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NJPAC

New Jersey Performing Arts Center
New Jersey Performing Arts Center from Above Summer 2013.jpg
Address 1 Center Street
Newark, New Jersey
United States
Public transit NJPAC Station
Newark Penn Station
Type Performing arts center
Capacity Prudential Hall: 2,800
Victoria Theatre: 514
The Chase Room: 350
Horizon Theater: 88
Construction
Opened 1997
Architect Barton Myers
Website
www.njpac.org
One Theater Square
General information
Status November 2016
Type Mixed use
Location 1 Centre Street
Newark, New Jersey
Coordinates 40°44′25″N 74°10′01″W / 40.740169°N 74.167076°W / 40.740169; -74.167076Coordinates: 40°44′25″N 74°10′01″W / 40.740169°N 74.167076°W / 40.740169; -74.167076
Height
Roof 300 ft (91 m)
Technical details
Floor count 22
Design and construction
Developer Dranoff Properties, City of Newark, NJPAC

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Home to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), more than 9 million visitors (including more than one million children) have visited the center since it opened in October 1997 on the site of the former Military Park Hotel.

NJPAC has been an important component in revitalization of New Jersey's largest city. Located just west of the Passaic River waterfront, the Center lies in the heart of the city's cultural district around Military Park and Washington Park that also includes the Newark Museum, New Jersey Historical Society, and the Newark Public Library. The Prudential Center is just to the south.

NJPAC has one of the largest arts education programs offered by a performing arts center in the nation. The program includes arts training classes, scholarships, in-school residencies, professional development, and family and children's programming, allowing students, teachers and families to interact with professional artists and explore the various genres of music, theater, dance, poetry and more.

The State of New Jersey decided to build a world class performing arts center in 1986, when then Governor of New Jersey Thomas Kean appointed a committee to decide the location and the needs of New Jersey's performing arts organization. They chose Newark over other cities because of the density of the surrounding areas, proximity to New York City, highway and rail access to the site, and a location inside a city in need of revitalization. The last reason was considered especially important. A major goal of NJPAC was to help revitalize the city, bringing people back into blighted areas and provide jobs.

The planning commission decided that the new center would be directly integrated into the city, encouraged walking, and provided a plaza for the city. Previous redevelopment schemes in Newark, such as the Gateway Center had all involved skyways that connected all the main office buildings to Newark Penn Station above street level, further segregating the city. The master plan, executed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill consisted of plazas and pedestrian boulevards, joining major thoroughfares.


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