Concrete City Series - Looking out the Window

Sandra Mahle
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Concrete City Series - Looking out the Window
Concrete City Series - Looking out the Window

A friend and I ventured into a forgotten “city” for a afternoon photo shoot. Abandoned long ago, Concrete City is full of jagged edges, dangerous footing, caved in floors and ceilings and enough spookiness to scare yourself silly! I’m including some interesting background information.

Concrete City was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Coal Company back in 1911. It was left abandoned by the same company in 1924. There were 22 2-story homes that faced a courtyard with complete with a wading pool, tennis courts, playground, baseball field and a small pavillion. It is believed to be the first example of modern tract housing.

Each home had seven rooms and rent was $8.00/ month with concrete outhouses built behind each house. They were painted white with dark green trim. The main disadvantage of the concrete city was the dampness caused by moisture rising through the pourous concrete. Everything, including the roof is made of concrete. Each tenant was required to have a garden hose to wash the culm from the walls. Every two years, the coal company made all the necessary repairs and painted the entire town, inside and outside, papering any rooms as requested by the tenants. Only working coal miners were allowed to rent. The Glen Alden Company took possession of the property and did not want to spend $ 200,000.00 installing a sewer system required by the township. Demolition began in Dec. 1924. Glen Alden abandoned the complex, in place, because 100 sticks of dynamite had little impact on one of the buildings. Since then, the "city" has been used by the military, police, and fire departments for training. You can see large caliber hits on some of the walls. It was declared a historical site in 1988.

www.itsveryeasytoremember.com/Pennsylvania/Concrete_City/...

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Taken on: November 24, 2019
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