New Jersey Performing Arts Center
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| Address | 1 Center Street Newark, New Jersey United States |
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| 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 |
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| One Theater Square | |
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| 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°WCoordinates: 40°44′25″N 74°10′01″W / 40.740169°N 74.167076°W |
| Height | |
| Roof | 298 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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