SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A historic building and a pivotal piece of the community in Lackawanna County is being restored. The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple is under construction both inside and out to restore it to its original state.
28/22 News Reporter Colby Hughes stopped by the Electric City to tell us about the progress.
This restoration project took years just to get boots on the ground. Now, the work is getting done, and the wait is almost over.
The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple is a hub for performing arts, entertainment, and cultural experiences.
It's also a nationally recognized landmark built in the 1930s.
The building is currently being restored as close as possible to its original state when it first opened.
"The restoration this time includes the entire exterior stonework, all the mortar joints, the roofs have all been removed and replaced, the gutter systems and drain lines have all been checked and updated," Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple General Manager, John Cardoni, explained.
Roughly 60% of the leaded glass windows have been removed as well. They will be restored and reinstalled sometime next year.
There's one factor that will be grabbing the most attention: The theater that has been closed since June.
"In the time frame of less than five and a half months, we will have removed and restored the tile ceiling and plaster ornamentation, and we will have restored all of the painted stencil work on the walls," Cardoni told 28/22 News.
One local woman, who works there during the summer, is especially pleased to see the theater being restored.
Mayor Paige Cognetti announces campaign for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 8th District
"It gives me a lot of hope for the future and that the youth program will continue to thrive, and also the tours and the shows that are going through there will continue to have an even better space to put on their productions, and my hope is that one day I'll get to go through there and go through their new space now," Scranton Cultural Center Youth Theatre Program Dance Instructor Keri Adolfson said.
"When you live with someone all your life, it's easy to take it for granted as something that's just always going to be there, without appreciating what it took to get it to be able to be here in the first place, as well as what it takes to operate it on a daily basis," Cardoni added.
Cardoni hopes the reaction from visitors will be a sense of renewed gratitude for what the Scranton Cultural Center does for the community.
The doors to the cultural center's theater will open in mid-November for the 2025-2026 Broadway season.
