"A river is more than an amenity, it is a treasure. It offers a necessity of life that must be rationed among those who have power over it."
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
Tethered livestock grazed along the River Common established as public open space by Connecticut settlers in 1769. General Sullivan's soldiers camped along the green riverfront during the Revolutionary War. Timber and coal shipping, boat building and shad fishing made the River Common the focus of Wilkes-Barre economic life. Here, festivals celebrated annual shad runs and presidents made gala appearances.
Views of the magnificent Susquehanna created prime riverfront real estate. Old Wilkes-Barre families built fashionable houses along River Street, enjoying afternoon tea and croquet at the neighboring Wyoming Valley Hotel. Rich and poor strolled along the riverfront, shaded by elm trees planted in 1865.
By the early 1900s, erosion washed away much of the original river bank, weeds and vegetation grew rampant. Private subscription paid to clean up the riverfront. The Park Commission, created in 1906, took over River Common, extending it to South Street and laying out walks, flower gardens, a municipal conservatory that grew flowers for city parks, a tree nursery, tennis courts and park areas that enhanced the new County
Courthouse. Park development northward to the North Street Bridge provided additional gardens, paths and seating areas.
The 1936 flood destroyed much of the River Common and Horticultural Building, remnants of which survived several decades. In the 1940s the US Army Corps of Engineers built an earthen levee, protecting Wilkes-Barre homes and businesses, saying a sad, but necessary farewell to the view.
[Photo captions, from top to bottom, read]
· Looking north along the River Common toward the Market Street Bridge and the Luzerne County Courthouse in the distance, 1910.
· Enjoying a day on the River Common along South River Street, 1910.
· View of River Common from Market Street with North Street Bridge in the background, circa 1910.
· Bird's-eye view of palm house and gardens along North River Street, circa 1915.
· Horticultural building, palm house and greenhouses on the River Common, circa 1915. The [curvilinear?] structure, designed to be architecturally compatible with the courthouse, was part of a public [?] garden for the city's [?] children. [best guess of deteriorated text]
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