The Loew's Jersey

On Saturday some friends and I had the treat of attending a special screening of Charlie Chaplin's classic film City Lights at the Loew's Jersey, one of the few movie palaces from the early days of film left in the country. I wrote about City Lights some months ago, so for this entry I'll write about the theater.

Located in Jersey City, just across the street from transportation hub Journal Square, the Loew's Jersey opened for business in 1929, one of several "movie palaces" that existed all across the country. With over 3,000 seats, a 35 x 82 foot screen, and a built-in pipe organ, the theater was a grand example of ornate architecture, with brass railings, velvet tapestries, and more filigree than one can imagine (there are even couches in the restrooms). During those days, live shows accompanied films, so their was room for an orchestra pit and dressing rooms.

Eventually the live shows stopped. In the fifties, movie palaces began to disappear, especially after the anti-trust lawsuit that prevented movie studios from owning their own theaters. The Loew's Jersey managed to live on, though, all the way to 1986, when it showed it's last first-run film, an installment of the Friday the Thirteenth series. It was then purchased by the Hartz Mountain Corporation, which intended it for the wrecking ball.

A groundswell in the community, though, stood up to prevent this. Over several years they persuaded the city to buy the theater, and through many hiccups an organization of volunteers has renovated the theater, slowly but surely. The first time I went, in the mid-nineties, they showed movies in the lobby (which is larger than most multiplex theaters). Shortly thereafter I moved away from Jersey City (a shame, since I lived within walking distance of the theater) but I've been back twice now to see films. The orchestra level of the theater, some 1,500 seats, are fully open, and on Saturday they were largely filled by moviegoers.

Before the film there was a short concert with the Morton Wonder Organ (that's not a dirty joke). There were only five of them built, and the one that the Loews has was originally in the Bronx. It was pieced together over some long hours, but the pipes in the theater were still there.

Of course City Lights was just as great as ever, but even more so because of it was accompanied by the laughter of several hundred people, some who had clearly never seen it before. And as the scenes led up to the heart-rending final shot, I got choked up just thinking about. A great movie-going experience.