Est. 1930 · Former Scottish Rite Masonic Temple and Cathedral · Regional Performing-Arts Venue · Attributed to Architect Raymond Hood
The building at 420 North Washington Avenue opened in 1930 as the Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral, a meeting space for Masonic lodges that also functioned as a public theater and event hall. The grand neo-Gothic structure, often credited to architect Raymond Hood, runs to roughly 180,000 square feet and contains two theaters, a grand ballroom, and an array of meeting and ceremonial rooms.
Over the following decades the building's role broadened from a Masonic facility into a general cultural venue. Today the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple operates the facility as a regional performing-arts hub, hosting touring Broadway musicals, concerts, and regional artists alongside weddings and community events.
The combination of Masonic ceremonial spaces and large public theaters gives the building an unusual character, and it has retained much of its original interior. That mix of solemn lodge rooms and ornate performance halls is part of what has kept its haunted reputation alive among performers, staff, and audiences.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scranton_Cultural_Center
- https://nepascene.com/2014/10/9-most-haunted-places-nepa/
- https://www.visitnepa.org/things-to-do/tours-and-sightseeing/haunted-trail/
ApparitionsPhantom children's laughterPhantom footstepsTemperature dropsEVP recordings
The signature legend of the Scranton Cultural Center is Sarah, described as a girl of about eight to ten who is said to watch performances from the left balcony. Witnesses report a translucent figure, peculiar lights, and shadows lingering around that balcony, and a theater seat there is said to be kept reserved for her. Local lore connects her loosely to a prominent Scranton family of the 1930s and 1940s, though no specific identity is documented.
Beyond Sarah, the reported activity includes children's laughter and footsteps in the upper rows of the theater and dragging sounds on the stage. NEPA Scene's roundup of the region's most haunted places features the building and cites investigations by the Society for Paranormal Research and Investigation, whose member Alicia VanDuzer described a temperature drop from 71 to 65 degrees over several minutes in one of the Masonic rooms, and an EVP that was later interpreted as the Masonic title 'Tyler' rather than a name.
The Cultural Center treats the stories as part of the building's character rather than as a marketed attraction. The verified facts are the building's 1930 Masonic origins and its scale; Sarah and the other figures remain folklore reported by staff, audiences, and visiting investigators.
Media Appearances
- The 9 Most Haunted Places in NEPA (web feature, 2014)
