Somerset County Cultural Arts Center Inc (Brook Arts Center)

My name is Eric Lynch and I am a Scout with Troop 46 in Martinsville, New Jersey. I am currently working on my Eagle Scout project for the Brook Arts Center, (Historic Brook Theater) located in Bound Brook, NJ. The theater, opened in 1927, features theatrical performances, films, dance, music, and community events.

My Eagle Scout project is to renovate the green room and the dressing room area of the theater. This will include painting the walls, cleaning the floors and installing new furniture to the dressing room. As a former vaudeville theater, the theater's dressing rooms were above the stage and extremely small. Those rooms are no longer used. As the theater grows, so do the variety of acts and artists who require larger dressing rooms and more accommodations. My project will entail renovating the existing area under the stage to serve as a greenroom and dressing area. This area is essential to the theater's vision and mission to provide a theatrical venue where artists can perform and communities can host events and activities.

With a donation to this project, you are not just supporting an Eagle Scout project, but also the Brook Arts Center and the Arts in NJ. With your generosity, I can make this project and promise to Brook a reality! As an Eagle project, it must be completed before my 18th birthday, which is fast approaching. All donations received will be used to carry out this project. The more funds raised, the more I can keep my promise to the Brook Arts Center which in turn will help the theater bring more quality entertainment to our communities! Your gift is greatly appreciated by myself, the artists, and audiences from all NJ communities who would love to see the Brook Arts Center around for another 100 years!

History on the theater:

The Historic Brook Theater, known as the Brook Arts Center, opened on January 9, 1927, as a vaudeville house. In its heyday, the Brook was a popular regional venue and an intricate part of the entertainment and social life of Bound Brook and central New Jersey, and drew crowds from NYC, arriving at the Bound Brook train station. The venue provided a full scope of entertainment from WC Fields, Jack Benny, Sophie Turner, Benny Goodman, Tony Bennett, and countless motion pictures.

Over the years, the theater was run by a variety of movie and theater management companies and had undergone many changes. Over time, the theater was in desperate need of repair and restoration. Luckily, in 1997, a passionate team of volunteers formed a nonprofit organization and began the plans for an arts incubator for organizations and artists to create their craft. Unfortunately, on September 16th, 1999, Hurricane Floyd struck Bound Brook and left the auditorium flooded with 17 feet of water from the Raritan River, ravaging the renovation efforts. However, Brook Arts Center’s dedicated team wouldn’t give up and spent countless hours restoring the theater. Audiences, especially those who grew up with the theater and have fond memories are extremely grateful for the ever growing list of volunteers and artists who are keeping the theater alive! For this reason, I am hoping you, the community, can support the NJ Arts and the Brook Arts Center and make a donation to help me purchase supplies and materials to help make this project a reality!

For more information on the Brook's history, the flood, pictures, and all upcoming shows visit the Brook Arts Center website ( www.brookarts.org)