Bergen Performing Arts Center

The story

The theater opened as a movie house on November 22, 1926, then sat vacant after United Artists closed it in 1973. What rescued it was one man's stubborn dream. John Harms — organist, teacher, one-man impresario since 1941 — had spent decades personally telephoning or corralling over 1,200 contacts to arrange concerts across North Jersey. When the Englewood Plaza came on the market, he seized it. On October 10, 1976, Russian pianist Lazar Berman performed at its debut. Today BergenPAC still runs as a not-for-profit, offering dance, theater, voice, and music classes year round.