Rather than jumping on the Harry Potter bandwagon this weekend, I decided to investigate a different kind of movie theater – The Landmark Loews Jersey Movie Palace.  Built in  Jersey City in 1929, the theater is just three Path train stops away from the World Trade Center in Journal Square.

Upon arrival, I must say that I was less than impressed.  Based on the website, I anticipated the building looking like this:

Instead, it looked more like this:

(Granted it was nighttime, and I am sure I missed some of the finer architectural details.)

Despite the initial disappointment, once I bought my $6 ticket and stepped inside the venue, I was in awe.   The interior design and architectural details were so incredible that I was instantly ashamed of judging the book by its cover.   It resembled something closer to a vintage opera house, with marble columns reaching up to a ceiling decorated with intricate, gold-leafed relief patterns.   Not to mention the gorgeous five-tiered chandelier that lit up the lobby: they sure don’t make movie theaters like they used to!

After taking a quick tour and snapping a few pictures with my cell phone, my date and I headed into the theater to watch film Frank SInatra’s The Man with the Golden Arm.  As we entered through the doors to the theater itself, I literally had to pause for a minute by the entrance to regain my bearings– I was shocked by the enormity of the space.  The amount of seating is comparable to that of a theater in Lincoln Center, including second floor mezzanine and private box seats.  With the ability to seat 3000+ people, it’s nice to never have to worry about seats selling out!

As the lights dimmed, the spotlight beamed on the orchestra pit in front of the screen, and the striking chime of a loud organ instantly grabbed my attention. To my surprise, the vintage experience was complete with a pipe organ player as a prelude to the film!

My man Frankie!

After the film, we did a little more exploring on the second floor balcony and found the organ! (Excuse the poor photo quality; it was quite dark.)

All in all, this experience truly exceeded my expectations, though they were significantly lowered when I observed the surrounding areas as I stepped out of the Journal Square station.  It transformed the common activity of “going to the movies” into one with captivating historic value while still emanating the satisfaction of a familiar tradition.  I’m looking forward to future events at this landmark.

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