Stanley Theater/ Newark Tabernacle

The Maustman Brothers firm started in Philadelphia in 1897 by Jules and Stanley Maustman and operated nickelodeons. Jules Mastbaum also was a philanthropist; he is behind the creation of Philadelphia's Rodin Museum. The brothers founded the Motion Picture Company of America in 1909; they opened a movie theater in Philadelphia in 1914. The firm's name changed to the Stanley Company before they purchased the Fabian chain in 1926. Jacob Fabian, of Patterson, New Jersey, specialized in theater buildings with exotic themes to transport the visitor to another place, like ancient Egypt.

The 1927 Stanley Theater building stands out from its Vailsburg neighborhood buildings due to its Spanish style of architecture. The theater was designed by Frank Grad and took the visitor through several rooms, each more luxurious than the prior space, before reaching the grand main theater space. The entrance hallway was decorated with fancy plaster images of angels and flowers. The theater workers wore red velvet uniforms. A waiting room topped by a mezzanine held patrons before or after shows, and led to a forecourt or orchestra foyer. Behind the mezzanine, on the East Orange Street (south) side of the building were offices and restrooms. The main theater held 1,200 and was set up to resemble a Spanish courtyard surrounded by buildings. Machinery could change the ceiling lighting to resemble a starry night sky, using tiny holes in the ceiling; a cloud-making machine was hidden behind the Spanish building facades on either side of the auditorium. An organist in a console pit in front of the stage would play music on the Wurlitzer organ to accompany the films, before "talkies" were common; the tall pipes were placed to one side of the stage's bridge-like arched proscenium. The company billed its new building the "Wonder Theater" and one opening night visitor called it the "essence of Spain" and a "gem of architectural beauty."

The ground level spaces on either side of the theater's street entrance held stores; one was a candy store and was a popular place before and after movies for children and adults alike. Since the Stanley Theater was on the western outskirts of Newark, it often screened second-run films; the chain's downtown Branford Theater was their main location in Newark. After the theater became the property of the Italian-American association in the 1960s and was transformed into the "Casa Italiana," it served as a local social club for decades. The building was named The Father Vincent Monella Center of Italian Culture and became affiliated with Seton Hall University by the mid-1980s.

Dr. Clair Hutchins and his wife founded the Newark Gospel Tabernacle in 1958 elsewhere in Newark. The long-time minister of the church, Dr. Aubrey L. Gregory, held services for the homeless on Saturday evenings in the early 2000s. The Christian fellowship church has been cognizant of preservation of the building, and still screens movies at times. The group is raising funds for roof renovations of the historic theater building.

Bennett, Jeffrey. Stanley Theater/ Newark Gospel Tabernacle, Newark History. November 1st 2006. Accessed February 1st 2021. http://www.newarkhistory.com/newarktabernacle.html.

Harris, Warren G.. Stanley Theater in Newark, N.J., Cinema Treasures. January 1st 2004. Accessed February 4th 2021. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6562.

Zakalak, Ulana D.. NRHP Nomination of Stanley Theater, Newark. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1986.