A few years ago on one of our trips we were based in Allentown in Pennsylvania. As fans of the t.v show ‘The Office’ which is based in the town of Scranton in the north-east of the state we decided to travel the 80 miles or so to see what we could in relation to the show. We knew that it was filmed in California but the opening credits showed Scranton.
The journey took about 90 minutes and the town is below you as you come of the freeway. It still looks like an industrial town nestled in the valley of the Lackawanna River. It is also known as Electric City because it was the first place in the US that used electricity to power street cars.
We headed to Steamtown Mall now renamed ‘The Marketplace at Steamtown’. The Mall sits above the Steamtown National Historic Site and has a wooden walkway that joins the two together.
The sign welcoming you to Scranton was displayed prominently in the Mall and they only other reference to ‘The Office’ was a Dundler Mifflin sign tucked behind an empty retail unit. The only the thing that we saw that we could link to the show was the Froggy 101 radio station across the road from Boscov’s, the department store that dominates the entrance to the mall. Fans of the show will recognise the stickers around the set of ‘The Office’.
We weren’t expecting a lot but there was very little to see so we took the long walkway down to the Steamtown National Historic Site. This is an enormous railroad museum with plenty of engines and rolling stock to explore.
Of course Scranton has a new found fame with it being the childhood home of the 46th President, Joe Biden.
USA Road Trips by Max 
You must be logged in to post a comment.