Loew's Jersey Theatre to Reopen in November After $130M Restoration
Loew's Jersey Theatre in Jersey City, N.J., will grand re-open on Nov. 13 with a performance by the Trey Anastasio Band.
The Journal Square venue has set a Grand Reopening Weekend for Nov. 13-14, with the War on Drugs headlining the second night on Nov. 14, according to the theatre's announcement shared by Shore Fire.
It is a return for a room that first opened in September 1929. The theatre was originally built by Rapp and Rapp as a 3,021-seat movie house, and is one of five Loew's Wonder Theatres built as movie houses in and around New York City in the 1920s, according to Billboard. That history was reported by NorthJersey.com.
The reopening follows a two-year restoration closure and a $130 million renovation funded through a public-private partnership. The partners in the redevelopment are the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, the State of New Jersey / New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment joined the project in 2021. The company also operates Prudential Center in Newark and White Eagle Hall in Jersey City. The renovated Loew's has flexible seating configurations for approximately 2,600 to 4,000 guests, down from its original movie-house capacity to allow different stage and floor layouts.
The building has had a long civic afterlife. It was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places in 1985, and Jersey City bought it from private owners in 1993. The theatre also houses its Wonder Morton pipe organ, the Loew's Jersey Wonder Morton, with live organ music supported over the years by organist Robert Balfour and the Garden State Theatre Organ Society, according to the theatre.
What makes this stand out for concertgoers is scale and location. A 2,600- to 4,000-capacity room puts the Loew's between clubs and arenas. For Jersey City, it brings a large historic stage back into regular use after two years dark.
