SCRANTON \u2014 The Marketplace at Steamtown\u2019s back-door pedestrian bridge to Steamtown National Historic Site next door sent thousands of visitors from the Big Boy Reunion through the mall Monday and Tuesday.<\/p>\n
As expected, the second day of the reunion of two of the largest steam locomotives on Tuesday brought a smaller crowd than Monday\u2019s massive opener, but it was still a big boost for the mall at 300 Lackawanna Ave.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because the train park on both days used as an exit the walkway bridge that slopes up and over the railyard and connects to the second floor of the Marketplace at Steamtown\u2019s former food court area.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re embracing it and we\u2019re celebrating America\u2019s 250th birthday,\u201d Marketplace at Steamtown General Manager Anthony Cali said. \u201cWe love the fact this is the epicenter of everything that\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mall had a \u201cBig Boy Pop-Up\u201d market Monday and Tuesday in the food court area and will resume it Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n
Cristin Powers of Cristin Powers Media started the monthly pop-ups in August as a consultant to the mall, \u201cbut because of the Big Boy, it\u2019s Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday,\u201d she said of adding two days.<\/p>\n
Zuppa Del Giorno of 517 Ash St. participated in the pop-up and had brisk business, said employee Harlie Jones.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good. Lots of people are coming out and supporting the businesses,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
Kyle Mervau, one of three partners who own Electric City Roasting Co., said his business participated in pop-ups previously at the mall and the current one has been one of the busiest because of the Big Boy Reunion. A steady flow of people generally pass through, but at times they come in waves as visitors leave the railyard.<\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday we were slammed,\u201d Mervau said of Monday\u2019s huge Big Boy crowd.<\/p>\n
The Marketplace at Steamtown opened in 1993 as The Mall at Steamtown.<\/p>\n
Steamtown National Historic Site was established in 1986 to preserve, interpret and protect the history of steam railroading in America, including the historic railroad yard, collections, technical knowledge and skills that further the public understanding of the impact of steam railroading on U.S. industry, commerce and society.<\/p>\n
Steamtown NHS encompasses 62 acres on the site of the original Delaware, Lackawanna & Western rail yard. People from throughout the nation and beyond come to Steamtown NHS, particularly train and rail enthusiasts.<\/p>\n
The Big Boy event in two days now has brought the largest crowds to the historic train site, far surpassing the 30,000 visitors over a celebratory weekend in 1995.<\/p>\n
Some other nearby businesses also saw a Big Boy spinoff.<\/p>\n
Felicia Lee, manager of Black & Brass Coffee Roasting Co. at 101 Penn Ave. had double the usual number of customers Monday coming from the reunion.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople came in, they hung out awhile, they came in with their kids,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n
Downtown Deli at 300 Biden St. also had double the number of usual customers because of the reunion, said manager Denise Leppo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great Monday for us,\u201d she said, comparable to one of the deli\u2019s busy Sundays.<\/p>\n
But Leppo also thought the event missed an opportunity to more fully integrate downtown businesses. Complaints she heard from visitors included there were no signs or maps and people generally didn\u2019t know where to go before or after their visit inside the train site.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got lucky, because we got business (from the reunion). I\u2019m not sure if everybody got business,\u201d Leppo said.<\/p>\n
Jenn Saunders, owner of Northern Light Espresso Bar and Cafe, 536 Biden St., also said there could have been more coordination and communication with local businesses about the reunion. Still, many Big Boy visitors found her shop at 536 Biden St. and her business on Monday was more like a Saturday, which is her shop\u2019s busiest day of the week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a line to the door from 8 (a.m.) to at least 4 (p.m.). We met people from Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut,\u201d Saunders said. The national historic site had links or references to \u2018what else to do\u2019 in the area and to Scranton Tomorrow\u2019s website, which has links to local businesses. \u201cThey were finding us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local hotels, including the historic Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel, which was the 1908 Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad station, and the Hilton Scranton and Conference Center did bang-up business from the Big Boy Reunion.<\/p>\n
When the Big Boy Reunion was announced The Hilton Scranton and Conference Center sold its 193 rooms for four consecutive nights, said director of sales and marketing Kristen Blight-Finkel.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the day that the announcement went out, and we came in the next day and we were sold out instantly overnight \u2013 (for) Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday,\u201d Blight-Finkel said. \u201cIt\u2019s been great exposure for Scranton. It\u2019s not a place that people always think they want to come, but when they do get here, they love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marguerite and Frank Phillips of Harper\u2019s Ferry, West Virginia, brought their grandson, Everett Phillips, 7, to the reunion Tuesday and will attend again on Wednesday. They stayed at the Radisson.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made it a train experience,\u201d Marguerite said. The couple said Everett is a railfan who has been keeping close tabs on Big Boy 4014.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been following it on YouTube since it left California,\u201d Marguerite said. \u201cEvery night before bed we check to see where it\u2019s at. They have a tracker online.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON \u2014 The Marketplace at Steamtown\u2019s back-door pedestrian bridge to Steamtown National Historic Site next door sent thousands…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[26360,96288,96289,11481,178,180,179,94724,9019,96287],"class_list":["post-221132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-businesses","tag-denise-leppo","tag-harlie-jones","tag-marketplace-at-steamtown","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-steam-locomotives","tag-steamtown-national-historic-site","tag-steamtown-nhs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}