"It's really the theater for the people, and it's my job to make sure it is," Councilperson Thomas Zuppa, Jr., who represents the Journal Square neighborhood, told NJ.com in March.
The second half of that sentence carries most of the weight. Tomorrow night, Friday, November 13, the Loew's Jersey Theatre at 54 Journal Square opens its Grand Opening Weekend with the Trey Anastasio Band. The War On Drugs plays Saturday, November 14. The building is the same 1929 movie palace. The way its stage gets booked has changed, and that arrangement will decide what the Loew's feels like on an ordinary Tuesday more than the gilding will.
A movie palace rebuilt as a flexible concert room
The Loew's opened just before the Great Depression. It was one of five "Wonder Theaters" the Loew's Corporation, then the owner of MGM, built across the tri-state area in the late 1920s, and it cost $2 million at the time. The restoration that began in 2021 cost $130 million, and its biggest change sits on the ground floor. The fixed orchestra seating is gone. The floor can now run general admission or standing room, and portable seating comes in for performances that need it, so capacity flexes between about 2,600 and 4,000 people.
Other parts of the building have opened up as well. A basement level that is now usable holds restrooms, concessions and the original 1929 stage light control board, which is on display as an artifact. The historic marquee was restored off-site. The grand lobby chandelier was cleaned, repaired and re-lamped. The pipe organ was protected during construction and stays in the theater. According to Jersey Digs, the work also covered acoustic and visual upgrades, new concessions and ticketing areas, ADA-compliant entries and exits, and new HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems.
A room that holds 4,000 people standing can book acts that the old seated layout could not. That is the business the new operator runs.
The deal counts some nights and leaves others open
Jersey City signed a lease with Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, which also runs events at the Prudential Center in Newark and at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City. The reopening announcement lists the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Harris Blitzer as project partners.
Jersey Digs reported the yearly booking terms that Devils Arena Entertainment works under:
- At least 20 musical performances by nationally recognized artists
- 10 theatrical or stage performances
- 10 comedy shows
- An unspecified number of events sponsored by Friends of the Loew's
That last line covers the group that kept the building standing. Friends of the Loew's formed in the late 1980s, after the theater was sold with plans to tear it down. Following years of advocacy, the city let the group operate the building as a nonprofit arts organization, and it reopened in 2001. For two decades, a mostly volunteer effort worked to bring the theater back from its 1970s multiplex conversion. NJ.com reports that the Friends will keep up their commitment to affordable, diverse programming such as film screenings, community theater and art shows, while the operator handles the big-ticket concerts.
So the contract guarantees the operator's share by count and leaves the community share without a number. Councilperson Zuppa's "it's my job to make sure it is" reads as a promise to look after that open clause.
The first six months on the venue's calendar
The calendar posted at loewsjersey.com runs from opening weekend into May 2027:
| Date | Performer | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov. 13, 2026 | Trey Anastasio Band | Grand Opening Weekend |
| Sat, Nov. 14, 2026 | The War On Drugs | Grand Opening Weekend |
| Wed, Nov. 18, 2026 | Jodeci | 35th Anniversary Tour of Forever My Lady |
| Tue, Dec. 8, 2026 | Derek Hough | Dance For The Holidays |
| Wed, Dec. 9, 2026 | Unwrapped: An Acoustic Holiday | |
| Thu, Dec. 10, 2026 | Christmas with Chris Tomlin | |
| Sat, Dec. 12, 2026 | Chelsea Handler | The High and Mighty Tour |
| Sat, Dec. 19, 2026 | Nimbus Dance in Jersey Nutcracker | |
| Sat, Jan. 9, 2027 | Jeff Dunham | Inappropriate Contact Tour |
| Sat, Jan. 23, 2027 | Gary Owen | No Hard Feelings Tour |
| Sat, Feb. 27, 2027 | Jimmy O. Yang | Has No Friends Tour |
| Sat, May 1, 2027 | Matthew West | Jesus is King Tour |
| Sat, May 8, 2027 | World of Warcraft | 20 Years of Music |
The list follows the categories in the contract. Touring music comes first. Comedy holds most of the winter Saturdays, with four headliners between December 12 and February 27. December fills in with holiday programming, including the Jersey Nutcracker on the 19th. The Friends' share has no counterpart in the agreement, so the screenings, community theater and art shows NJ.com described will run on whatever dates the Friends secure.
Getting in the door on show night
The theater sits directly across from the Journal Square Transportation Center, which links PATH, light rail and buses. The venue's FAQ says parking nearby is privately owned and may be limited, and it suggests reserving ahead through ParkWhiz. For most of Downtown, Hoboken and the waterfront, the PATH ride to Journal Square is the simplest way in, and the station exit puts you across the street from the marquee.
A few other details from the venue FAQ for show night:
- Box office. Tickets go on sale at the box office two hours before doors open for a ticketed event.
- Accessibility. The main entrance is at street level, an elevator serves the upper levels, and the theater offers wheelchair-accessible seating, accessible restrooms and assisted-listening devices. A ticket for a wheelchair space does not include a seat.
- Bags. The theater limits bag size and backpacks. Check the FAQ for the current rules before you leave home.
- Floor or seats. The venue describes a standing-room floor with flexible seating, so check each event's listing to see how the floor is set up.
If you want a drink before the show, The Café at Journal Squared at 595 Pavonia Avenue added an After Hours menu in June. It serves beer, wine, burgers, sandwiches, salads and comfort food Thursday through Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m., according to TAPinto. Both opening-weekend nights fall inside that window.
Journal Square's other cultural space is still being decided
The Loew's reopens in the same year Journal Square lost the other cultural anchor it had been promised. In February, Mayor James Solomon told NJ.com "We will not be doing Pompidou … It is dead," and said his administration had stopped the additional JCRA spending proposed for the project. The museum was first planned for the Pathside Building at 25 Journal Square. In 2024 it moved to towers near Journal Square, and Hudson County View identifies the former museum site as 808 Pavonia Avenue, in the Artwalk Towers. In March, the city and the developer, KRE, announced they would pursue affordable housing at that site, with unit counts still under negotiation, Hudson County View reported.
At a November 2 community meeting at Hudson County Community College, the presentation proposed a community and recreation center with a basketball court, outdoor art areas, an amphitheater and an art walk. Residents objected that only about 7,000 square feet of the 85,000-square-foot former museum space would be public, according to NorthJersey.com. The Jersey City Times reported that attendees had hoped for an 80,000-square-foot mixed-use community center and were underwhelmed by a 7,000-square-foot indoor mini-basketball court.
At 808 Pavonia, the share of the building open to the public is still a proposal. At the Loew's, the contract settles the touring acts, and the Friends' screenings and community stage depend on the clause without a number.
We've followed Jersey City's cultural venues for as long as we've worked here, and on the waterfront and in the brownstone blocks, we hear about what the Loew's calendar holds on the nights between headliners. If you're weighing a move that puts the PATH ride to Journal Square in your weekly routine, The Sutherlin Group can talk you through which buildings and neighborhoods make that ride simplest. Request a showing, and we'll plan the route to the marquee along with it.