All of the stones are being removed and replaced by smooth pavement in front of the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel in downtown Scranton on Wednesday. The stones were placed along the walkway in the 1980s.
The removal of cobblestone walkway in a forecourt of the historic Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel has some accusing the owner of the century-old building of making it less historic.
However, the cobblestones are not original. And are probably younger than 35-year-old actress Michelle Williams, who stayed at the hotel when filming the 2010 movie “Blue Valentine.”
Visitors who have seen the Belgium block stones removed and replaced with poured concrete have complained to hotel management, City Hall and on social media, taking pictures of their feet on the stones or lying on remaining cobblestones before they are torn up and replaced.
Scranton architect and past chairman of the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Board Richard J. Leonori said the cobblestones may be aesthetically appealing but definitely are not original, not by a long shot. The Belgium block stones were installed in the 1980s, he said, when the entire building and grounds underwent a renovation.
“That whole configuration in front of the hotel is not how it was at all,” Mr. Leonori said. “Cobblestones carry a connotation of history and people can value the look. But in this case, it is not original or historic.”
Being accused of lack of historic sensitivity frustrates hotel general manager Michael Kearney.
“We don’t do a thing here without talking to the historical society,” he said. “So when people come in and ask me ‘what do you think you are doing?’ I take it personally.”
Replacing the walkway is just one component of larger improvements to the hotel’s exterior, including a new front garden, paved parking lot and rear fence.
The stones are being saved for use in the front garden, possibly as a retaining wall.
“We are still working on ideas, but the cobblestone will be used for something grand,” Mr. Kearney said.
The hotel is wrapping up renovations of interior rooms and is beginning work on the ballrooms.
With his business neighboring the hotel, John Cognetti, a commercial real estate agent and the founder of the city Architectural Heritage Association, said he has walked those cobblestones many times on the way to events at the hotel. The stones are difficult to clean of snow and ice, he said. Even in good weather, someone walking in heels would have trouble on the irregular surface.
“I’d imagine people have fallen, and this is an insurance issue,” Mr. Cognetti said.
It is, Mr. Kearney confirmed.
“Imagine an elderly person, or someone with a cane or walker trying to navigate that path,” he said. “It is not a safe sidewalk and we are correcting it.”
Contact the writer:
dfalchek@timesshamrock.com
