I had a chance to visit a grand old movie palace, loews jersey theater in jersey city, nj for a concert. It’s from the classic era, was built for $2m, has or had 3,100 seats and opened in 1929. Now undergoing slow continuous renovation. Sorry, I was rushed around so the photos aren’t so good.

 

Trivia: loew’s is pronounced both as lowz, like the discount store and as low-eez.

 

History:

http://loewsjersey.org/content/view/33/48/

 

 

 

Yay for the path train to journal square.  :clap:

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

whew - outta there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A look below at the path train yard

 

 

 

This blinked so fast it took me like 10 tries to catch it!  :laugh:

 

Now this makes an impression  :-o

 

 

 

 

 

 

A real pro shot from the theater website

 

I got to ditch the crew for a few and poke around a little before the show

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow on the fancy marble floors  :-o

 

To flash or not to flash?  :roll:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside, like many of these old theaters you can see where it was once divided into a triplex

 

Parts of the seating were blocked off as the ceiling is in precarious shape in some sections  :|

 

 

During a halftime band break I went down to the front to check out the old organ

 

 

 

 

 

 

More about the organ:

http://www.gstos.org/wonder.htm

 

in action:

 

Bonus: a shot from later when they showed ‘phantom of the opera’ with organ accompaniment:

“We had over 860 movie lovers come to our screening of The Phantom of the Opera with Ralph Ringstadt on the organ on Saturday, October 25, 2008.”

 

   

“Thank you for helping make this night a great success (the phantom thanks you too ..) “

 

 

 

 

I've been to that theater for a fund raiser for NJPAC.  It reminds me of the Allen or the Palace the in Cleveland.  The JS area is another story.

whoops i almost forgot....here it is in the daytime. btw it's easy to get to, it's right across the street from the journal square path train station:

 

   

 

^ you just wonder what they tore down on the right-hand side where the discount shop is  :| ?

well, at least it wasn't the theater.

 

 

WOW! Thats a beautiful building!!!! Gllad to hear its being renovated!

Awesome.

My neck of the woods :) I remember coming into Jersey City in the late 1980s and 1990s, and the area was pretty decrepit and neglected. The theater was in pretty poor condition back then. Journal Square was dirty, nasty. It's completely changed -- luxury apartments and condos? The restoration of the theater? And new, major developments along the river? Very nice :)