Loew's Paradise Theatre

Hello Ziggy, I too have missed visiting Cinema Treasures. With the arrival such good weather I’ve been out and about suffering from a premature case of spring fever.

The crew is slowly but surely cleaning and grouting the ballustrade and rear wall above the attached taxpayer (not shown on the top of the page). Otherwise I haven’t noticed much else on the outside which is looking wonderful.

The original sunburst was a bright orange and yellow with jezebel red lettering. I do agree that the royal blue background is just a bit much.

Jim, another thing to keep in mind is that the colors are being compared to what was there before the new paint job. How bright was the colors when it was first painted originally? The weather and years can darken colors.

We just happened to be driving up Grand Concourse on New Years Day and, say what(!), workers were working on the Paradise! Some were doing exterior work on the building’s store facades and something was going on inside because we could see lights on behind the plastic tarps across the entrance. The guard in the booth ignored our pleas to peek at the interior, though. Here’s a point to ponder: from what we could make out from behind the scaffolding covers, the sunburst on the flat “marquee” is painted in a really, taxingly garish blue, yellow and red. Was this original? It seemed a bit much against the elegant terra cotta ornamentations of the building. I would have expected something more subdued. But I could be wrong, and these colors were meant to be “attention getters'”

I’d imagine they would be able to retain the name, most buildings do. Like the Sears tower for example, Sears doesn’t have a thing to do with it anymore.

The current Loew’s exhibition at the Musueum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, includes some fabulous B&W newsreel footage (silent and unedited) of Al Jolson’s personal appearance at the Paradise in 1949 in conjunction with the release of “Jolson Sings Again.” The huge crowd that gathered to greet him on the Grand Concourse reminds of New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Jolson arrived in an open car as part of a motorcade. He’s also shown performing on stage. This appearance was part of a tour that Jolson made of the major Loew’s neighborhood theatres before the movie had its premiere (and exclusive) engagement at Loew’s State in Manhattan.

Thanks for the updates Divinity! I think a better term would be “fabulosity”, or “fabutivity”. What do you think? (I’m kidding, just kidding!!) Have a Merry Christmas, and thanks for being such a good reporter! :–)

Pictures! Post pictures!

Since Bruce Ratner is rebuilding Brooklyn in his own image, can anyone interest him and Marty Markowitz into restoring the Brooklyn Paramount? It makes sense with all the developement from Metrotech to Atlantic terminal.

Divinity, I hate being a pest, but I’m originally from upstate New York, and now live (too) far away. I have a cousin in NYC and it’s a given that I will be visiting her this summer. Since you have a contact at the Paradise, could you ask him/her what the chances are of a rabid Loew’s Paradise fan and two friends getting a tour this summer?

My contact at the Paradise tells me that the reason most of the work has been going on very secretively, is because the landmarks commission is interested in landmarking the interior. Remember, they have done a fabulous job so far, but they wont landmark it until all work is complete because of all the paperwork involved in restoring a landmark. People in general might be upset that the fountain won’t have a basin or that lighting has been attached to a rectangular opening in the ceiling of the auditorium (both reversable).
Both acts of vandalism were done by previous owners.

Talk about your covert operations. I can understand why they wouldn’t want a bunch of oglers wandering through a hard hat area because of the liability question, but are the plans for the restoration of the Paradise that secretive? Meanwhile I’m still trying to digest “clandestinity”!

“clandestinity”?