The History of 30 North Van Brunt
June 20, 2007 |
History
The following was written by former President of
the John Harms Center Norman Davis.
The building at 30 North Van Brunt Street in Englewood, which is today the Bergen Performing Arts Center, has an inspiring history. Built in the 1920s as a palace for vaudeville and silent movies, it had fallen on hard times and was threatened with demolition just fifty years later. In 1976, an eccentric Bergen County impresario named John Harms identified the theater's hall as having exceptional acoustics and decided to acquire it. Consequently, Harms spent the remainder of his life asking for contributions and selling tickets on the telephone. Eventually, he was able to put together a board of directors, raise enough money to save the building and begin presenting prestigious musical performers on its stage. I will never forget how awesome it was when Harms brought the famous Russian conductor, Rostropovich and his National Symphony Orchestra, to perform on the stage in Englewood. Somewhere, there's a picture of John Harms wearing his 1920s coonskin coat, having spent the evening outside collecting tickets because he couldn’t afford to hire somebody else to do it.
When I joined the board in 1980, the finances were still very much touch and go, and John’s management style left something to be desired. If it hadn’t been for the considerable efforts of my remarkably able and self-effacing fellow board member Berta Lewin, I doubt the theater would have survived. But survive it did, and following John’s death, we hired our first professional manager, strengthened the board and organized the first annual Griffin Ball to raise funds. An especially traumatic moment occurred when the manager walked into the theater one day after a heavy rain and found that the plaster on one of the theater's walls had totally collapsed. Thankfully, the Bergen County Freeholders stepped in, delivering an emergency $100,000 appropriation to repair the damage.
But enough of ancient history. Let’s fast forward to the 1990s, when Englewood’s downtown and the John Harms Center itself were enjoying something of a renaissance. The Harms Board had become one of the most prestigious in the area, attracting many persons of substance. With an expanded budget, staff and program, the Board decided to raise funds and embark on an ambitious renovation. The expansion program aimed to create a world class cultural facility with state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment. And that is exactly what they did at a cost of nearly $7 million. Unfortunately they overreached financially, and when contributions and ticket sales fell off after 9/11, the Harms Center was unable to pay its bills, forcing them to close its doors on April 14, 2003. Consternation is a mild word for the shock that was felt by the wide circle of people throughout northern New Jersey who had been patrons of the theater’s many programs, to say nothing of the impact on local businesses.
Enter Frank Huttle and his friends. To them, it was simply unthinkable that this world-class hall should be lost. Even before its doors were closed, plans were underway for its restoration. In short order, funds were raised, a new organization was formed, and the Harms debt was renegotiated with help from Bergen County. On August 23 of that year, the Bergen County Freeholders, chaired by Frank’s wife Valerie, met on the theater's stage and formally approved a $1.9 million loan, which enabled repayment of the Harms bank debt. That fall the theater reopened on a limited basis in its new incarnation as the Bergen Performing Arts Center. And then one year later, it was able to reopen with a full program and staff. To put all these pieces together required a truly extraordinary commitment of time, energy, imagination and determination. Today BergenPAC is Englewood’s crown jewel, the most prestigious cultural facility in northern New Jersey, and a major engine for cultural, educational and economic growth in the entire area.
The building at 30 North Van Brunt Street in Englewood, which is today the Bergen Performing Arts Center, has an inspiring history. Built in the 1920s as a palace for vaudeville and silent movies, it had fallen on hard times and was threatened with demolition just fifty years later. In 1976, an eccentric Bergen County impresario named John Harms identified the theater's hall as having exceptional acoustics and decided to acquire it. Consequently, Harms spent the remainder of his life asking for contributions and selling tickets on the telephone. Eventually, he was able to put together a board of directors, raise enough money to save the building and begin presenting prestigious musical performers on its stage. I will never forget how awesome it was when Harms brought the famous Russian conductor, Rostropovich and his National Symphony Orchestra, to perform on the stage in Englewood. Somewhere, there's a picture of John Harms wearing his 1920s coonskin coat, having spent the evening outside collecting tickets because he couldn’t afford to hire somebody else to do it.
When I joined the board in 1980, the finances were still very much touch and go, and John’s management style left something to be desired. If it hadn’t been for the considerable efforts of my remarkably able and self-effacing fellow board member Berta Lewin, I doubt the theater would have survived. But survive it did, and following John’s death, we hired our first professional manager, strengthened the board and organized the first annual Griffin Ball to raise funds. An especially traumatic moment occurred when the manager walked into the theater one day after a heavy rain and found that the plaster on one of the theater's walls had totally collapsed. Thankfully, the Bergen County Freeholders stepped in, delivering an emergency $100,000 appropriation to repair the damage.
But enough of ancient history. Let’s fast forward to the 1990s, when Englewood’s downtown and the John Harms Center itself were enjoying something of a renaissance. The Harms Board had become one of the most prestigious in the area, attracting many persons of substance. With an expanded budget, staff and program, the Board decided to raise funds and embark on an ambitious renovation. The expansion program aimed to create a world class cultural facility with state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment. And that is exactly what they did at a cost of nearly $7 million. Unfortunately they overreached financially, and when contributions and ticket sales fell off after 9/11, the Harms Center was unable to pay its bills, forcing them to close its doors on April 14, 2003. Consternation is a mild word for the shock that was felt by the wide circle of people throughout northern New Jersey who had been patrons of the theater’s many programs, to say nothing of the impact on local businesses.
Enter Frank Huttle and his friends. To them, it was simply unthinkable that this world-class hall should be lost. Even before its doors were closed, plans were underway for its restoration. In short order, funds were raised, a new organization was formed, and the Harms debt was renegotiated with help from Bergen County. On August 23 of that year, the Bergen County Freeholders, chaired by Frank’s wife Valerie, met on the theater's stage and formally approved a $1.9 million loan, which enabled repayment of the Harms bank debt. That fall the theater reopened on a limited basis in its new incarnation as the Bergen Performing Arts Center. And then one year later, it was able to reopen with a full program and staff. To put all these pieces together required a truly extraordinary commitment of time, energy, imagination and determination. Today BergenPAC is Englewood’s crown jewel, the most prestigious cultural facility in northern New Jersey, and a major engine for cultural, educational and economic growth in the entire area.
