The lobby section has an elaborate terracotta facade with a marquee, a mechanical Seth Thomas clock, and a sculpture of Saint George fighting a fire-breathing dragon.

[5] Directly to the south is an alley known as Journal Square Concourse West or Gloria Esposito Way, which links Kennedy Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue.

[5][16] Every fifteen minutes, a 550-pound (250 kg) bell rang once, and the dragon's mouth moved to reveal the lightbulb while Saint George raised his sword.

Behind the setback, the easternmost section of the south elevation's upper stories is decorated with a terracotta panel, while the rest of the upper-story facade is clad in plain brick.

That space had a red-carpeted floor; a wall with marble wainscoting, gilded pilasters, and red fabric panels; freestanding square piers; and a ceiling with medallions and gold leaf.

[34] The women's lounge has a marble fireplace mantel with a mirror; plasterwork pilasters, cornices, and ceilings; wooden wainscoting; and a carpeted floor.

[22] At the balcony level, the north and south walls each have three large arches, which each contain red-velvet draperies with gold fringes, in addition to canopies with walnut and gold-colored decorations.

[96] In its early years, the Jersey City Theater hosted first runs of films, interspersed with dance revues, vaudeville, graduation ceremonies, and contests.

[111] The 1933 season, which included performances by Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Bojangles Robinson, and Milton Berle, was typical of the theater's offerings.

[112][113][a] The theater hosted an even more elaborate stage show, featuring the actors George Jessel and Jackie Cooper, to celebrate its fifth anniversary in 1934.

[125] Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 1948 ruling in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., Loew's Theaters was forced to split up its film-production and film-exhibition divisions.

[132] The Loew's Jersey began hosting events such as a televised boxing match in 1964,[133] and it started screening multiple first-run films the same year as part of the Showcase program.

[164] Hartz offered to establish a performing arts center at the theater, donate the building to the city for $1, and drop its lawsuit, in exchange for receiving tax abatements and being designated as Journal Square's developer.

[181] Preservationists, Hartz employees, and representatives of the Jersey City and Hudson County governments were appointed to the performing arts center's board.

[182] The Jersey City Historical and Preservation Association (JCHPA), one of the two groups that made up the FOL,[139] also planned to remove the interior partitions and replace the boiler and plumbing system.

[216] The Jersey Journal reported that only the balcony and dressing rooms remained unfinished,[18] although The Record cited a FOL spokesman as saying that the restoration was only half complete.

[210] Because there was no functioning sprinkler system, the city government had to issue temporary certificates of occupancy for each event,[45] and fire marshals had to attend each performance.

[90][224] Acting mayor L. Harvey Smith proposed giving FOL a five-year lease[90][224] but subsequently suggested conveying the theater to a city agency.

[232] Meanwhile, the theater's organ was rededicated in October 2008 following repairs,[43][64] and work on the balcony's restoration began the next year after the Provident Bank Foundation donated $5,000.

Although the city had withheld significant financial support from the Loew's Jersey, the theater still received funding from various donations, charitable grants, and ticket revenue.

[185][258] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the theater's marquee displayed messages for the local community, and the auditorium hosted events like graduations that required social distancing.

[259][260] As part of DAE's agreement, the company had to stage 20 music, 10 theatrical, and 10 comedy shows each year, in addition to performances sponsored by FOL.

[271] In late 2024, a floodlight on the roof was reactivated, illuminating the dueling Saint George and dragon figures,[272] and workers removed the original marquee to replace it with a digital sign.

[217][265] After it reopened, the Loew's Jersey hosted performances by musicians including Patti LaBelle,[274] Vina Morales,[275] Paul Sorvino,[276] Beck, Courtney Barnett, Sufjan Stevens, and Kurt Vile.

[278] For example, the theater was used as a filming location for the movies Illuminata,[279] The Last Days of Disco,[27] Cradle Will Rock,[280] and Joker,[281] in addition to the TV special TSO: The Ghosts of Christmas Eve.

[288] When the theater opened, the Bayonne Evening News wrote that the facade was imposing and that the interior "reflects the utmost in magnificence and structural skill".

[29] The New York Herald Tribune described the theater as "magnificently constructed and sumptuously decorated",[87] while the Jersey Journal praised the "grandeur of the interior".

[22] Boxoffice magazine wrote in 1969 that the Jersey Theatre had "embodied virtually every new feature in theatrical elegance, convenience and mechanical equipment" when it opened.

[279] The next year, a critic for Film Journal International wrote that, despite its dilapidated condition, the theater still resembled a grand European opera house.

[36] A Times writer said in 2004 that the theater's design evoked nostalgia in longtime Jersey City residents, while newcomers would be "blown away by the over-the-top rococo lobby".