Built in 1927, the newly restored Brook Theater is the only existing vaudeville theater remaining in Somerset County and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The theater is multi-use rental venue offering live performances, music, and films and is committed to cultivating the arts and providing high-quality entertainment.
In 1999 when the venue was flooded by Hurricane Floyd, the Brook Theatre was purchased by a non-profit organization and turned into the Brook Arts Center. Over three million dollars of federal, state and county funding have been provided to purchase and rehabilitate the flood-damaged theatre with new electric service, plumbing, heating, and air conditioning. New comfortable seating was installed and the theatre reopened seven years after the flood in the fall of 2006. Since that time the Brook Arts Center has AGAIN been refurbished and reopened following the second flood in 2007. Today, the Brook Arts Center is one of only eight surviving vaudeville houses and offers plays, concerts, silent movies, educational and fundraising events, and serves as an arts incubator. While most theaters built in that era have been demolished or converted to movie multiplexes, the Brook Arts Center remains unchanged and stands as a 1920s-era Landmark
