Bruce Springsteen’s Archives at New Jersey University to Expand to New Building, Theater
Bruce Springsteen was on hand at Monmouth University Wednesday as the New Jersey campus announced plans to expand his archives with a new theater and building named after the E Street Band leader.
In 2017, Monmouth University revealed plans for The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, which would house the rocker’s personal collection of written works, photographs, magazines, and other artifacts throughout his career. The collection was so massive it required a new building to house the archives.
“First thing I want to say is how happy I am that my archives will have a home right here in Jersey, that means a lot,” Springsteen said Wednesday at the press conference.
“Having a building with your name on it is a tricky thing because I’m still alive… The only thing I know, I’m still subject to any kind of behavior. I mean, I could get arrested for shooting tequilas in a public park, that’s something that could happen. But all I can say is I will try to do my best to do nothing for the rest of my life to embarrass a building.”
In addition to housing his archives in a newly constructed 30,000-square-foot building, The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music will also feature a 230-person theater.
“Believe it or not, there are people who come from around the world for their vacations or their pilgrimages to spend their hard-earned dollars at Asbury Park or Freehold in search of from whence I have hailed, and now people actually have somewhere else to go besides my house,” Springsteen quipped.
“I’m getting all the junk out of my house, because it was beginning to get really cluttered in there, so now I have some place to put that stuff.”
Springsteen didn’t attend Monmouth University — situated near his beloved Jersey Shore — but the campus holds a deep meaning to him.
“At 19, I played on these very steps out here and to stand here today is quite humbling knowing I’m going to be a presence here on this campus, which I really look forward to being,” Springsteen added. “It’s deeply satisfying. I look forward to working with everyone to make this building and this endeavor a great success.”
While Springsteen did not provide a health update on his bout with peptic ulcers at the press conference, he recently revealed on his own Sirius XM channel, “I am deeply sorry but this belly thing, despite my ability to laugh at it, has been a monster and is still unfortunately rocking my internal world.”
