The Murray Hill Theatre is a

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around ...

venue located in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. It is an independent, 501(c) non-profit charitable organization that is not affiliated with any church or denomination. It first opened as a west side movie theater in 1949 until becoming a Christian music venue in 1995. It is the longest-running live music venue and nightclub in Jacksonville.

Overview

Murray Hill Theatre first opened in 1949 with Mayor W. Haydon Burns making an appearance for the opening gala. The first movie featured at the theatre was Red River. In 1994 the theatre became an

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

club called The Dungeon. In 1995 Tony Nasrallah purchased the theatre and transformed it into a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

nightclub as a safe alternative to the bar and nightclub scene today. The Murray Hill neighborhood in 1995 was also in decline with crime rates rising and low property values on the rise. Nashrallah's vision of transforming the Murray Hill Theatre into a Christian nightclub was not only for the youth but also as the start of revitalization of the Murray Hill neighborhood. Since 1995, the Murray Hill Theatre has put on almost 2,000 live music events and concerts hosting the likes of

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...

, Jars of Clay,

P.O.D. P.O.D., an initialism for Payable on Death, is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992 and based in San Diego, California. The band's line-up consists of drummer and rhythm guitarist Wuv Bernardo, vocalist Sonny Sandoval, bassist Traa ...

Family Force 5 FF5 (formerly known as Family Force 5, The Phamily, Ground Noise and The Brothers) is an American Christian rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. The band formed in 2005 by brothers Solomon "Soul Glow Activatur" Olds, Joshua "Fatty" Olds, and Jacob " ...

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, John Mark McMillan and countless other artists. Not only does it have music acts but also an annual City-Wide Prom and Swing Night. Other annual events include its anniversary show to commemorate its long existence as a music venue and the

Scream the Prayer Tour The Scream the Prayer Tour, also known as Scream the Prayer, or simply STP, was an American Christian metalcore/Christian hardcore, hardcore music worship tour, presented by INRI Clothing. The tour had been held annually since it began, in mid- ...

. Murray Hill Theatre is considered to be the nation's premier Christian rock venue. In July 2015 a coffee shop called Vagabond Coffee opened in the previously-occupied Murray Hill Theatre Cafe which is still owned by Murray Hill Ministries.

Gallery of performances

File:Boone 4-2-07 314.jpg, DecembeRadio (2008) File:Jon Foreman of Switchfoot.jpg,

(2008) File:Sanctusreal2009.jpg, Sanctus Real (2009) File:OHSLP211.jpg,

Oh, Sleeper Oh, Sleeper is an American metalcore band from Fort Worth, Texas that formed in 2006 with former members of Terminal. In over a decade's span, Oh, Sleeper has released four full-length albums, two EPs, and toured worldwide as an opening act. Af ...

(2010) File:TheColorMorale11.jpg,

The Color Morale The Color Morale is an American metalcore band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 2007. The band includes vocalist/keyboardist Garret Rapp, guitarists Devin King and Aaron Saunders, bassist Mike Honson, and drummer Steve Carey. Rapp and Carey are ...

(2011) File:HeadJXMH.jpg,

Brian "Head" Welch Brian Philip Welch (born June 19, 1970), also known by his stage name Head, is an American musician. He is one of the guitarists and founding member of the nu metal band Korn and his solo project Love and Death, where he also provides vocals. ...

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

(2011) File:Between2TheTrees2.jpg, Between the Trees (2011) File:MyEpic2011JX.jpg,

My Epic My Epic is an American Christian rock band from Charlotte, North Carolina started in 2005. They released an independent EP in 2006 entitled ''This Is Rescue'', and two successive albums and one EP with Dreamt Records entitled ''I Am Undone'' (20 ...

(2011) File:AALJXFL.JPG,

Animals As Leaders Animals as Leaders is an American instrumental progressive metal band from Washington, D.C. It currently consists of guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes and drummer Matt Garstka, having been formed by Abasi in 2007. They are a prominent band ...

(2014) File:Propaganda2017MHT.jpg,

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

(2018)

References

{{Reflist Music venues in Florida Non-profit organizations based in Jacksonville, Florida Theatres in Jacksonville, Florida 1995 establishments in Florida