Jersey City moves forward with $40M renovation of historic Loew’s Theatre
All photos taken by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.
The historic Loew’s Wonder Theatre in Jersey City is finally set to receive the restoration it’s waited years for. Built in 1929 by architect George Rapp in a gilded, Baroque-Rococo style, the Loew’s Jersey was as a lavish entertainment destination for decades, until it was converted to a triplex movie theater in the ’70s and almost faced the wrecking ball in the ’80s. But through a grassroots preservation effort, the city bought the theater in 1987, allowing the nonprofit Friends of the Loew’s to begin restoration and operate as a nonprofit arts center. Though the group has made incredible progress, a significant amount of work remains. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports that Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is searching for a commercial operator to help with the $40 million restoration and modernization effort of the 3,000-seat theater.
Photos of the balcony, which still needs restoration work, by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.
In a 2018 interview, Friends of the Loew’s executive director Colin Egan explained that at the start of the project in 1987, the city matched a $1 million state grant, but the $2 million “didn’t cover the cost of things such as getting the heat turned on and making the bathrooms operational.” To make up for the lack of funding, every weekend until 1996, volunteers came out and completed projects from working on the mechanical and lighting systems to mapping every theater seat and scraping, priming, and painting them. According to the Journal, the renovation will retain the theater’s historic architecture but modernize stage-production capabilities, the air conditiong and heating systems, and the balcony, which has sat untouched since the ’80s.
Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.
Mayor Fulop first tried to hire a commercial operator for the Loew’s Jersey in 2013, but it resulted in a legal dispute with Friends of the Loew’s. According to the Journal, the two have since reached an agreement that the nonprofit will be part of the renovation and preservation plans and will continue to oversee local community programming. The new commercial operator will “focus on attracting national and international comedic and musical talent.”
Prior to the pandemic, the Loew’s Jersey Theatre put on more than 70 events per year, along with renting out the space for events and weddings. Because of the lack of air conditioning, they’ve been unable to operate in the summer.
Photo by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft.
The theater is one of five Loew’s Wonder Theatres built in 1929-30 around the New York City area, along with the Loew’s Paradise in the Bronx, the Loew’s Kings in Brooklyn, the Loew’s Valencia in Queens, and the Loew’s 175th Street (today the United Palace Theatre). “The over-the-top, opulent movie palaces were built by the Loew’s Corporation not only to establish their stature in the film world but to be an escape for people from all walks of life,” especially during the Great Depression and WWII, as 6sqft previously explained. The Loew’s Jersey was built in the bustling Journal Square area, near the train to NYC.
In addition to its amazing interior architecture–a three-story, domed lobby is dripping in gilded ornamentation with a massive Czech crystal chandelier, and the Italian Renaissance-style auditorium has intricate carvings and medallions from floor to ceiling–the Loew’s Jersey hosted an impressive roster of names over the years, including Bob Hope, Duke Ellington, the Ritz Brothers, Jackie Coogan, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra.
Jersey City and the new commercial operator will contribute to the $40 million renovation cost, though the breakdown has not been made public.
[Via WSJ]
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Hello! I am a great! big fan of the old movie palaces of the 20th Century. It is great! to see the Lowe’s Paradise Theater get new life, and a new beginning. I am from Chicago and the Chicago architects that designed the Lowe’s Paradise Theater were Rapp and Rapp. The were the architects of Balaban and Katz, they also designed. The Lowe’s Kings Brooklyn Theater now the Kings Theater, great! job on the restoration. Bring the theater back to its natural glamour look, Rapp and Rapp also designed the Shea Buffalo Theater. The Chicago Theater was the flagship of their movie chain Corporation. They owned over 100 theaters throughout the United States, 50 of them were located in Chicago. Chicago theater was also known as. The Balaban and Katz Chicago Theater, first called the “Wonder Theater of The World” they did like for it to be called that. But it fits the Shea and Lowe’s Paradise perfectly, and I know the restoration is going to be magnificent once it’s completed. We in Chicago are hoping that, a once movie palace gets its own rejuvenation. The Balaban and Katz Uptown Theater movie palace opened on August 18,1925, it closed in 1981. It celebrated it 100th Anniversary on August 16, 2025. Uptown Theater celebrated with a parade coming before the opening of the movie Palace on August 18, 1925. It was Balaban and Katz Masterpiece Crown Jewel, of their four largest movie palaces. The Chicago Theater, the Tiviol Theater, the Paradise Theater and the Granada Theater. All those theaters are now closed, except for the Chicago Theater. which is owned and operated by the Madison Square Garden group, in New York and is now a concert venue and it’s doing very well. The Uptown Theater can never be torn down because it’s on the registry of landmarks. hopefully before my time I was born in 1960, this movie palace gets new life. I never been inside the Uptown Theater before, but have created my own scrapbook of the movie palace. I have also created a scrapbook of the Lowe’s Paradise Theater, because it was designed by our Architect Rapp and Rapp. If I lived in New Jersey would love to see, the theater in person. Once the restoration is complete, I have been to new York. It was before the “World Trade Center” Twin Towers were destroyed. The Chicago Theater opened on October 26, 1921, this year the theater. Will be celebrating it’s in 105th Anniversary, on October 26, 2025. I wish the Lowe’s Paradise Theater in New Jersey, a wonderful restoration. Good Luck!