Owner Non Profit Renovated 1982 Built 1920s | Headquarters New Jersey, United States Former names Rivoli Theatre | |
Location 1 Williams Plaza, Rutherford, New Jersey 07070 Type of business Theater [(Performing Arts)] Capacity Cinema 1: 190 Cinema 2: 90 Cinema 3:60 Similar Van Saun County Park, Palisades Amusement Park, Court Street Bridge | ||
The William Carlos Williams Center is a private, not for profit performing arts and cinema complex located in downtown Rutherford, New Jersey. The center was named after the Pulitzer prize winning poet and physician William Carlos Williams. The building that the center occupies was originally built in the 1920s as a Vaudeville theater known as the Rivoli. The Rivoli soon started showing silent movies and eventually "talkies". The theater enjoyed success until a fire destroyed part of the building in 1977. In 1978 a group of philanthropists started the Williams Center Project which open the Center in 1982. The center currently has two live theaters, three cinemas, and an open air meeting gallery.
Current Use
On July 29th 2016, the three cinemas and downstairs floor reopened for first run movies after successful fundraising to switch from 35mm projectors to digital. This includes a refurbished concession stand, lobby and a party room which has now been turned into an Arcade.