Andy's Angles: The Oral School

It is one of our area's hidden gems, and I hope it has a bright future.

Above is one of the buildings at the former Scranton State School for the Deaf in the Green Ridge section of Scranton.  The state sold the school about four years ago.  Responsibilities were assumed by the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.  The campus was moved to the Abingtons.  Marywood University bought the property.

A lot of people say Marywood got a great deal from the state-- some prime property on the cheap.  I was okay with that because I believe Marywood will give the site the respect it deserves.  There's a lot of history here.

When I was growing up, this was called the Pennsylvania Oral School, as you can see from the stone in one of the buildings.  The property is surrounded with a big fence, and as a youngster, the site always reminded me of ivy covered castles, a mysterious place.

The school dates back to 1880.  Check the railing in front of the window.  One of the center piece buildings on the site dates back to 1892