Wellmont Theatre
5 Seymour Street,
Montclair,
NJ
07042
5 Seymour Street,
Montclair,
NJ
07042
6 people
favorited this theater
The Wellmont Theatre was built in 1922 as a legitimate theatre and converted into a motion picture theatre in 1929. The original entrance on the main avenue was 400 Bloomfield Avenue.
In 1951, it was listed with a seating capacity of 2,137. In the 1970’s, the theatre was triplexed and the entry was moved around the corner to the lobby’s former emergency exit. The original lobby then became a diner. The largest auditorium is the balcony theatre. Two auditoriums with smaller screens were created in the former orchestra seating.
The Westmont Theatre closed in 2006. In 2008, it was reported that the theatre was sold and the new owners were working on a plan to reopen it for concerts and other events. In 2008, as part of the renovations, the Wellmont Theatre became a single screen again, with the removal of the triplexing. The Wellmont Theatre reopened November 1, 2008, as a concert venue.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 67 comments)
Interesting. I found the lighting to be painful as well, but it seemed to be in keeping with the sound quality. Most of my pictures look the same, sadly. I am an architect, and we are not trained all that well in acoustics, but I do know to hire an acoustical consultant on certain projects, and have at times regretted not having done so.
How long have you been involved with the Wellmont? Are you telling me that there have been times when the acoustics have been bearable?
I have often wondered how much control a house has over a performance, if any.
That would give me reason to give them another try.
when you say the concrete box has been a slow learning process, are you talking about venues in general, or this one in particular?
I’ve worked 90% of the shows since the 3rd and final counting crows show which opened it in late october. The learning process has been painful because the place was rushed open and still operates under a temp C/O. Everything has come about in fits and starts, including getting a house system in place and tweaking it to the room. These style venues are hard because they were built to be boomy so actors could be heard in the balcony. Regardless, much has to due with the touring sound mixer. My Co-worker clocked the gypsy kings at 100 db, a painful absurdity for flamenco guitar dance music! Thankfully Pink Martini, a big band fronted by
aexcelll
an excellent female vocalist, was at a sensible and excellent sounding 82 db. It’s worth another try, I like the sound in the balcony the best, and underneath the balcony in the bar areas is the worst.
I hate the bar areas of these venues, because everyone yaps, and you cannot hear the music.
Any interior photos?
View link this is a good one and whole set looks good
the dha 30th anniversary concert was held here some weeks ago.
Going to see a concert here on Saturday night. I’ve only seen the outside.
Wow. Saw my first show here. Usually I biked past it under construction. New marquee. Easy entrance from a side alley abutting the Main Street. The cop car blox that, lot behind and garage down the way. Not a lot of traffic considering.
The interior is very nice. The multiple bands that ring the proscenium stretch far out and are very beautiful. It’s sort of plain downstairs, with 1 Corinthian column on either side of the stage. Nice dim lighting. Bars in the back on both sides. The balcony is nice and those are original seats. There’s multiple rows behind main orchestra, separated by railings and they are removable plush seats which are comfy. The main orchestra on the concrete floor are the same seats and are removable, since it doubles as a banquet spot. The great eye in the ceiling is simple but pretty. Sound is great. Highly recommend seeing a show here. I did spot the different amounts of seating/standing room per fire code, so that will be in the next post. Also, there were at least 8 firemen there as there are every show since one of them said The Wellmont owners don’t have an efficient and effective fire dispersal plan in effect for 1500 attendees.
Reserved Seating: 1916 (Main 800, Stage 92, Balcony 1024)
Standees: 2561 (Main 1445, Stage 92, Balcony 1024)
Banquet: 590 (Main 498, Stage 92, Balcony 0)