By Lee Pfeiffer
For many years an ad hoc group of volunteers struggled to save the landmark Loew's Theatre in Journal Square, the hub of commerce in Jersey City. The one-time movie palace had been allowed to disintegrate into a crumbling ruin by the 1980s and was slated for the wrecking ball. Concerned citizens from within and outside the city formed a group called The Friends of the Loew's. Working with sometimes reluctant city officials, they got landmark status on the theater where young Frank Sinatra saw Bing Crosby perform and became inspired to become a crooner himself. As the theater was painstakingly restored over a period of decades, crowds have been flocking to see presentations of classic movie screenings as well as live concerts. The theater is not 100% restored, however, and is still suffering from a lack of funding to pay for essential repairs such as the air conditioning system. The theater is only openly periodically, mostly on weekends and has operated at a slight financial loss. Still, the theater has been drawing enthusiastic crowds with many classic movie lovers taking the short PATH train ride from Manhattan to Journal Square. Cinema Retro has occasionally helped to host some of these screenings.
There is now trouble in paradise, however. The new mayor of Jersey City, Steven Fulop, has determined that its time to bring the Loew's to its full potential. He is bringing in private investors to turn the venue into a world class entertainment palace. No one disputes the theater has more potential than is presently being realized but the Friends of the Loew's say they are being marginalized and pushed out of the equation with little recognition or appreciation for the work they have done in running the theater. They fear that if corporate bigwigs take over, the theater will lose its appeal for the core audience that has kept it going over the years. Consequently, the Friends of the Loew's have taken legal action against Jersey City and its Redevelopment Agency to stop the corporate takeover. For his part, Mayor Fulop claims that the Friends have been treated with all due respect but that only corporate funding and involvement will make the Loew's truly thrive again. Fulop, who was recently elected on a reformist agenda, has also been in the national news in regard to the controversial New Jersey "Bridgegate" scandal after Governor Chris Christy's staff canceled a number of promised meetings allegedly because he refused to endorse the governor for re-election. One thing is certain: New Jersey thrives on political controversy and now its even seeped into the seemingly uncontroversial topic of saving a wonderful old movie theater. For more on the Loews situation, visit the Friends of the Loew's web site by clicking here.
Click here for photo galleries of the Loew's including vintage shots from decades ago.