Matt Hughes' Commentary:

The Mall at Steamtown opened in 1993, kind of on the tail end of the 80s mall boom, and was never really filled. It's a downtown mall that has plenty of parking but is kind of a pain to access compared to the existing Viewmont Mall in Dickson City, outside Scranton. It never really took off — even as a kid/teenager going there in the 90s I can't remember it ever being filled to capacity — and it isn't a big mall. In the last decade, changes in shopper preferences and competition from the Viewmont Mall and the more recently opened Shoppes at Montage outlet center have gutted what storefronts were there, and today the mall is half-filled with non-traditional tenants like a public library satellite site, a train display they used to put up for Christmas but which has remained in place for several years to fill empty space, and the state Attorney General's Child Predator Unit offices. What may be the mall's death knell came a few weeks ago when Bon-Ton, one of two anchor department stores, announced it was pulling out of Steamtown. The owner of the mall, Al Boscov, owns the other department store, so if he decides he can't keep going there he would presumably close the whole mall. That, to me, would be the biggest shame, because while I don't frequent this mall, I do enjoy the host of other Boscov's department stores in the Northeast PA region, and I would hate to see the mall's bankruptcy drag the whole chain under.

Rich's Commentary:

It's closed and doesn't even know it yet. This is a beautiful Mall in downtown Scranton, PA. Originally the anchors were The Globe, Boscov's and a store that would become Bon Ton. The Globe was a Scranton Tradition, like Macy's in NY. GONE. Boscov's is owned by the mall developer and plays with Bankruptcy every few years, and Bon Ton is toast. The end times starts as follows: Open Anchors, Nothing in the food court except Pizza and chineese (along with Subway), the cockroaches of food service. Starbucks big beautiful Store at the front entrance is empty. I guess the biggie for me was American Eagle. When you loose a big "Mall" chain store like that it's all over.

This mall is connected to Steamtown National Historic Site, and right down town in a perfect location with great parking. Help our city, what can we put there?

Links:

Bon-Ton announces closing location in mall, Fall 2013
March 6, 2014: Mall going into foreclosure