Jones Beach Theater facts for kids
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The Beach
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The exterior of Jones Beach Theater, c. 2007
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| Former names | New Jones Beach Marine Stadium (1952–1953) Jones Beach Marine Theater (1954–1994) Jones Beach Amphitheater (1994–2000) Jones Beach Theater (2000–2002) |
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| Address | 1000 Ocean Parkway Wantagh, NY 11793-4800 |
| Location | Jones Beach State Park |
| Coordinates | 40°36′04″N 73°30′08″W / 40.60101°N 73.50232°W |
| Owner | NYS OPRHP |
| Operator | Live Nation |
| Capacity | 15,000 |
| Construction | |
| Built | October 1949 |
| Opened | June 26, 1952 |
| Renovated |
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| Expanded |
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| Construction cost | $4 million ($49.2 million in 2022 dollars ) |
The Jones Beach Theater is a cool outdoor concert place. It's located at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, New York. This theater is one of the two main outdoor stages in the New York metropolitan area. The other one is PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey. Both places are managed by a company called Live Nation. A famous park designer named Robert Moses helped create the theater.
Contents
History of the Theater
Early Days and Musicals
The theater first opened in June 1952. It was originally called the New Jones Beach Marine Stadium. When it first opened, it had 8,200 seats. In its early years, the theater mostly showed musicals.
Robert Moses, who designed the park, had special seating areas for himself. His friend, a bandleader named Guy Lombardo, often performed there. The very first show was a big musical called A Night in Venice. It even had floating gondolas on the water!
Guy Lombardo's last show at the theater was in 1977. It was a musical called Finian's Rainbow. After Lombardo passed away in 1977, the musicals continued. In 1978, they showed Annie Get Your Gun.
Changing to Concerts
In the 1980s, the theater started to focus more on concerts. This meant fewer musicals and more music shows.
In the early 1990s, the theater got a big makeover. A concert promoter helped with the changes. They added a second level to the seating area. This made the theater much bigger. The number of seats grew to 11,200. In 1998, they made it even bigger, reaching 15,000 seats.
New Names for the Theater
In 2002, a clothing company bought the rights to name the theater. It was called "Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theater" for four years.
In 2006, a camera company called Nikon took over the naming rights. The theater was then known as "Nikon at Jones Beach Theater."
In 2009, Jones Beach added a new stage. It's called The Bay Stage. This stage can hold up to 5,000 people. It's located behind the food stands at the theater.
Hurricane Sandy and Renovations
In October 2012, a huge storm called Hurricane Sandy hit the area. The theater was badly damaged. Many parts of the building were destroyed. The lower seats were flooded with water.
But the theater was fixed! It reopened on May 31, 2013. The repairs cost about $20 million.
Starting in 2017, the theater began another big renovation. They added new energy-saving lights and more cafes. They also made the walking areas wider to reduce crowding.
Nikon's naming deal ended in 2016. In February 2017, a health system bought the naming rights. This company is called Northwell Health. So, the theater's new name became "Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater." This deal was for three years, with a chance to extend it.
See also
- List of contemporary amphitheatres
