Constructed in 1937, the Community Theatre served as Morristown’s single-screen movie theater exclusively presenting first runs of films. It opened on December 23, 1937 with a screening of Nothing Sacred, starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March. The theater briefly showed live performances such as vaudeville shows in the 1940s, although the building primarily spent its first few decades as a thriving movie theater.

While the theater did well in its early years, it experienced a decline of revenue and attendance during the 1970s amidst competition from television and newly emerging multiplexes. Amid these financial difficulties, the Community Theatre was sold by the Walter Reade Organization to Maurice Macabian in 1973 who also struggled to return the business to profitability as a movie house. In 1977 it reopened as The Morris Stage, a live performance venue that featured ballet performers, rock bands, and jazz musicians. Despite strong ticket sales, the theater eventually closed in 1987.

1994 ushered in a new era with the assistance of hundred of volunteers who worked to restore the building’s interior, culminating in the Kirov Orchestra’s September performance while on an international tour. By 1995, the venue was reborn as a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting live musical, theatrical, and comedy shows. Major renovations followed and in 2007, the structure was renamed the Community Theatre at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts; shortened to the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) in 2011. Notable performers have include Aretha Franklin, Liza Minelli, Joan Rivers, Bob Newhart, Kenny G., Judy Collins, and Tony Bennett.

The materials in this collection include documents relating to its history as a movie theater, a large volume of records related to renovations in 1994 and 2001, behind-the-scenes work done by the performing arts center staff, and the performances held at the theater. Document types include programs, brochures, administrative papers, posters, audiovisual materials, and photographs. Those interested in viewing the records may consult the finding aid for a fuller description, and contact the History Center for an appointment.

The working papers of one of New Jersey’s notable landscape architects, Joan Shapiro Greentree, are now open to researchers in the History Center’s reading room. Born in Brooklyn, Joan Shapiro (1929-2012) graduated high school at sixteen years old and briefly attended Alfred University before dropping out due to the lack of courses in her preferred field of study. Instead, she pursued independent study in landscape architecture at the State University of New York, Fairleigh Dickinson University, New York University, and the New York and Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

As a self-taught landscape architect, Joan adopted the professional name “Greentree” and developed an architectural philosophy that centered around environmentalism and was reflected in her practice of working with the ecology specific to each site. This design aesthetic stressed the use of native plants in a manner consistent with a property’s topology, a practice that gained wider acceptance through the late 20th century.

Greentree became an award-winning landscape architect whose work featured prominently in private homes and businesses in New York, New Jersey, and Colorado. During her long career she oversaw projects for the San Francisco firm Lawrence Halperin and Associates, a number of public parks, and numerous private gardens. Joan became one of the first women accepted by the American Society of Landscape Architects. During the 1960s, she founded one of New Jersey’s first recycling centers.

Included with the Joan Shapiro Greentree papers are a significant collection of research notes and photographs related to Claude and Helen Habberstad that she collected with a neighbor and wildlife artist, Mary Pratt Champenois. The Habberstads were journalists and artists who built a series of arts and crafts style cottages in the 1930s, mostly in the Boonton and Parsippany area. Wanting to create affordable homes set in natural surroundings, Claude and Helen selected large parcels of land in Morris County where property was inexpensive. Each cottage was unique and included design features intended to maximize space while blending into the surrounding landscape.

Greentree and Champenois both owned Habberstad homes and, during the 1990s they pursued extensive research on their history, construction, and place within American architecture history. Their work resulted in numerous photographs documenting the homes, a series of oral histories taken by those who knew and worked with the Habberstads, as well as a number of speaking engagements and exhibits about the cottages. The finding aid to the Joan Shapiro Greentree Collection is available online, and the papers may be requested for use in the reading room.

Due to construction in the History Center during the week of November 11, 2024, the reading room will offer limited services. Some collections will be inaccessible and excessive noise is to be expected; therefore, researchers are advised to plan around these dates.

If you must visit between 11/11 and 11/15, please contact the History Center by Friday 11/8 with a list of any materials you need to refer to and we will endeavor to retrieve them prior to your visit.

One aspect of preserving New Jersey history involves identifying weaknesses in our collections. While reviewing materials related to the state’s military history, Archivist Jeff Moy noted a lack of detailed information on Picatinny Arsenal, which is one of Morris County’s most active and consequential installations. He contacted the base’s Engineering Historian, Jeff Ranu who graciously agreed to share copies of their newspapers, The Picatinny News and The Barrage that date from 1947 to 1958.

Published for the benefit of active duty military and civilian personnel, the bi-weekly newspaper reported on various aspects of work life at Picatinny. It is a good source of information for genealogists with family who once worked at the facility, as well as those studying American military history. The digitized issues of the Picatinny News and the Barrage are available online, and we will include additional years as they are made available to us.

Several of the History Center’s manuscript collections originate from active organizations who periodically transfer recently created records. Assistant Archivist, Katelyn Leffler processed a group of new additions to the Morris School District collection. The records contain nearly two centuries of information on education in Morris Township and Morristown including  documentation on the Board of Education, district schools, Morristown High School, as well as photographs and audiovisual material.

The Morris School District Records date from 1817 to 2013 and comprise 33.5 linear feet in over 60 boxes; the finding aid to the collection may be found here. Those interested in reviewing the collection should contact History Center staff in advance to make an appointment.