Paramount Theatre
142 Federal Plaza West,
Youngstown,
OH
44503
142 Federal Plaza West,
Youngstown,
OH
44503
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 145 comments
I was told about the Youngstown Playhouse the other day and held a piece of its history….a program with a drawing of the playhouse on the cover. I did not know that it is the oldest community theater in the United States. After recently touring Youngstown I have come to realize that one of the best things abut Youngstown is HANDELS ice cream which is a favorite of comedian, Bill Cosby who has it delivered to his CA home.
Don’t misunderstand me, I am supportive of theater preservation, but I’m also opposed to any project that wastes money that could be better spent on projects that have a chance of succeeding.
Several groups have tried to save the Paramount only to have to walk away after losing their shirts.
We have two extremely beautiful theaters that could use the money that will be thrown at the Paramount. We also have a third theater that needs all the help it can get (The Youngstown Playhouse – the oldest community theater in the United States).
The city should have ordered that building demolished five years ago.
Contrary to “popular opinion” there is nothing beautiful or histoical about that building. Even in it’s prime, it was not a “beautiful” theater.
I measure beauty by comparing the Paramount to the old Palace Theater and the Warner/Powers Auditorium, and there is no comparison.
Gutting of the Paramount is the worst thing which could occur to this building at this point in time….by doing so, you would disqualify the building for Historic Tax Credits…the first thing that needs to be done to qualify is to extensively photodocument the as-is condition…..they will disqualify a project if ANY work is done of any sort on the building including something as simple as removing the seats which remain….so by “gutting” the theater you are removing anywhere from 15 -20% of the budget from the funding equation….these are non-competative tax credits and are granted to structures who have stature on the National Register, which the Paramount does….the theater qualifing is a “gimmme” provided no hasty measures are taken before the documentation and approval by the National Park Service….that process represents the first year of this project….the year has yet to begin as the photodocumemtation is just commencing….expect no activity for 12 -18 months
Regarding the budget numbers being thrown around…simply put they are, no doubt, another fabrication of the media who reported them….the local media has a extensive history of this type of fabrication on many different topics…you might as well go to Disneyland when assessing the media on accuracy
It is a five year project….settle in…it hasn’t really begun yet
Again, Rome actually was built in a single day….it was the planning took all of the time
Note on the Foster Theater:
The Foster Theater was part of the Wellman chain (Foster, Belmont, Mahoning, Shenley), and in it’s prime it specialized in foreign films, opera films and the classics.
It later was sold and is curtently showing XXX films, and is a mere shaddow of itself in a neighborhood that is a war zone where a person takes his life in his hands to go there.
In it’s prime it was a beautiful small theater.
Note on the Paramount:
There is still no word about the fate of the UGGGH Paramount Theater.
After one newspaper article and a single news story, noting more has been said “officially” by the man who bought the building or more correctly, what’s left of the building.
Likewise, there is no sign of any preliminary work being done on it.
IF Paul was sincere, you’d think that he would have a crew in there gutting the building since there is nothing inside worth saving. Not even the seats.
Hosedragger:
The Regent Theater was located on East Federal Street halfway between Walnut and Watt streets. It was demolished in the 1960’s.
The theater that was on Himrod Ave. was The Lincoln Theater. I was able to get access to this theaters projection booth when it was being remodlerd to become a church and salvaged a large box of old trailers.
I have a exterior photo of the Regent theater that I would be happy to share with you if you go to my website http://farrell-report.tripod.com and e-mail me a request fo it.
It’s not the best, but it’s the only one I have of this theater.
We’ll see about the fate of the Paramount…..it’s a significant building by a significant architect in a city with a rich architectural history
I’d give this one at least five years to materialize….
The building of Rome actually took place in a single day……it’s was the planning that took all of the time
The Belmont Theater still stands today at the corners of Belmont and Alamedia. When it closed it was turned into a department store called Atlantic Mills. In the 1980s it was subdivided into various business occupancies. It still has the three faces of theater on its front.
The Foster Theater which took its name from the Fosterville area where it sits, still is in operation on Glenwood near Parkview. It showes XXX movies.
The Home Theater still stands on McGuffey and recently showed amature stage productions under the name Orical Theater. Its now closed.
The Lincoln Theater was located on McCartney in the Lincoln Knolls Plaza and was torn down in the 1990’s
The Mahoning Theater on Mahoning Ave near Halls Heights was renamed in the late 1960’s to the Mahoning Follies and showed XXX movies. It was torn down in the 1990’s
The Palace Theater was torn down to make way for construction of an office building however local corrupt politics caused the project to be delayed and became cost prohibitive so it was abandoned and left as a parking lot beside the BW-3s. A very ornate structure destroyed for nothing.
The Paramount Theater on West Federal is still standing and has plans to be redeveloped.
The Park Theater on MLK Blvd near the #1 Fire Station still stands but has been converted into a blood bank. It was a burlesque for a period and saw a young Richard Pryor begin his comedy days. In fact he mentioned his run in with the Youngstown MAFIA ownership of the Park in a few of his comedy acts.
The Regent and the State still stand on West Federal St. The State was converted into the Agora in the late 1970’s and early 1980. Both had entrances on West Federal but the actual theaters were behind the entrances between the alley and Boardman St. Short covered walkways connected the fronts with the theaters across the ally.
The Strand was torn down when the Tod Hotel was raised.
The Uptown still stands on Market St near Indinolia. After it ended its movie theater days it was the home of Easy Street Productions but closed in the 1990’s.
The Warner has been totally redone to its origional lustre and renamed the Powers. It houses the Youngstown Symphony and Youngstown symphony Youth Orchestras. Currently it is in the proces of a multi million dollar makeover funded by the DeBartolo/York Family which has added a side music stage and eatery. The return of the old Warner marque will also be part of its current makeover.
The Wilson was demolished in the 1970s
The Newport was also raised in the 1990s
There was a Theater on the south side of Himrod Ave. just west of Fruit that was torn down in the late 1970s. It sat beside old Dr Stechulte MD and Dr Frank DDS offices.
It can’t and that has been my point. Millions of dollars were spent on fix up at Powers Auditorium (Warner Theater) and it was intact, and all that was needed was fresh coats of paint, a new main curtain, carpeting and some plaster restoration.
The Paramount would have to be rebuilt from foundation to roof inside as the photos clearly show, and a whole new heating/air conditioning/plumbing system, and none of these can be purchased on the cheap. I’ve already pointed out other major problems so I’ll not repeat them here.
The Shubert Theatre (now known as the LaSalle Bank Theatre after the company that financed the restoration) in Chicago just reopened after a $14 million dollar restoration. Now: if the Shubert was able to present shows when it closed for restoration, and that project cost $14 million, how can this crumbling ruin in Youngstown be renovated for $3.5 million?
Lost Memories
The Strand was a small theater built by the folks at the Tod House Hotel next door. It sat about 600 and was a third run house. I was in there once and was not impressed by it.
In it’s later life it became an art theater/burlisque house and finally closed after the projectionist/stage hand union struck it.
To get to it’s projection booth the operator had to climb a ladder.
It had a small lobby that was as non-discipt as the rest of the theater, and really no one missed it when it finally closed.
I put together a scrap book of all the theaters that were in Youngstown over the years and they were many.
Among them:
The Bijou — The Orpheum — The Opera House — The Capitol — The Lyric — The Rex — The Edison — The Cameo — The Hypodrome which was the forerunner to The Palace — Dome Theater — The Princess.
Unfortunately I don’t have good pictures of these theaters, and don’t have any seating counts.
At one time there were no fewer than 12 theaters in downtown Youngstown – 6 West of the Public Square and 6 East of the Public Square with half of them offering live Vaudville/Burlisque.
wolfgirl500: Funny that you would mention this theatre today as it also came up over lunch today with our Youngstown friends…great timing! I’ve gotten them interested in theatres so they have now acquired the incurable ‘bug’!
Historic notes regarding the Park Theatre
This theater was the third oldest theater in Youngstown, and had a very impessive list of theater greats trod its boards. It’s said that at one time the theater was owned by George M. Cohan, and he made a point of bringing a steller list of greats here to perform.
As with many old theaters it fell on bad days and wound up it’s life as a Burlisque house, but fortunately most of the old posters, photos and momentos had been preserved and when it closed went up for auction to collectors.
When I get a chance, I’ll dig through my files and post pictures of this theater.
By the way, the theater besides vaudville, burlisque and movies as well as plays (professional) also featured grand opera (live) ballet and symphony orchestras.
Wow, those are quite the lists. Thanks Ken.
Here are the theatres listed in the 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook for Youngstown, OH:
Cameo 608 seats (closed)
Center 300 seats
Foster 750 seats
Mahoning, 1498 Mahoning Avenue 375 seats
Ohio, Market Street 575 seats
Palace, Wick Avenue 2,270 seats
Paramount, Federal Street 1,505 seats
Park, East Federal Street 1,577 seats
Plaza 287 seats
Regent, East Federal Street 450 seats
State, West Federal Street 1,500 seats
Strand, Central Square 860 seats
Uptown, Market Street 550 seats
Warner 2,600 seats
Wilson No seating capacity given
In the 1943 edition of F.D.Y. all of the above are listed with the addition of:
Home 300 seats
Newport 850 seats
Schenley 790 seats
The 1950 edition of F.D.Y. Has the following theatre’s listed:
Belmont 1,200 seats
Foster, 2500 Glenwood Ave 800 seats
Home, 1625 McGuffey Road 400 seats
Lincoln No seating given
Mahoning, 1604 Mahoning Avenue (re-numbering?) 400 seats
Palace, 3 Wicks Avenue 2,400 seats
Paramount, 242 West Federal Street 1,506 seats
Park, 23 South Champion Street 1,333 seats
Regent, 239 East Federal Street 427 seats
Schenley, Mahoning Avenue 800 seats
State, 213 West Federal Street 2,000 seats
Strand, Central Square 750 seats
Uptown, 2130 Market Street 500 seats
Warner, 264 West Federal Street 2,594 seats
Wilson, 1043 Wilson Avenue 400 seats
I can’t answer your theatre question concerning a Strand Theatre, but wolfgirl might have the answer. I’m sure she’ll tell us if she can. Cinematour is a great resource and comparative site, but without the message board it’s just not the same.
After looking at the beautiful Paramount exterior facade design I only hope this theatre can be saved!
wolfgirl500: Your photo of the Paramount on the FR website, page 2 really shows off the exterior design, but the marquee framing is still there. I’ve been comparing your photo to the vintage postcard photo. The white terra cotta exterior is quite exquisite!
The five are as follows: Newport, Palace, Paramount, Powers (Warner) and State. My source is ‘wolfgirl500’ who lives in Youngstown.
Lost Memory: Very interesting stats on this crumbling theatre which many seem to feel has seen better days and that $3.5 won’t begin to bring this theatre back to any form of theatre or nightclub life. How many theatres did Youngstown have as I seem to have read about more than just a few?
halehouse: Is the photo on the webshot link of the exterior the Paramount as it looks today?
halehouse: Would love to see some b/w exterior photos, too.
Lost Memory: Thanks for posting this informative article! I knew an article had been written, but wasn’t able to find it….until now!