The swanky old Mosque Theater on Broad Street certainly was one of Newark's most impressive buildings. It was built in 1925 for the Shriners and named the Salaam Temple and later leased for vaudeville shows and, eventually, movies. Later, in the '40s, opera and symphony productions were held here, as well as more popular fare. The state's first TV station, WATV (Channel 13) started here. Not long after, I first went to the Mosque to attend the "Junior Frolics" kiddie program. Later it became Channel 47, home of John Zacherly's "Disc-O-Teen" dance show, which we attended regularly. It has since been renovated and renamed Newark Symphony Hall, home to many theater, concert and dance presentations -- once again a grand Newark edifice.
Strong before our birth are the Sons of the Garden State.
Ah yes, Junior Frolics, with "Uncle Fred" Sayles (sp?). I remember it well, with all of those horrible old "Farmer Gray" cartoons and the millions of mice! our class, perhaps 1st grade or kindergarten went to that show, where, during one of the intermissions, "Uncle Fred" threatend to throw out some kid from another school.
1965, cut out of afternoon Benediction with Jimmy Egan, Joe Russo and Jim Acquosti to see my first concert there...The Dave Clark Five. The Mosque also staged many indoor 'stand still' Drum Corps shows. St.Lucy's would warm up down the block in Lincoln Park. In 1971 Essex Catholic HS held our graduation there. The last event I can remember there was a re-election rally for Hugh Adanisio(sp)for Mayor.
Junior Frolics,Uncle Fred,Farmer Grey!! Ah yes I remember it well. A new thing called "Television" was just sweeping the country. There was five of us kids at that time in our family and we were going to be on "JUNIOR FROlICS"
Framer Grey cartoons were inane recyled cartoons from the thirties. There was only one plot on Framer Gray's cartoons. Framer Gray would try unsucessful to catch the mice. The mice would tease Framer Gray and he would chase them. The scene in the background would move but would repeat itself every 5 seconds. The mice would never be caught. The moral was simply. It's alway better to be a mouse than a farmer.
We as the audience were 12-15 kids sitting in the stands. The lights made it very hot so one little girl decided to take off her clothes too cool down. It created a quite a commotion.
As a reward for being such a excellant audience we recieved a gift. We could choose a plastic turtle or plastic frog. My choice was the turtle but I can't find it. Did anyone find it?
When I read about the Mosque, it immediately brought back so many memories. I attended the Lippel School of Dance on New Street in Newark for fifteen years. We were taught ballet, tap, jazz, Hawaiian, toe and some even learned toe tap. Every May the school would have its yearly recital, you guessed it,at the Mosque Theatre. This was an awesome event.
The stage was larger than some on Broadway. There was scenery rented from N.Y.C. and a huge orchestra pit with too many instruments to count. The dressing rooms, which seemed to be everywhere and on every floor, were the same ones used by the Dave Clark Five as well as many other famous entertainers of the time. The largest dressing rooms were located in an area directly behind the stage. These were reserved for the dancers with the most performances and costume changes. Just sitting in the orchestra seats was an exciting experience and being called on the stage to perform during rehearsal was a real thrill. The sequined costumes were gorgeous. Many of the dancers went on to be Radio City Rockettes and Broadway performers because of their talent and the knowledge they gained from their many experiences at the Mosque.
I also remember going there to attend a rally for President Kennedy. The huge hall was packed with people who supported JFK. As big as the Mosque was, it seemed to be dwarfed by the crowd. It was another "special" memory of the Mosque.
The building still stands. The main hall and seats are somewhat the same, though they could use a little TLC. The last time I was there was in Sept. 2003 for a meeting held by the Newark School District for hundreds of instructional staff. In some way it seemed as though my recital memories of the Mosque were from another lifetime.
Nice to know it's still there. Save for a few trips back to Roseville, my only visit to downtown Newark in recent years was about five years ago, when, before I retired from the state, I had to testify in Federal Court on a case we were working on in conjunction with the FBI. I didn't have much time to tour around afterward, but did deliberately drive through Roseville on my way back to the Parkway, which eventually led to me finding this website. That was my first trip back to Roseville in many years, but I've been there a half dozen times since.
I seem to recall reading somewhere that fraternal organizatons, which thrived in late 19th century America because of their insurance and care for survivors of members, reached their peak of influence and prosperity around 1910, at which time they started to construct large headquarters buildings in major cities. By the 1920s the organizations' coffers were drained and they were on the wane and they ended up selling most of the buildings. This was no doubt the story with The Mosque.
