Don and Audible Unveil Innovation Cathedral
Audible opened the doors to its Innovation Cathedral, a historic church that is now home to 400 tech employees and features the original stained-glass windows and pipe organ alongside work cafes and lounges.
“The Innovation Cathedral is a proud landmark for Newark and a powerful symbol of Audible’s commitment to the city for more than a decade,” Don said. “We have defined ourselves by the strategic pursuit of what a successful company can mean in ways that transcend what it does — and today is proof that our efforts are yielding positive outcomes for business and invention culture, for the many talented people who want to work with us, and for the comeback of this great American city.”
Since moving its headquarters to Newark in 2007, Audible has grown from 100 employees to more than 1,600 in the city.
The building was home to the Second Presbyterian Church — a congregation founded in 1811 that, at its height, reached 10,000 parishioners — until it dissolved in the mid-’90s. In addition to rehabilitating the 80,000-square-foot church, built in 1933, Audible preserved the stained-glass windows, pipe organ and bowling alley. The space also features a 370-seat auditorium.
The Star-Ledger covered the opening with a front-page story.