Concrete City facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Concrete City
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Company town
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The ruins of an abandoned home in Concrete City, December 2023
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 Concrete City
Location in Pennsylvania
Concrete City
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Luzerne |
| Founded | 1911 |
| Abandoned | 1924 |
| Population
(2024)
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| • Total | 0 |
| • Estimate
(1924)
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Around 80 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Concrete City is a fascinating ghost town located in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It's not a typical town with shops and homes. Instead, it's a collection of strong concrete buildings that were once a special kind of neighborhood called a company town. It was built over 100 years ago for important workers of a railroad company.
Contents
The Story of Concrete City
Concrete City was built in 1911. It was meant to be a modern and comfortable place. The buildings were made in a unique style called International Style. This style uses simple shapes and strong materials.
A Special Place to Live
The town had 22 duplex houses. A duplex is like two homes connected together. These homes were built for special employees of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. This company had a big coal mining business in Nanticoke.
The houses surrounded a big open area. In the middle of this area, there were tennis courts and a baseball field. It was designed to be a nice community for the workers and their families.
Why Was It Abandoned?
After a while, another company took over Concrete City. This was the Glen Alden Coal Company. They found that the buildings needed some updates and repairs. However, the company did not want to pay for these improvements.
The buildings were made so strongly that it was very expensive to tear them down. Because it was too costly to fix them and too costly to demolish them, the company decided to simply leave the property. Concrete City was abandoned in 1924, just 13 years after it was built.
Concrete City Today
Even though it was abandoned a long time ago, Concrete City still stands today. The buildings are in very bad shape, but they are still there. The state once thought about tearing them down, but it was too expensive.
Today, Concrete City is used for many different activities. It's a popular spot for:
- Military and police training
- Firefighter drills
- Airsoft and military-simulation events
- Recreational paintball games
- Urban explorers who enjoy visiting abandoned places
In 1998, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission recognized Concrete City as a historic site. It's a unique example of early modern architecture and a reminder of Pennsylvania's coal mining history.
