Scranton's Bygone Department Stores

Remembering two palaces of retail

For generations, Scranton’s two big department stores, The Globe Store and Oppenheim’s Scranton Dry Goods Company, affectionately known as “the Dry,” dominated retail in the Electric City. Facing each other on Wyoming Avenue, they created special memories for those who walked their sales floors with attractive displays, special events, community service and elaborate Christmas decorations. Many fondly recall the steamship round of beef carved to order at The Globe’s Charl-Mont Restaurant or waving to customers passing by on the escalator from the Dry’s mezzanine Tea Room. Together, the two stores brought the best the world had to offer to Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Join Scranton-area native Daniel J. Packer Jr. and step through the iconic revolving doors into a bygone era of shopping in grand style.

Author Biography

Daniel J. Packer Jr. is a Northeastern Pennsylvania resident who has a lifelong passion for the history of local retail, especially the major department stores that once graced the area’s downtowns. His interest in local history was sparked by his great-grandmother Antoinette, who spent many summer hours with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren recounting fascinating tales of her childhood and young adulthood spent in the Electric City and the surrounding countryside. Today, he endeavors to carry on her legacy by preserving stories of local interest for future generations.