Nearly 100-Year-Old Loew’s Jersey Theatre to Reopen in November: Inside the $130M Restoration
Categoria: Musica
The grand reopening weekend (Nov. 13 and 14) will feature performances from the Trey Anastasio Band and The War on Drugs.
Por Billboard | 17/09/2026
The nearly 100-year-old Loew’s Jersey Theatre is set for a grand re-opening on Nov. 13 with a performance from the Trey Anastasio Band, the venue has announced. Located in the heart of Jersey City, N.J.’s Journal Square, the theater will re-open as a fully restored, state-of-the-art live performance venue this fall after a massive redevelopment project between the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA), the State of New Jersey/ New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), the latter of which also operates Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. and White Eagle Hall in Jersey City. Related Billboard’s 2026 Top Music Venues Billboard to Add Smart Media Albums As Chart-Eligible Sales Formats Duane 'Keffe D' Davis Gives First Interview After Tupac Shakur Murder Conviction After more than 40 years of limited use, the theatre — one of five “Loew’s Wonder Theatres,” which were built as movie houses in and around New York City in the 1920s — has undergone a restoration to preserve its original character while transforming it into a versatile 21st-century venue. “There was a big effort within the city to keep the building from the wrecking ball,” Loew’s Jersey Theatre GM Bruce Wheeler tells 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.” In its heyday, the Jersey Theatre, which was at the center of the bustling neighborhood also know as Publishers Row where many newspaper businesses were located, hosted greats like Duke Ellington and New Jersey’s own Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons . Originally built by renowned theater architects Rapp and Rapp as a 3,021-seat movie house, the private/public partnership behind the reopening spent $130 million renovating the venue. It now features flexible seating configurations ranging from approximately 2,600 to 4,000 guests in order to host concerts, live performances, sporting events, film presentations and more. Loew’s Jersey Theatre Grand Lobby Rendering Courtesy HBSE The city, which bought the theater from private owners in 1993, had been threatened with demolition, but local preservationists kept the fight alive, and HBSE, who came on board the renovation project in 2021, saw a need for a midsize theater in Jersey City. In addition, the location — easily accessible to the tri-state area via car, PATH train and New Jersey Transit — made it an ideal candidate. “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,” Sean Saadeh , HBSE chief programming officer and head of entertainment, tells Billboard . “So, why tear down something so beautiful that was so thought out 100 years ago?” Related How Revolution Hall Turned a Shuttered School Into ‘One of Portland’s