Union County Performing Arts Center

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Rahway Theatre
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Facade of the Rahway Theatre
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Location1601 Irving St., Rahway, New Jersey
Coordinates 40°36′37″N74°16′39″W / 40.61028°N 74.27750°W / 40.61028; -74.27750
Built1927 (1927)
ArchitectDavid M Oltarsh
Architectural styleClassical Revival
Website www.ucpac.org
NRHP reference No. 86001509
NJRHP No.2714 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 13, 1986
Designated NJRHPJune 24, 1986
Panorama of the Hamilton Stage complex at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway Panorama of the Hamilton Stage at UCPAC.jpg
Panorama of the Hamilton Stage complex at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway
Box office at the Hamilton Stage for the Performing Arts at UCPAC in Rahway Hamilton Stage for the Performing Arts in Rahway, New Jersey.jpg
Box office at the Hamilton Stage for the Performing Arts at UCPAC in Rahway

Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC), formerly the "movie palace" known as the Rahway Theatre, is a non-profit performance venue in Rahway, New Jersey, a small city west of Staten Island that was recently named "#2 Best Small Town Arts Scene" in the country by USA Today. [2] As of the early 2020s, downtown Rahway has become a regional hub in the performing and visual arts. [3] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. [4]

Contents

History

It was founded as the vaudeville venue and silent movie house Rahway Theater in 1928 as an ornate movie palace. [5] It contains an original, working, fully restored [6] Wurlitzer pipe organ which was placed on the American Theatre Organ Society's National Registry of Significant Instruments. [7] It is an example of "Movie Palace" architecture, designed in the classical revival style by New York architect David M. Oltarsh.

In 2006, at the behest of Rahway's then-mayor James J. Kennedy, the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders invested $6.2 million in the renovation of the UCPAC Mainstage (Rahway Theater). The building fell into dilapidation as a movie house in the 1970s. It was reopened by local nonprofit preservation group in 1984, [8] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Facilities

The UCPAC campus includes four performance spaces:

Mainstage

Capacity: 1334

Hamilton Stage

Built in 2012 abutting the Rahway River several hundred feet to the west of Mainstage, the Hamilton Stage features a new fully equipped proscenium theater.

Capacity: 199

The Loft at Mainstage

Capacity: 65. Built in 2008, the Loft at UCPAC is located on the 2nd floor addition of the UCPAC Mainstage.

The Fazioli Room at Hamilton Stage

This 40’ x 60’ rehearsal space has floor-to-ceiling conservatory windows and wall-length mirrors on one side. It holds 55–75 (at maximum).

This room contains a Fazioli piano, one of only two in New Jersey. [9]

The Café at UCPAC

Hosts the Jazz Club at UCPAC.

Programming

Well-known music and comedy acts have included Johnny Cash, Martina McBride, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Joan Jett, Joan Rivers, Louie Anderson, Sinbad, Cedric the Entertainer, Pat Benatar, Kenny Rogers, Lance Bass, Eddie Money, En Vogue, Starship, Otown, Aaron Carter, Ryan Cabrera, Bowling for Soup, Vanessa Williams, [10] Doug E. Fresh, Mark McGrath and Slick Rick. [11] [12]

Film

The Main Stage at UCPAC in Rahway, as a former "classic movie palace," is the only New Jersey theater showing classic 35mm films, generally preceded by organ performances on the venue's original Wurlitzer theater organ. [13]

Rahway Arts District

The UCPAC area hosts many art galleries, converted industrial warehouse spaces, and rehearsal/studio space. In 2020, downtown Rahway received accolades as a Great Downtown by the APA:

"Downtown Rahway is a great place. It is a place that emphasizes livability, walkability, shopping, food, art, diversity and a destination. Centered in the heart of the bustling City of Rahway, next to the NJ Transit Station, Rahway's downtown is the building block for this diverse city." [14]

The Willows Residence for the Arts

The city of Rahway and UCPAC in association with the Actors Fund has built safe affordable housing for artists only. Tenant applicants need to submit a portfolio of work to indicate their vocation and be assigned to a waitlist. [15]

Transportation

UCPAC is walking distance to the direct train at Rahway Station to New York Penn Station. The ride is 38 minutes.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union County, New Jersey</span> County in New Jersey, United States

Union County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was state's seventh-most-populous county with a population of 575,345, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 38,846 (+7.2%) from the 2010 census count of 536,499. Its county seat is Elizabeth, which is also the most populous municipality in the county, with a 2020 census population of 137,298, and the largest by area, covering 13.46 square miles (34.9 km2). The county is located in the North Jersey region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahway, New Jersey</span> City in Union County, New Jersey, United States

Rahway is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Manhattan and 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Staten Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wurlitzer</span> American company of music boxes and instruments

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments from Germany for resale in the United States. Wurlitzer enjoyed initial success, largely due to defense contracts to provide musical instruments to the U.S. military. In 1880, the company began manufacturing pianos and eventually relocated to North Tonawanda, New York. It quickly expanded to make band organs, orchestrions, player pianos and pipe or theatre organs popular in theatres during the days of silent movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama Theatre</span> Movie theatre in Birmingham, Alabama, USA

The Alabama Theatre is a movie palace in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built in 1927 by Paramount's Publix Theatres chain as its flagship theater for the southeastern region of the United States. Seating 2,500 people at the time, it was the largest in the Birmingham theater district. The district was once home to many large theaters and movie palaces that featured vaudeville, performing arts, nickelodeons and Hollywood films. Built to show silent films, the Alabama still features its original Wurlitzer theater organ. The Alabama Theatre and Lyric Theatre are the district's only remaining theaters, and the Alabama is the only theater still in operation.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Theatre (Seattle)</span>

The Paramount Theatre is a 2,807-seat performing arts venue located at 9th Avenue and Pine Street in the downtown core of Seattle, Washington, United States. The theater originally opened on March 1, 1928, as the Seattle Theatre, with 3,000 seats. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 9, 1974, and has also been designated a City of Seattle landmark.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonial Theatre (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania)</span> Theater and movie theater in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orpheum Theatre (Memphis)</span> Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee

The Orpheum Theatre, a 2,308-seat venue listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, on the southwest corner of the intersection of South Main and Beale streets. The Orpheum, along with the Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education, compose the Orpheum Theatre Group, a community-supported nonprofit corporation that operates and maintains the venues and presents education programs.

Rahway High School is a four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Rahway, in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Rahway Public Schools. The high school's present location was built in 1941. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Paramount Theater</span> Former movie theater in Brooklyn, New York

The Brooklyn Paramount Theater is a former movie palace at 1 University Plaza at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues in downtown Brooklyn, New York. Opened in 1928, the building has been owned by Long Island University (LIU) since 1954. Converted for use by LIU as classroom space and a gymnasium, the building retains much of the theater's original decorative detail. Until recently the venue operated as a 1200-seat multi-purpose arena, formerly home to the Brooklyn Kings basketball team. It is now in the planning stages of a renovation to reopen the theater as a performing arts venue in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balboa Theatre</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palace Theatre (Columbus, Ohio)</span> Performing arts center in Columbus, Ohio, a former movie theater

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bama Theatre</span> United States historic place

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References

  1. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Union County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. November 28, 2016. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2014. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  2. "16 Free Outdoor Art Events In Rahway This Summer". NewJerseyStage.com. 2021-06-20. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  3. NJ.com, Brianna Kudisch | NJ Advance Media for (2020-02-15). "This small N.J. city has been quietly reinventing itself into an arts hub". nj. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  4. "NATIONAL REGISTER DIGITAL ASSETS". focus.nps.gov. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  5. 1928 Wurlitzer pipe organ that 'saved' Union County arts center plays again http://s.nj.com/YcwCJSU.
  6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHfgA6dVUcQ&sns=tw via @youtube
  7. "ATOS National Registry | ATOS". www.atos.org. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  8. "Freeholders Unveil Arts Center".
  9. At a Jazz Series, a Piano Also Stars https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/nyregion/at-a-nj-jazz-series-a-fazioli-piano-also-stars.html
  10. Union County Performing Arts Center welcomes Vanessa Williams on Nov. 25 http://s.nj.com/YIqoRVN
  11. Hip-hop legends will 'Get Fresh' at UCPAC in Rahway on May 15 http://s.nj.com/wkeIpQg
  12. Cranford Local Magazine. UCPAC Ready to Expand Shows Post-Pandemic: New Leadership Sees Promising Times Ahead. April 2022 https://view.flipdocs.com/?ID=10027841_558050
  13. "35mm Classic Film Series -". ucpac.org. August 3, 2023.
  14. "Congratulations to our 2020 Great Places in New Jersey Designees | Great Places in New Jersey" . Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  15. "Artist housing gains final site plan approval". 21 March 2016.