Essex County Freeholders Honor the Wellmont Theater on 10 Years of Service – TAPinto.net
(West Caldwell, NJ) – During a special presentation held at the West Caldwell Municipal Building, the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders honored the Wellmont Theater for providing 10 years of service to Montclair, New Jersey and the surrounding communities since its reopening in 2008. Freeholder President Brendan W. Gill presented Brian Stolar, and other members of the Wellmont staff, with a Commendation in celebration of this great accomplishment.
The Wellmont has a long history in Montclair, which was detailed by Freeholder President Gill. The Theater was founded by theater manager H.H. Wellenbrick in 1921. By combining his last name and the town of Montclair, he named his new theater The Wellmont. The doors opened for the first time in 1922 as a venue for vaudeville and stage plays, attracting top acts of the era like Charlie Chaplin, but was chiefly used as a movie house where patrons like Thomas Edison watched picture shows.
In 2006, the Wellmont was sold to new owners and closed for renovations to create flexible floor seating to utilize the original 1922 single stage. It reopened in 2008 with new stage lighting, a cutting-edge sound system, an audience capacity of nearly 2500, and it became the area’s largest live concert venue.
Since its reopening, the Wellmont has become a destination location for music fans in the tristate area and beyond. It has hosted the concerts of renowned performing artists such as Tom Jones, Miss Lauryn Hill, Joan Baez, Bush, Counting Crows, DNCE, Third Eye Blind, Jim Gaffigan, Meat Loaf, Wiz Khalifa, The Roots, Tom Segura, Maxwell, Playboi Carti, O.A.R., Jewel, Dark Star and others.
Brian Stolar thanked the Board for the Commendation and expressed his excitement about what the future holds for the theater, and the service they will continue to provide to the community.
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For Additional Information:
Kyalo Mulumba, Public Information Officer
Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders
973-621-4452 (phone) 973-621-5695 (fax)
kmulumba@freeholders.essexcountynj.org
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