Interior of Newark Symphony Hall. Photo source: Newark Artists Database.
In Monday’s (12/22) NJ.com (Newark, New Jersey), Steve Strunsky writes, “In the mid-1960’s there was talk of demolishing New Jersey’s grandest venue, a 2,800-seat concert hall … which had fallen on hard times after being built … in 1925 … The venue … was saved by the City of Newark and some private benefactors, who in 1964 bought it … and turned it over to a nonprofit that made $100,000 in renovations and renamed it Newark Symphony Hall … The investment and changes in ownership ushered in a new era for the theater, which became home to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and hosted the state ballet and opera companies, and concerts by a diverse roster of performers … Symphony Hall is again in need of an upgrade. This time, with a projected price tag of $98 million, and hopes that the state will be its patron. Symphony Hall’s nonprofit operators have relied on the state to fund the restoration project gradually, with annual appropriations during fiscal years 2022 through 2025 totaling $17.5 million…. Its operators are hoping for $75 million in state tax credits under the new Cultural Arts Facilities Expansion (CAFE) … which would nearly cover the whole restoration job.” The New Jersey Symphony moved to Newark’s New Jersey Performing Arts Center when it opened in 1997. “The CAFE program provides tax credits of up to $75 million per project … The program was created by 2023 legislation … [with] funding and tax incentives for the arts a priority.”
