Loew’s Jersey Theatre is preparing to raise the curtain again, with the nearly century-old Jersey City venue set for a grand reopening on Nov. 13 headlined by Trey Anastasio Band, the theater has announced.
The Journal Square landmark will return this fall as a restored live performance venue following a $130 million redevelopment backed by a public/private partnership involving the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, the State of New Jersey/New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. HBSE also operates Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and White Eagle Hall in Jersey City.
The reopening marks a major new chapter for a building that had seen more than 40 years of limited use. One of five Loew’s Wonder Theatres built as movie houses in and around New York City in the 1920s, Loew’s Jersey Theatre has been renovated with the goal of retaining its historic character while equipping it for modern concerts, performances, film presentations, sporting events and other live programming.
“There was a big effort within the city to keep the building from the wrecking ball,” Loew’s Jersey Theatre general manager Bruce Wheeler told Billboard. “The city was very interested in having the Loew’s Jersey Theatre be the anchor for them bringing the Journal Square area back to full force.”
A historic movie palace rebuilt for modern live events
Originally designed by theater architects Rapp and Rapp, Loew’s Jersey Theatre was built as a 3,021-seat movie house. In its earlier era, the venue stood in the middle of a busy neighborhood also known as Publishers Row, where many newspaper businesses were located, and hosted performers including Duke Ellington and New Jersey’s own Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
The renovated theater will now operate with flexible seating configurations ranging from approximately 2,600 to 4,000 guests. Its orchestra seating is fully mobile, allowing the room to shift for standing-room-only events, while the balcony has been restored for fully seated use with new chairs and fabric.
The building’s restoration had to balance preservation with utility. Loew’s Jersey Theatre was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places in 1985, and that status shaped parts of the renovation, including the need to restore the balcony aisle end caps. Contractors also worked to bring the building up to code, including electric and plumbing systems, while adding new heating and air conditioning units and a new sound system. The lighting system has been modernized, though artists can also bring their own setup.
“It’s a marriage of the restoration piece and bringing the building itself up to a modern-day standard,” Wheeler said. “So, when people walk in, they’ll feel like they walked into the building back almost 100 years ago. But as far as the experience of seeing a concert or an event there, it’s going to be as modern-day as it possibly can be.”
The venue’s original pipe organ has also been restored and maintained, with plans for continued regular servicing and tuning. Sean Saadeh, HBSE chief programming officer and head of entertainment, said other key components and equipment from the theater will be placed throughout the venue as a nod to its history. A new LED marquee has been designed to resemble the original, while modern screens will allow the venue to display more information.
Why HBSE saw an opening in Jersey City
Jersey City bought the theater from private owners in 1993, after the building had faced the threat of demolition. Local preservationists kept pushing for its survival, and HBSE came aboard the renovation project in 2021. According to the source material, HBSE saw demand for a midsize theater in Jersey City, with the site’s accessibility by car, PATH train and New Jersey Transit making it a strong candidate for redevelopment.
“Quite frankly, artists would prefer to play in something that has some character to it. That you’re looking out and you’re seeing beautiful architecture, and then also the fans want to be in an experience like that,” Saadeh told Billboard. “So, why tear down something so beautiful that was so thought out 100 years ago?”
The theater’s original design also remains central to how the restored venue is being positioned. Though Loew’s Jersey Theatre operated as a movie house, audiences were sometimes treated to special performances after screenings by stars including Bing Crosby and Judy Garland. Wheeler said the original architects were mindful of sightlines for both film and stage presentations.
Saadeh pointed to the venue’s upper seating — lodge, mezzanine and balcony — being arranged on a single outcropping as part of what makes the room distinctive for performers. “You’re not looking at balcony after balcony stacked on top of each other,” he said. “You’re seeing a sea of fans, and that really is an important experience for an artist because it feels like you’re really in the middle of it all.”
What happens next
The grand reopening weekend begins Nov. 13 with Trey Anastasio Band, followed by The War On Drugs on Saturday, Nov. 14. Additional scheduled events include Jodeci on Nov. 18; Derek Hough’s Dance For The Holidays on Dec. 8; Unwrapped: An Acoustic Holiday on Dec. 9; Christmas with Chris Tomlin on Dec. 10; Jeff Dunham on Jan. 9; and World of Warcraft: 20 Years of Music on May 8.
After decades of uncertainty and limited use, Loew’s Jersey Theatre is returning with a calendar that signals its intended range: concerts, comedy, dance, holiday programming and multimedia music events, all inside a restored Journal Square movie palace built for another era and redesigned for this one.