Bruce Springsteen fans were Born to Run to Passaic in the ’70s.
What are considered some of Springsteen and the E Street Band’s greatest performances took place at the long-gone Capitol Theatre in Passaic. Now, the “Born to Run at 50” exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of Springsteen’s landmark 1975 album will have a Passaic flavor as it’s staged at the Passaic County Arts Center at the John W. Rea House in Hawthorne.
The exhibit, presented by the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University and the Passaic County Board of County Commissioners, opens Thursday, March 5 and runs through July 6. The exhibit is similar to the Springsteen Center’s “Born to Run” exhibit which was staged at the Long Branch Arts and Culture Center in 2025.
“This new exhibit is a very special mix,” said Melissa Ziobro, director of curatorial affairs for the Springsteen Center. “I describe it in three parts: it’s adaptation of Springsteen in Long Branch, which focuses on the ‘Born to Run’ era and Passaic, the Capitol Theatre shows, specifically. There’s the Eric Meola photography exhibit, which was originally here on campus at Monmouth University, and then there’s an (audio/visual) component with streaming footage from Capitol Theatre shows and, for the first time ever publicly a replay of the ‘Born to Run’ 50th anniversary symposium.”
The “Born to Run” 50th anniversary symposium, which took place Sept. 6 at the Pollak Theatre on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, featured candid moments with Springsteen and band members on panels and in performance.
Eric Meola is the photographer who took the famous cover shot for “Born to Run.” The Passaic exhibit will also include merchandise, backstage passes, and “items tossed into the crowd.”
Springsteen and E Street played the Capitol five times between 1974 and 1978. The three shows in September of ’78 were the Jersey stand of the “Darkness on the Edge of Town” tour.
The Passaic exhibit will include the marquee from the Capitol, which was demolished in 1991.
“The Capitol Theatre shows really captured Bruce at the cusp of national recognition,” Ziobro said. “It was Springsteen in this pivotal moment from when he’s going from king of the bar bands to national cultural figure.”
Go: Born to Run at 50 through July 5, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, Passaic County Arts Center at the John W. Rea House, 675 Goffle Road, Hawthorne it. Free. www.seepassaiccountynj.org. Visit springsteencenter.org for more info.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at cjordan@app.com