Paramount Theatre
323 W. Sixth Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90014
323 W. Sixth Street,
Los Angeles,
CA
90014
16 people
favorited this theater
Opened as Grauman’s Metropolitan in January 1923, the Paramount was the largest movie theater in Los Angeles for many years. Not only did it have one of the largest balconies ever built, its projector had the longest projection throw in the city.
When it was acquired by the Publix theater chain in 1929, the theater was renamed the Paramount. And to help distinguish it from other Paramount theaters in LA, the theater was also known as the Paramount Downtown.
In 1963, the Paramount was torn down to make way for a parking lot. In the early 1980’s, a bank was built on this same lot.
Today, if one stands in front of the Arcade theater and look southwest towards the corner of Broadway and 6th Street, near the second or third building from the corner, you will see a faded sign for the old Paramount, the only trace of the theater still visible.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 126 comments)
The Three Stooges Fan Club is trying to document a 1957 personal appearance of Joe Besser, Moe Howard and Larry Fine as The Three Stooges at the Paramount. This would be the only personal appearance by Besser with the Three Stooges. Any documentation, such as a newspaper ad or review would be greatly appreciated. My email address is: Thanks, Frank Reighter
Here is a January 1949 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/ngfejz
Here is a 1943 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/mvp9a4
The Metropolitan/Paramount was the second largest movie palace ever built on the West Coast the largest was the Fox in San Francisco. My friend Dick who worked for Disney and United Artists said this was the most impressive Movie Palace in LA. brucec
When the theater went to screening B films in the late 50s a basement bar called the Metro that was a gay scene opened just east of the box office on 6th next to the alley. Also a post razing Wm.Reagh photo of the necktie stand @ the corner of Hill and 6th- it’s in the picture catalog of California State Library – search terms: Reagh and Hill ( he didn’t i.d. the site )
History and photos can be found here in a 2009 article by Michael Grace: View link
I think the necktie photo mentioned on 8/17 is on the Clune’s Auditorium page.
An ad campaign concerning the new, modernized Paramount was in Boxoffice in June 1952.
http://tinyurl.com/yeamgpp
Very Very nice too bad its gone now.
I have now come across multiple references to George Edwin Bergstrom having been one of the architects of Grauman’s Metropolitan Theatre. Both Soutnwest Builder & Contractor and the national trade publication Engineering and Contracting mention his involvement in the project. The latter publication’s issue of April 27, 1921, carries this item, which mentions Bergstrom supervising construction on the project in conjunction with engineer R.C. Mitchell.
Various items in Southwest Builder & Contractor indicate that William Lee Woollett designed the interiors of the Metropolitan Theatre, but that the lead architect on the project was Bergstrom. Woollett probably designed the details on the facade of the building as well, but I haven’t found any specific sources saying he did. Woollett was apparently the sole architect on the later project creating a Broadway entrance for the theater.