Concrete City

Basic

Region: Nanticoke, PA

Location

Type: Large residential facility
Status: Abandoned
Parent: Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
Opened: 1913
Closed: 1924
Location:

Click map to zoom/pan.

History

Prior to Concrete City being built, company housing for railroad and mine employees was common, but of a very poor quality standard. The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W) wanted to build the role model of company housing for some of its important Truesdale Colliery employees. The DL&W wanted to use newer materials and architectural styles, so they decided to build concrete houses using the new International Style, which was half way to Brutalism. Concrete City was to be a square of 20 two-family concrete houses, in a 4-6-4-6 “configuration”. Each house was two stories and divided in the middle, giving each family a small 2-story house. Each house was to have 7 rooms, a living room, kitchen, dining room (lower level), and 4 bedrooms on the top level. The houses would be heated by 2 coal stoves, one between the living and dining room, and another cooking stove in the kitchen. They would not have bathrooms, and instead each house would have a concrete outhouse behind it. Coal bins would also be located by each outhouse. Throughout the complex there was to be sidewalks and electric street lights. In the middle of the complex, there was to be a concrete pool, a fountain, multiple playgrounds, a baseball field, and tennis courts.

Once everything was planned, the railroad set out to build the complex in September of 1911. The DL&W used a system where they brought the materials into the build site via rail cars, and mixed the concrete on-site on flat rail cars. This allowed the DL&W to pump out an entire two-family house each day. The interesting thing is, even with the hasty building of every house, they were incredibly strong. Construction was finished in 1913.

When Concrete City opened, residency was limited to english speakers who held a high position in the company. Because of this clause, the 40 families (out of 1,700 in the company) to inhabit Concrete City were all high up in the company. Most of these residents were English or Irish. Rent costed $8 per month. The neighborhood was hyped up to be the standard of luxurious company housing, but that quickly proved to be false. In 1914, a boy drowned in the swimming pool, prompting it to be filled in just 1 year after it was opened. The tragic drowning was not the main issue, however. The concrete buildings let a lot of moisture in, despite the railroad treating the concrete with coal cinders and oil. The moisture problem was so bad that a former resident said her father’s shirts would freeze in the winter and had to be ironed every day in order to wear them. Around 1920, the paint began peeling severely. In 1924, the local government required the Glen Alden Coal Company, the owner, to install a sewer system in place of their outhouses. The owner calculated this would cost around $200,000 (around $3,000,000 in 2019), and instead decided to demolish the complex. Just 11 years after Concrete City was opened, it was to be demolished. After 100 sticks of dynamite failed to demolish one building, Concrete City was abandoned.

Since Concrete City’s initial abandonment, the Luzerne County Firemen’s Association used the complex as a training center. Because of this, some of the buildings suffer severe fire damage to this day. Some time after, the complex was bought by the Eleventh Congressional District Heavy Equipment Center with the intent to demolish it. Luckily, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission saved Concrete City in 1992 and turned the complex into a state historical site. Over time, vandals, shooters, and the like trashed the place.

Photo Gallery

Concrete City Row of Houses

A partial view of a row of houses at [[ Concrete City ]]. This picture was taken standing in the recreation area.

Concrete City

Basic

Location

History

Photo Gallery

Concrete City Row of Houses

Concrete City Row of Houses in Operation

Concrete City Tilted House

Concrete City House Corner in Operation

Concrete City Entry Room

Concrete City Entry Room in Operation

Concrete City Back Rooms and Staircase

Concrete City Kitchen

Concrete City Living Room

Concrete City Flooded Basement

Concrete City Mirrored Showcase

Concrete City Upstairs Hallway

Concrete City Upstairs Bedrooms

Concrete City Dry Basement

Concrete City Tilted Doorways

Concrete City Flooded, Tilted Basement

Concrete City Big View and Common Area

Concrete City Pool

Concrete City Playground

Concrete City Tea Party

Concrete City Family on Porch

Concrete City Fire Damaged House

Concrete City Fire Damaged House Interior

Concrete City Fire Barrels

Concrete City Obliterated House Bedrooms

Concrete City Obliterated House Back

Concrete City 26 Obliterated House Bottom

Concrete City Obliterated House 2

Concrete City Hole to Heaven

Concrete City Kc on the Roof

Concrete City Peeking Through the Trees

Concrete City Construction Train

Sources