Written by: Rachel Kosty Exsc/Kines ’18, DPT ’21
If there’s one question you’ll be continuously asked from the moment you are accepted to the University it’s, “Scranton? Where The Office takes place?” Scranton, PA is famous for many things, but well known to most is that this is where one of the best comedy TV shows of all time is set! During your time here, I highly recommend you re-watch the series. You’ll find yourself yelling at the TV, “Hey I know where that is!” and “Pam has a University of Scranton flag behind her desk!” The creators of The Office did a fantastic job of filling the TV show with actual places and objects from the real Scranton, down to Froggy 101 radio station stickers and the McCarthy Cab cars! Family and friends will ask to visit you here and take a tour of Scranton to see places and memorabilia from the show! My cousins asked to do just this, so here are some famous places to go visit in Scranton if you’re a fan of the show!
1. The “Scranton Welcomes You” Sign
Everyone and anyone who has seen The Office knows this sign! It’s shown right in the opening credits! It can now be found inside the Steamtown Mall and is a fantastic photo-op for any fan of the show! The Steamtown Mall is also featured in the show as well!
2. The Dunder Mifflin Building (kind of)
Another famous building featured in the opening credits of the show is home to an actual paper company! The building is owned by the Pennsylvania Paper & Supply Company and features the Dunder Mifflin Logo on the tower.
3. Poor Richard’s Pub
An establishment frequented by all employees of Dunder Mifflin is Poor Richard’s Pub! The pub is located inside of South Side Bowl (a bowling alley), a great place to spend the evening bowling and having a drink where actual members of the office have been! The pub sells memorabilia perfect for any fan!
4. Lake Scranton and Lake Wallenpaupak
The Lake Scranton featured in the show is very different than the one in real life but is still a beautiful place to take a walk on a sunny day! You won’t find any sandy beaches at Lake Scranton or a booze cruise on Lake Wallenpaupak, but they are both gorgeous places to visit!
5. Cooper’s Seafood House
If there is one place on this list that has the most Office memorabilia, it is Cooper’s! The restaurant has lots of artifacts, photos and history of the Scranton area, and also features a large gift shop where you can get all The Office gear you could imagine, plus more! What a great restaurant to have dinner, get some mementos and take a few photos!
6. The Electric City Sign
Scranton, what? The Electric City! Scranton is famously known as The Electric City for having the first street cars in the U.S. to be powered by only electricity! There is an amazing sign found in downtown Scranton at the corner of N. Washington Ave and Linden Street that makes a perfect place to recreate Michael and Dwight’s music video!
7. Alfredo’s Pizza Café
Famously mentioned in The Office is Alfredo’s Pizza Café, which is definitely not Pizza by Alfredo’s! Alfredo’s Pizza Café is a real restaurant located on S. Washington Street in Scranton! Stop by for a great photo and head inside to grab some pizza!
8. The University of Scranton!
When you re-watch the show, you’ll notice just how many times our university is featured! From t-shirts to office decorations, our school is represented! A fun fact you may not know is that The University of Scranton actually hosted the wrap party for The Office! All the cast members were here on campus to say one final goodbye to the series. They even hosted a panel session in our gym! When you step on campus, you are standing where each one of the cast members of the show has as well!
Although Scranton might not be home to its own Chili’s, there are so many places you can visit both on and off campus that were important to the series! If you stick around here in Scranton long enough, you might even get to meet a cast member from the show! A few are very well known for coming back into town regularly and hitting up our favorite local establishments.