The 112-year-old Lackawanna County Children’s Library at 520 Vine St. in downtown Scranton needs some facade repairs of loose and deteriorated pieces of stone and masonry above the entrance, officials said.
The county is seeking bids on the work, Lackawanna County Engineer Frank Summa told the city’s Historical Architecture Review Board during its monthly meeting on March 14, according to an Electric City Television video of the meeting posted on YouTube.
The Lackawanna County Children’s Library in Scranton on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Lackawanna County Children’s Library in Scranton on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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The Lackawanna County Children’s Library in Scranton on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
“Overall, the intent is a maintenance project to restore the facade to its original looking condition,” Summa said.
Library Director Scott Thomas said an employee saw a crack and that prompted the repair project.
“The backstory is one of my maintenance persons noticed a crack and so we had to close the front entrance of the Children’s Library. Now there’s scaffolding there. It looks awful, so we do need to get this repaired,” Thomas said.
Stones will be removed and reset and there is at least one missing piece that will need to be replaced with a match, Summa said.
“It’s going to look the same as much as we possibly can, after more than a century,” Thomas said.
HARB unanimously approved the library application.
“I appreciate the project. It looks like a nice restoration effort and it sounds much needed,” HARB Chairman Michael Muller said.
According to “History Set in Stone; A Guide to Downtown Scranton Architecture,” the Children’s Library is among the downtown’s “Gothic District” properties, which also include the next-door Albright Memorial Library, the nearby Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, and Scranton’s Municipal Building (City Hall) and Central Fire Station.
The guide’s description of the Children’s Library says: “This wonderful example of Neoclassical Revival architecture was built for the First Church of Christ Scientist in 1914 by architects R.W. Snyder & A.J. Ward, featuring a large auditorium and several smaller reading rooms. In 1987 It was converted for use as a welcoming children’s library.”
According to archives of The Times-Tribune:
• The Children’s Library started as a small room in the Albright Memorial Library and moved into the former First Church of Christ, Scientist building next door in December 1987 to accommodate the growing number of families using its services.
• The cornerstone of the First Church of Christ, Scientist was laid Dec. 26, 1913 and crews completed the church in 1915.
• A Feb. 13, 1915, Scranton Times article announced the first services at the graceful temple constructed of white Indiana limestone. Its doors opened to an auditorium that could seat up to 715. The basement contained a Sunday school room, restrooms and offices, according to a Feb. 13, 1915, Scranton Truth article.
• As the 1980s approached, the congregation of the First Church of Christ, Scientist had dwindled and the building was no longer needed. It was put up for sale but got no offers for two years, according to a July 11, 1983, Scranton Times article.
• In January of 1985, the Lackawanna County Library Board voted to allocate funds for an expansion of the Scranton Public Library.
• The Lackawanna County Children’s Library welcomed its first patrons in mid-December 1987. Upon opening, it was the only free-standing one of its kind in the state.