From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stanley Theater (Jersey City)
Stanley Theater (Jersey City)
ripped. The theater’s huge chandeliers had lost their bril-
liance under layers of grime. Thousands of volunteers, Je-
hovah’s Witnesses, worked over a nine-month period to
renovate and clean the theater back to its original beauty
and splendor, for its first assembly in August 1985.
Description
A glittering copper marquee spans the entrance, over-
hanging the solid brass doors. Over the marquee are
three large arched windows. Building materials include
marble from Italy, Vermont and Texas, limestone from
Stanley Theater in 2006 Indiana, and granite from Maine to face the Corinthian
columns.
The Stanley Theater is a theater venue near Journal The interior has a three-story lobby adorned with
Square in Jersey City, New Jersey. columns, a broad center staircase with trompe l’oeil al-
The theater opened to the public on March 22, 1928. abaster handrails and balusters, lamps, velvet drapes,
Mayor Frank Hague attended the ceremonies that and stained glass windows of faux "Chartre Blue" in the
evening and, with the audience, was greeted on the foyer. Allegorical paintings by Hungarian muralist Willy
screen by actress Norma Talmadge. An orchestral per- Pogany originally adorned the ceiling and walls.
formance, a stage show called "Sky Blues," a newsreel, The larger of two crystal chandeliers, suspended from
and a musical piece on the Wurlitzer organ, preceded the second floor, is from the New York ’s original Waldorf
the showing of The Dove starring Talmadge and Gilbert Astoria of the 1880s; it is thirteen feet tall and ten feet
Roland. wide, and illuminated by 144 bulbs that reflect onto 4,500
The Stanley was designed by architect Fred Went- hanging crystal teardrops.
worth. When it opened, its 4,300 seats earned it the rank The grand staircase is the main feature of the three-
of the second largest theater on the East Coast, behind story lobby. During the day, sunlight streams in, illumi-
only New York City ’s Radio City Music Hall. Now, if one nating the lobby. An immense crystal chandelier shines
looks at the ranking by number of seats for one screen after the sun sets. On three sides of the lobby, stands
movie theaters, the Stanley ranks number four, behind a formation of marble columns topped by a balcony. A
Radio City, and the Detroit and St. Louis Fox theaters. It nearly celestial ceiling actually had machine generated
was an elegant and popular venue into the 1960s. Stage clouds and points of light that twinkled like stars.
shows at the theater reflected the popular culture of the Movie palace architect John Eberson contributed the
times with entertainers ranging from Three Stooges and design for the auditorium. Here theatergoers enter the
Jimmy Durante to Tony Bennett, Janis Joplin, Dolly Par- environment of an evening in Venice with a replica of
ton, and The Grateful Dead. During the 1970s, however, the Rialto Bridge spanning the stage. Above the seating
movie attendance suffered and the theater fell into dis- is an eighty-five foot ceiling that permits an open sky ef-
repair, and became an RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum Pic- fect with stars and moving clouds originally effected by
tures) grindhouse. The once beautiful metalwork a projecting device called a "Brenkert Brenograph," cost-
throughout the building was painted dark blue, and the ing $290 (in 1920’s dollars). Lighted stained glass win-
Wurlitzer organ was removed in the 1970s. It finally dows line the walls with grottoes, arches and columns
closed as a movie theater April 20, 1978. simulating the courtyard motif.
The future of the building was in question until it was
purchased in 1983 for $800,000, becoming an Assembly See also
Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. At that time some basement
• Stanley Theater (Newark, New Jersey)
sections of the stage area were flooded under two feet
• Loew’s Jersey Theater
(60 cm) of water. The original brass and copper on doors
• Park Performing Arts Center
and windows was covered by layers of paint and dirt, the
picturesque Italian façade was obscured by 50 years of
nicotine and dust, and the seats were stained, torn, and
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stanley Theater (Jersey City)
External links Coordinates: 40°44′00″N 74°03′44″W
74.0621°W / 40.7332; -74.0621
/ 40.7332°N
• njcu.edu
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stanley_Theater_(Jersey_City)&oldid=472674410"
Categories:
• Cinemas and movie theaters in New Jersey
• Theatres in New Jersey
• Former cinemas of the United States
• Buildings and structures in Jersey City, New Jersey
• Places of worship in Hudson County, New Jersey
• Visitor attractions in Hudson County, New Jersey
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