Who Here Remembers the Capitol Theatre In Passaic, NJ

[roadman65]

Back many years ago, there was a place in Downtown Passaic, NJ called the Capitol Theatre.  It was a major place during its time, and such acts as the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, and many other popular bands performed there.   It was owned by the famous concert promoter John Scher before it was demolished sometime in the 90's. 

I, unfortunately, never got to go there as when I came of age to drive, the old Byrne Arena (now IZOD Center) became the place to go for major events.  However, a friend of mine did go there  while always stating it was "The Place" and back in the 1985, I drove there to pick up concert tickets for Clapton, as the Capitol Box Office did coincide with the Meadowlands Box Office and that was the only time I got to see the building.

I was reading in Wikipedia its location that was at Monroe Street and Central Avenue and it was razed in 1991 and retail stores are on its lot.  When I went to GSV to that location, I saw old buildings on three of its corners and a strip mall on the NE corner.  Naturally, the strip mall was where this historic place was, as I only went to Passaic once in my life and that was for the Clapton tickets when NJ 21 terminated somewhere in Passaic.  Now the freeway goes to US 46 in Clifton, so the road layout changed enough  to make it somewhat hard for me to try to pinpoint  where it was on a map as all of the maps now show the completed freeway and all my old maps of the time I no longer possess.

Anyway, it was always a place that advertised on the old WNEW FM and WPLJ (when it was all rock) many times when I lived in New Jersey up until 1990.  I know we have a lot of old timers like me on this forum, and many express interest in Classic Rock I have seen in threads, so I was wondering who ever got to see a great concert at this defunct event hall or even remembers this part of history and does anyone miss it, and did anyone have good stories about their concert experiences?  I know my friends in New Jersey were saddened when the building was torn down, and if I had to go back in a time machine I would sure to take in a show there.

[1995hoo]

Never went there, but I have a copy of Springsteen's legendary 9-19-1978 concert there. Great show, well worth getting a copy if you don't have it already. It aired live on the radio, so high-quality copies are easy to find.