All Aboard the Train to the Mall at Steamtown

 

        As is usual with a lot of downtown malls, the Mall at Steamtown started as an idea of urban redevelopment during the 1980s. That idea became reality when the Mall opened in 1993, with Boscov's and Montgomery Ward serving as its anchors. The mall's name is taken from being the next door neighbor to the Steamtown National Historic Site. There is even a bridge and connector ramp that connects the two areas, though it may now be closed to the public. 

    Eventually Bon-Ton would relocate from elsewhere and open in the now closed Wards space in 2000. A third anchor in The Globe opened at some point across Lackawanna Ave with its mall entrance connecting to the mall's second story via an indoor footbridge. It closed, and would be used as Steve & Barry's, Boscov's Furniture Outlet, and Crunch Fitness in the years to follow. Bon-Ton closed the Scranton store in early 2014 upon its lease expiring and sat vacant for a few years until Luzurne County Community College opened a satellite campus on part of the second level. 

As we enter the mall via the Steamtown connection ramp, we enter the food court area. To my surprise on my second visit, a couple years later this access would be closed. Read on to find out why....

    2016 saw the mall rebrand itself to The Marketplace at Steamtown now under new ownership. As the name implies, the mall would transition into more of a mixed-use center that would still offer retail. The food court was removed and replaced with 'the Marketplace shops,' an area for local vendors to put their products on display and sell them. Two of the pictures below were taken during the construction process of the former food court becoming the marketplace shops. Since my last visit to the property, Delta Medix has took over the lower level of the former Bon-Ton while an aquarium has taken over a number of inline tenants. 

    Right now, it is hard to say what the future holds for this property, but it at least does not appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Former Kmart #3785

NOTE: This post comes from outside the blog's coverage area.

    Something unique occurred to the Kmart that we will tour this month. During its final years of operation, the store was shrunk to make room for a new Kroger. Under normal circumstances this would likely have caused Kmart to close, but thanks in part to this location being a former Super Kmart, the two brands would have enough space to co-exist together for a few years. However, this store would eventually close in 2019 along with the only other remaining Virginia Kmart in Chesapeake.

        The shrunken store had a unique store layout that saw its pharmacy relocated. The store and pharmacy must have done fairly well for Sears Holdings to spend the money to remodel and rearrange things, but then again Kroger may have helped paid for them to do it. While I did not make a map for this store, (and a few select ones to come) it is still worth touring it with the pictures I did take. I didn't really care to make any additional maps for Kmart at this time.