Highrise #43

**Board of Trade Building** **Art by:** Chris Hytha **Research by: ** Mark Houser As native son Joe Biden and fans of “The Office” know, Scranton calls itself the Electric City. A sign five stories high on the original offices of the local board of trade has spelled out that moniker since 1916. The illuminated sign was put there by one of the building’s main tenants — unsurprisingly, an electric company — and refers to Scranton boasting one of the nation’s first electric trolley lines. An earlier sign saying “Watch Scranton Grow” was the first to grace the rooftop in 1907. Scranton was doing exactly that at the time, as a prosperous shipping hub for the nearby anthracite coal mines. Scranton merchants and businessmen had raised funds the previous decade to erect this eight-story building, which stands opposite the courthouse on the main square. With its name carved into the stone, the predecessor of the chamber of commerce occupied the top two floors and leased the rest to other businesses and private clubs. Scranton Electric took ownership the year after it put up the Electric City sign, and the structure became known as the Electric Building. For a time it housed government offices, and it is now under renovation to be headquarters for its latest owner, a local bank.