Paramount Theater
518-520 Adams Street,
Toledo,
OH
43604
518-520 Adams Street,
Toledo,
OH
43604
5 people
favorited this theater
Located on the corner of Adams Street and Huron Street. The Paramount Theatre opened on February 16, 1929, with Richard Dix in “Redskin”. Seating was provided for 1,589 in the orchestra, 394 in the mezannine and 1,426 in the balcony. It was equipped with a 3 manual Wurlitzer pipe organ.
Designed in French Renaissance/Atmospheric style, it was one of only a handful of Atmospheric style theatres designed by the Chicago based architectural firm Rapp & Rapp. Although it was a beautiful theatre, the Paramount never fulfilled its potential, and for most of the time was a loss maker.
It was closed as a regular movie theatre on November 5, 1960 and was converted into a Cinerama theatre. It was closed on November 3, 1963 with “How the West Was Won”. The Toledo Paramount Theatre was demolished in September 1965. The site is now used for car parking.
Contributed by
Ron Heberlee
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Recent comments (view all 59 comments)
Jules: Perhaps you can give us some insight since your grandfather owned the Paramount at one time why this theatre was allowed to be demolished as it was a magnificant structure! A theatre similar to the Paramount was the Palace in Youngstown Ohio, but sadly it was also demolished.
And to think this theatre was the only atmospheric built by Rapp and Rapp. The Warner in Erie PA is a Rapp and Rapp.
Too bad most of the photos do not work anymore.
I think the three interior photos originally posted by Bryan Krefft and Lost Memory can still be seen here, as well as a picture of the booth set-up for Cinerama: http://cinerama.topcities.com/ctparamount.htm
Thanks Chris, interesting photos.
From the early 1920s a postcard view of the Paramount Theatre in Toledo.
I received a copy of the 1992 Theater Historical Society which is still available…check on Ebay. It is filled with archival photos from Rapp and Rapp. One can appreciate the beauty of this theater. As a child of nine I remember walking past the Paramount on the Huron St. side along with my mom and three siblings. I remember the tall vertical sign and was impressed. Never saw a movie there…probably too expensive for our family. The last time I remember seeing it was during the demolition phase…all that remained was the stage. A great loss for Toledo.
The Wurlitzer was a 4-20 Publix 1 model, a deluxe setup with extra features reserved for upscale theatres. The elaborately embelished console rose from the pit on the left side of the stage on it’s own screw lift. The pipework was housed in two chambers on either side of the stage with a third percussion chamber on the left. The mallet percussions were large scale and quite loud, with a carousel-like timbre that filled the entire theatre and somewhat overpowered the speaking pipes which had a more refined voicing. The Virgil Howard recordings well document the unique sound of this fine Wurltizer setup.
Added some new pictures..Enjoy.
This is a picture of Rapp and Rapp’s Gateway Theater in Chicago. It opened in June of 1930 and was the second of only two atmospheric theaters designed by Rapp and Rapp. The other being the Toledo Paramount Theater. The Gateway is still standing and can be viewed in Cinema treasures. This photo has often been mistaken as the Toledo Paramount but actually was not as ornate or as large as the Toledo Paramount. Sadly the Paramount in Toledo met with the wrecking ball in 1965.