of Scranton City Hall's tallest tower to have less color, more gleam
Sep. 21—After its first facelift in over four decades, the tallest tower on Scranton City Hall will end up with a little less color but a lot more gleam.
An upcoming renovation of the exterior of the historic 1888 Municipal Building at 340 N. Washington Ave. calls for — among many things — restoring the roof and its various unique facets, including the tall steeple that is a prominent feature of the city skyline and the downtown's historic architecture.
One aspect of work on the landmark tower will include replacing the multicolored glass that makes up the large decorative circles on each of the four faces of the tower.
The city's Historical Architectural Review Board on Sept. 14 reviewed the building renovation concepts, which were presented by Michael Wolf and Drew Marcinkevich from Highland Associates of Clarks Summit, the city's consultant on the project.
The multicolored windows of the tower are not original from 1888, Wolf told the HARB during its Sept. 14 meeting.
The original circular windows in the tower had a sort-of floral or snowflake design, according to archives of The Times-Tribune.
The tower's original windows were removed in 1979. By that time, they had deteriorated and were damaged.
The old windows were replaced around 1979-80 with the multicolored ones that had more interior framing and a more intricate design with dozens of rectangular-shaped pieces of glass.
By now, these nearly 44-year-old windows have seen better days, broken or missing pieces. Not all pieces are even glass; some are a plexiglass type material, Marcinkevich said in a phone interview Thursday.
The city decided to go with one color of tinted opaque glass for the tower windows, he said.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, the Victorian Gothic-style building sits on a street that showcases some of the city's best historic architecture. But with numerous maintenance problems inside and out, City Hall had been a victim of age, long-standing neglect and piecemeal repairs over decades, officials have said. The last major total renovation of the 52,600-square-foot building was done in 1980.
Restoring or replacing other facets of the north tower, including slate shingles, decorative finials, railings and stone and masonry work, would follow materials and methods used with a $400,000 renovation in 2020-2021 of the south tower. That work, which was more imminent because of severe water infiltration, presaged the upcoming larger project.
The State Historic Preservation Office had approved the south tower work and also has approved the upcoming, larger project, Wolf
said. HARB voted 4-0 — with Chairman Richard Leonori, Katie Gilmartin, William Lesniak and Katie Kearney all in favor — to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the upcoming work.
An ARPA spending plan city council approved in May 2022 allocated $1.5 million in federal funds for City Hall roof and tower repairs. Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti will soon propose to council dedicating close to $2 million in additional ARPA funds to the improvement project, officials have said.
With a $1.5 million state RACP grant Scranton already secured, that would make about $5 million available for work on the building.
Six bids on the project received Monday remain under evaluation. Some work might be able to start this year, depending on weather, but the bulk of the project would ensue next year, Marcinkevich said. The goal is completion by the end of 2024.
"It's a masterpiece. It really is an interesting building," Marcinkevich said. "In 1888 when they built it, it was astonishing."
emailto:Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185; @jlockwoodTT on Twitter.
