Paramount Theatre

2011 Views Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3

From the 1940s a postcard view of the Paramount Theatre in Abilene.

From 1995 and 2009, a set of Paramount Theatre photos.

Another photo can be seen here.

The architect for the restoration of the Paramount Theatre was Killis Almond, of Killis Almond & Associates, a San Antonio, Texas, based firm specializing in the restoration of historic buildings. Click on their “Projects” link to find a link to a page about this theater, as well as links to pages about some of their other theater projects.

So glad the Paramount was saved for future generations to see what a real theater is like. Such a greater experience than the small places of today. One of my vivid memories was the Saturday midnight horror movies. I knew one of the ushers and once during a horror movid involving a talking head he sneaked up behind us and put a fake head down in front of us. We almost went off the balcony. I really miss the Paramount and would love to take my grandsons to a movie there. Hopefully one day I can take them from Oklahoma to Abilene for that.

Two 1986 pre-restoration photos of the Paramount theater in Abilene.
www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/2263328721
www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/2264116830

And one post-restoration photo of the Paramount.
www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/2263565423

This is a 2007 photo of the Paramount Theater.

My photograph of the PARAMOUNT.
www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/295623001

Photos of the Paramount Theater in Abilene can be seen here and here and one more is here.

A color photo of the Paramount Theatre Box Office.
View link

I remember seeing films there as a kid in the 60’s. The fantasy architecture really added to the mystique of seeing a film. The theater also had a balcony, like most of the Paramout theaters. I’m not sure I ever went up there – it was closed during most normal movie showings.

In addition to having lit stars in the ceiling, there was also a projector that displayed moving clouds on the ceiling that were visible when the house lights were down.

A local barber, who I knew only as Mr. Bellew, worked as an usher for many years at the theater. He had his own barber shop, and consequently knew many of the kids who came to the movies on Saturdays. He’s the one who told me that the clouds were made by a projector with a rotating plastic disk containing the moving “clouds”. It was broken for many years – I don’t know if the restoration brought that feature back.