Wilkes-Barre is the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and one of the principal cities in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of about 564,000. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley, it’s second in size to nearby Scranton.
Wilkes-Barre and the surrounding Wyoming Valley are framed by the Pocono Mountains to the east, the Endless Mountains to the west, and the Lehigh Valley to the south. The Susquehanna River flows through the center of the valley, defining the northwestern border of the city.
Wilkes-Barre Public Square.
Photo credit: Ashton Zanecki via Wikipedia
Wilkes-Barre was founded in 1769 and formally incorporated in 1806. The city grew rapidly in the 19th century after the discovery of nearby coal reserves and the arrival of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who provided a labor force for the local mines. The coal mining fueled industrialization in the city, which reached the height of its prosperity in the first half of the 20th century. Its population peaked at more than 86,000 (it’s now under 41,000).
Following World War II, the city’s economy declined, due primarily to the collapse of heavy industry.
Now, a local organization of arts advocates has proposed something they believe can give the city’s economic revitalization a huge boost. “We are now in the midst of planning a major activity such as an arts district in downtown Wilkes-Barre,” says Howard Grossman, a member of the board of directors of the Wyoming Valley Art League.
Grossman said the arts and cultural community play in Pennsylvania generates more than $3.4 billion in annual economic activity. That relates to more than 100,000 jobs that are related to the arts and cultural community, he said.
He said the development of arts districts have helped revitalize communities across the country — in places as far away as Costa Mesa, California, and Paducah, Kentucky, and as close as Baltimore, Maryland and Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Featured panoramic photo of Wilkes-Barre by Vasiliy Meshko via Wikipedia.