Paramount Theatre
167 Main Street,
Brattleboro,
VT
05301
167 Main Street,
Brattleboro,
VT
05301
1 person
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The Paramount Theatre was opened prior to 1941. Gutted in a fire in 1991, the Paramount building now houses a bicycle shop in the lobby area and the auditorium has been converted into office space.
Contributed by
Dave Bonan
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
The Paramount had fairly restrained, classical type decorations in its long, narrow auditorium, columns down the sides with brown curtains in betwen. Decorations were fairly attractive. There was a shallow balcony at the back, which seemed unusual for a theater this narrow. Was sad that it was destroyed, it continued showing first run movies right to the end. The front has had the red facing and marque removed showing the original beige stone front, and the Paramount sign is removed from the cornice. The main shell of the building is otherwise intact, but the interior is all new.
The Paramount in Brattleboro is listed in the 1942-43 Motion Picture Almanac as being part of Western Massachusetts Theatres of Springfield, run by well-known exhibitor, Nathan Goldstein. At the time, the Paramount was the only WM movie theatre in Vermont.
I managed this theater for a short time in 1973. We ran “American Graffiti” to packed houses. I still remember the laughter and footstomping to the music as it filled the theater.
This was a very beautiful little theater. It featured scenes along the walls that had small backlights. It also had an effects machine so that we could make “clouds” move across the ceiling and when the lights were dimmed, stars filled the night sky.
There was also an old organ in the pit at the foot of the stage.
At that time, the theater was owned by Western Mass Theater Associates, under the management of Nelson Wright Enterprises.
Here is an undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2mdxo8
The only remaining interior artifacts are the movie poster cases along the outer lobby, now filled with bicycle posters. The bicycle shop is in the former lobby area. The auditorium portion was so badly burned it had to be gutted and has been converted to offices. One hall wall has a large mural depicting the fire. Some of the brick walls were left bare, showing the scorch marks from the fire.
I was here last week on a cycling trip. Yes, the bike shop is in front and the other lobby store is “Save the Corporations for Themselves” clothing store and there’s an elevator in the back with many offices upstairs. It feels modern and open now. The bottom floor’s facade is a grey stucco and the top floor is a grey brick, the left side is red brick with fire escapes.
The mural in the back has the theatre on fire with a fireman in the watch. The marquee says, “Nightly 7” and “Dances with Wolves”. The center of the mural has many rows of the auditorium seats and to the left another pic of the marquee that says, “The Fire April 30, 1991, 7&9”.
From the 1950s a photo postcard view of the Paramount Theatre in Brattleboro.
1940?? I had always thought the Paramount opened sometime in the 1920s, based on the decor, but my memory isn’t the best. At any rate, it’s a shame it’s gone.
My grandfather was the first manager of the Paramount in Brattleboro in the late 1930s. His family was in Springfield, MA while he worked in Brattleboro. He later moved to Northampton, MA and managed the Calvin Theatre.