| Oliver St. School, year 1944, various elementary schools were given an ethnic dance to perform at the Mosque theater. Our school danced the Tarantella, with simple costumes made at school. Our Gym Teacher was Miss Laffin, who instructed us with the dance steps. The ladies assigned to apply makeup were a little rough, and [we] were told that in order to become pretty... you had to endure pain! |
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─ Suzanne Calabrese (Toms River, New Jersey) |
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| The Terrace Ballroom has so many memories of dances I could share; they were all good times, not like now. I have pictures of some of the dances which some make you sad and some give you joy. One of the greatest memories was the Easter Monday dances. |
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─ Alphonse Leak (Scotch Plains, New Jersey) |
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| I saw quite a few well-known performers at Symphony Hall during the sixties and seventies. The ones that I remember were Ray Charles, Marian Anderson, Lou Rawls and Billy Ekstine. I have also seen a couple of plays. I always thought 'The Mosque' had beautiful decor. |
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─ Mary Pearson-Beckwith (Newark, New Jersey) |
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| When Chuck Berry came to town I was so elated. I had a good seat up front. I nearly pull him off the stage. His hit song was Maybellene. That was nearly fifty years ago. Born in third ward Newark. |
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─ Bernice Greene (East Orange, New Jersey) |
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| I've been to numerous dances at the Terrace Ballroom given by the Eastern Stars and The Masons and I have been to numerous shows and plays. But, the Whispers stole my heart. My husband always sings to me when the Whispers are performing. |
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─ Michele Cummings (Newark, New Jersey) |
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| Some of my earliest memories are of performing on the great stage of what was then known as the Mosque Theater. My great-aunt, Lillian Daniels, was a dancer and dance teacher and operated several dance studios in Essex County. Every May her students performed in an annual recital at that magnificent theater. As a little girl I remember the excitement of entering through the Orchard St. stage door and staking out a spot in the vast dressing rooms beneath the stage which were filled with sparkly costumes, fussing moms, and nervous performers. I remember feeling so grown up when Mom applied my make-up and arranged my hair! When I became a pre-teen I moved to the stage level dressing rooms where quick changes were carefully orchestrated and dancers were no longer treated as children but were expected to behave with the poise and seriousness of professionals. Aunt Lillian ran a tightly-timed, professional show and no nonsense was tolerated backstage! |
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─ Dee Daniels (Lavallette, New Jersey) |
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| I attended McDonald's Gospelfest in I think it was 2000 or 2001. The theatre is beautiful. I also attended dance classes when Gallman's Newark Dance Theatre was held in the studios at Symphony Hall. That was about 1995. One day at class the theatre was having an event that evening, I believe it was a Hip Hop concert, and I saw Queen Latifah, and Treach from Naughty By Nature entering the theatre. Both of them being from the 'Brick City' that was exciting to see them walking in to rehearse. I truly enjoyed my experiences at Symphony Hall, I hope it stays alive for a long time, so others can have their own memorable moments. Thank you. |
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─ Vida Allworthy (Flemington, NJ) |
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| Went to my first concert ever in 1965 to see the Rolling Stones at Symphony Hall. Friends of mine were finalists in a battle of the bands-type contest on Zacharlie's Disco-Teen Show on Channel 47. The finals were a prelude to the main event. Unfortunately, my pals, The Fortunes, didn't win, but it was great to see them on the same stage as the Stones. Also, the opening act for the Stones was Patti Labelle and the Bluebells, singing their big hit at the time, 'I Sold My Heart to the Junkman's Son'. |
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─ Bill Vaughn (Avenel, New Jersey) |
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| My father played the trumpet for the New Jersey Symphony, back in the late 1960s through early seventies. I remember as a child going to Symphony Hall to hear my father perform with NJSO with my mother, brother and sister. Those were the days everyone dressed up. I remember Symphony Hall being so huge. Because we would get there early, we would walk up and down the steps inside the theatre, going all the way up to the highest seats. I seem to remember hearing that my mother also worked while in college at MSU as a coat check girl while it was known as the Mosque; many memories from Symphony Hall. |
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─ Barbara Rabasca DiBonaventura (Upper Montclair, New Jersey) |
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| Back in the sixties I remember going to Mosque Theater as a teenager then to see artists like Jackie Wilson, Motown Revue, James Brown, Supremes, Manhattan, Temptations, Millie Jackson, B.B. King, Aretha Franklin, and Richard Pryor. Majority of these shows was promoted by Teddy Powell Productions. It was these productions that inspire me to become an entertainment manager and producer. I was fortunate to learn from the great Teddy Powell and Joe Evans, President of Carnival Records, about promoting, booking and record production. I remember the stage hands Pop and Tony. Newark Mosque Theater stage was a beacon for Newark. It was marvelous time, then good, safe entertainment for entire family. |
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─ Paulette Jones (Newark, New Jersey) |
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| On January 13, 1967, my band warmed up for 'The Four Tops'. Tickets cost $4.00 and the dress, semi-formal. I have an original billboard poster from that evening. |
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─ Louis Petracca (Cedar Grove, New Jersey) |
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| My family lived in Newark when I was a child. I attended the Elsa Greenwood School of Dance at that time. Our recitals would be held in the Mosque Theater. I also saw many performances there. Some were ballets and orchestra performances. I also saw Sarah Vaughn when she was a relatively unknown performer. The acoustics in the theater were wonderful and every seat allowed an unobstructed view of the stage. It seemed a magic place to me. |
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─ Jeanne MacEachern (Morristown, New Jersey) |
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| I was a season ticket holder for the NJ Symphony back in the late 1960s when Newark had its riots and unrest. My business was in a photo studio and when I went to attend a concert at Symphony Hall one Saturday evening my station wagon was filled with batches of negatives and proofs that were to go home with me after the performance to be safe in my house. My car was parked on Chestnut St. During the intermission an attendant motioned to me to follow him down to an office and when I got there I saw that all the photo stuff that had been in my car was now stacked in the office. To my amazement I found out that my station wagon had been broken into and only a case of tools had been taken. A police patrol had discovered the break-in, checked the license for the ownership and then deducted that the owner was probably in Symphony Hall. Guessing that the photo proofs and negatives were of value, those wonderful Newark policeman unloaded the whole batch and carried [it] into the Mosque and probably saved my business. |
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─ Marvin Gershenfeld (Scotch Plains, New Jersey) |
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| I grew up in the Seth Boyden Projects on Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark and went to Dayton St. School and graduated from South Side High School in 1962. As a young child, I remember going 'downtown' to either Symphony Hall or the Mosque Theater to be on 'Junior Frolics' which was an afternoon cartoon show where children sat in bleacher type bench seats and were the 'peanut gallery'. We were on live TV and watched the cartoons on a screen. As a teenager, my friends and I took the bus downtown and got on to the 'Jocko' show which was our local version of American Bandstand. We danced on live TV and had a lot of fun. I still remember Jocko's theme: 'E to the ak, this is the Jock, back on the scene with his record machine. Ooh bop-de-do and how do you do'. Great Memories of growing up in 'the projects' in Newark and going 'downtown' for shopping at Bambergers, Lerner Shops, Klein's, etc., and going to the movies [RKO, Paramount, Lowes and the Brandford Theater]. |
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─ Betty [Separ] Feniak (Elizabeth, New Jersey) |
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| #1 - Reading the other memories, I was reminded that someone brought us to Newark from Oldwick, NJ to go to Uncle Fred's cartoon show. #2 - 1959 New Jersey All-State Chorus and Orchestra. As a member of the chorus, we performed the same program we had done in Atlantic City at the Old Convention Center. As a naive girl from Hunterdon, needless to say, I was awed by everything - the theatre, the city, the people. It was the first time I made friends with students of color and the first time I had been in downtown Newark. When not rehearsing, we were always breaking into spontaneous songs and cadences or rounds. What wonderful memories! |
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─ Harriet Kline (Norristown, Pennsylvania) |
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| I have been to Symphony Hall many times over the past years, but my favorite memory of all is when I got to see John P. Key featuring Fred Hammond with BBJ opening up the show. It was fantabulous! |
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─ Antoinette Joyner (Newark, New Jersey) |
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| My most vivid memory of the Hall is when Sarah Vaughan sang there with her orchestra before her passing. I met her when I was younger as a child growing up in the South Ward of Newark, her parents were friends of my parents and have since passed on. It never donned on me that she was internationally famous during her hey day, she was so down to earth and modest. |
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─ Sarah Bewley-Spain (Newark, New Jersey) |
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| My most memorable visit to Newark Symphony Hall was the occasion when I took my two young daughters and their friends to see the BOYS live concert. The looks of anticipation, the screams of excitement and finally the happy aftermath... reliving their experience all week long. |
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| I have two favorite memories of Symphony Hall. The first was when I saw Phyllis Hyman in 1978 or 1979. I was 13 yrs old. I was in love after the show. The second time was when I seen my favorite singer Natalie Cole in January 1988. I was star struck during the whole show. |
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─ Keith Green (Irvington, New Jersey) |
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| The Terrace Ballroom was part of my parent's lives. They got dressed up, my mother and her sisters were in formal gowns and my father and his friends in fancy suits. They danced there to the big band tunes of Duke Anderson and came home late at night to tell me all about it. My father's club, The Atlantic Social Club, gave dances there that sent proceeds to The Boys Club on Avon Avenue for scholarships so that young boys, especially fatherless boys, could swim and have strong male role models, people who were interested in their development. I remember those days. The club met in my living room in the family house, the same house I currently live in. My father was Willie A. West, and all of his brothers worked with him in this effort, something I am very proud of. My own memories are not with Terrace Ballroom, but with Symphony Hall. My piano teacher, Mrs. Grace Clarkson of Halsted Street in East Orange, took me to Symphony Hall to hear Van Cliburn, a young piano master from Texas who won all the awards of the day. She figured that if she exposed me to such culture and to such wonderful piano playing -- I still listen to Cliburn via records -- that I would eventually play just like him. Well, that did not happen but I am so appreciative of the time I spent soaking up the cultural scene at Symphony Hall. When I was a teen, I swooned whenever Johnny Mathis sang, and I heard him in concert at Symphony Hall. My fondest memory, however, is watching my own daughter perform on the Symphony Hall stage. Three years old, pink dress and hair bows, playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on Suzuki Violin with her classmates from Newark Center of Performing Arts. That was a show I will never forget. |
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─ Sandra L. West (Newark, New Jersey) |
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| The 50th & 55th Anniversary Shows of The Mighty-Mighty DELLS! They can sing FOREVER and FOREVER! They are AMAZING! The shows were AWESOME! |
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─ Alicent Kwateng (West Orange, New Jersey) |
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| Newark Symphony Hall will always be the first and greatest entertainment hall in my heart. I caught a lot of artists, but what really stuck out for me was four or five years ago on a Friday evening my husband and I caught the Intruders, Ray, Goodman, and Brown, and The Manhattans. The crowd was a small size but the Doo Wop group was in the house. Diehard fans were up front and centered and every artist took me way back to 1968 and some change. Everyone was standing up and singing. I just loved it. I will always attend NSH shows. Always! |
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─ Sharon Smith Hudson (Rahway, New Jersey) |
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| I remember 1994 New Year’s Eve, when Howard Stern came to the Hall. He had musclemen dressed like ladies and midgets in tuxedos. Mr. Bobbit was there and refused to show off his recently re-attached private part. He even turned down $10,000.00. The show was funny. Councilman Hank Martinez said it was terrible and banned Howard Stern from Newark. |
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─ Chris Smith (Newark, New Jersey) |
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| On February 14, 1965 (my 13th birthday), my mother gave me a very special b-day present of my very first live concert featuring the exciting performer Mr. Jackie Wilson. I was amazed at my surroundings. The Hall itself, the people, and the lovely sounds that I have taken with me to this day. I hope that the future generations in the city of Newark get a chance to experience the joy I felt that day. |
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─ Joe Powell (Irvington, New Jersey) |
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