Carbondale City Hall / Memorial Park - Carbondale, PA - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

Carbondale City Hall

Carbondale City Hall is a detached masonry (brick and Pennsylvania blue stone) building, in the Romanesque Revival style, composed of a tower, a three-story wing and a two story wing. The building was designed by Truman Lacey of Binghamton and constructed in 1893-94 under the architect’s supervision, by W. D. Stevens of Binghamton and George H. Tyron of Carbondale. The dressed bluestone and trimmings for the building were supplied by Frank Carlucci of Scranton, from his quarry in Nicholson.

Present-day City Hall is Carbondale’s third City Hall. Carbondale’s first City Hall, a rectangular wooden building in the Greek Revival style, was erected in 1852 on the site now occupied by the two-story wing of the present building. The 1852 building was destroyed by a fire on February 14, 1860, and was replaced by a two-story brick building, which was erected in 1860 on the same site. The 1860 building is still standing in downtown Carbondale: it is the two-story wing of present-day City Hall. In 1893-94, Truman I. Lacey designed a new interior and a new roof for the 1860 building and incorporated it into his design for the present building which on January 6, 1983 was entered in the National Register Historic Places.

Memorial Park

Up to the time when Carbondale’s first City Hall was erected in 1852, the lots on which the present-day City Hall and Memorial Park are located were a desolate wasteland that was occasionally used by Baseball Players and the many Circuses that visited Carbondale. These lots were also used as a training ground by the Local Militia and were known as “the parade ground.”

In the 1880s, under the direction of the William H. Davies Post 187 of the G.A.R. , an appeal was made to the public for funds to erect a fence around “the parade ground” and to erect a G.A.R. Monument and Foundation on the site. On May 30, 1885, the Civil War Monument in Memorial Park was dedicated, and the Park open to the public. A Fountain, with an allegorical figure on the second level, was erected between the G.A.R. Monument and Main Street. A watering trough for horses was later installed at the edge of the Park, on Main Street.

On Washington’s Birthday in 1894, in ceremonies conducted in Alumni Hall in Carbondale High School, Paul Berton of the Patriotic Sons of America, Camp 200, donated an American Flag and pole to the park commissioners for Memorial Park. The Flag was accepted by Mayer Eli E. Hendrick on behalf of the park commissioners.

Location of Marker: The marker is between the entrance to City Hall and the Police Station.

Group that erected the marker: Carbondale Historical Society Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: 1 N Main St, Carbondale PA 18407 Carbondale PA, PA USA 18407 URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
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Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   09/27/2021 Don.Morfe visited it