Paramount Theatre
1501 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1501 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
35 people
favorited this theater
The Paramount Theatre on Times Square opened on November 16, 1926 with Lois Moran in the Paramount Picture “God Gave Me Twenty Cents”, plus a stage show. The Paramount Theatre lobby was modeled after the Paris Opera House with white marble columns, balustrades and an opening arms grand staircase. Inside, drapes were red velvet, the rugs were a similar red. The theatre also had a Wurlitzer 4 manual 36 ranks organ, made famous by organist Jesse L. Crawford and later by Don Baker. There was also an orchestra pit that rose up to the stage level. The ceilings were fresco and gilt. The railings were brass, and the seats plush. There were Greek statues and busts in wall niches. The rest rooms and waiting rooms were as grand as any cathedral. In the main lobby there was an enormous crystal chandelier.
Over the years, many of the top stars performed there, including Frank Sinatra and dozens of the era’s luminaries. After years of showing movies and shows, the Paramount Theatre was closed on February 21, 1966 with the James Bond movie “Thunderball”. The auditorium was destroyed and converted into office space, and the entrance and lobby areas were gutted to make way for office and retail space.
Today, the Paramount Building is occupied in part by the Times Square location of the Hard Rock Cafe.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 701 comments)
Here’s a side view of the Paramount’s marquee during Frank Sinatra’s special 1956 stage engagement in conjunction with his B&W United Artists western, “Johnny Concho.” By that time, the Paramount was no longer presenting stage shows as a regular policy: blue-eyes
Here’s another side view of the Paramount’s marquee before it was converted to its final and more “modern” look with changeable silhouette lettering against a white glass background: thinkertothinker
wow- that looks like a heck of a show. One of my favorite “Road” movies. Thanks for sharing that.
“Road to Utopia” opened at the NYC Paramount on February 27th, 1946, but had finished production in May, 1944. Paramount decided to “shelve” it because the studio had a large backlog of unreleased films due to the wartime “attendance boom.” Many movies were getting extended runs of several weeks or even months in their first-run engagements.
Tinseltoes that House Of Wax 3-D showing was one the few that were done without intermision. The Paramounts four projector booth made that possible.
Eighty years ago today, Paramount’s “This Could Be the Night,” a B&W romantic comedy now best remembered for the feature film debut of Cary Grant, opened its NYC premiere engagement at both the Times Square and Brooklyn Paramounts. Needless to say, with different stage presentations. The New York Paramount had the “Greatest All-Colored Entertainment Ever Presented,” headed by Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra, including “Snake-Hips” Tucker, several vocalists, the Four Step Brothers, the Sepian Strutters, and George Dewey Washington. At the Paramount in downtown Brooklyn, Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians headed the stage bill, with a supporting cast of 50 entertainers and resident organists Merle Clark & Elsie Thompson.
Fifty-seven years ago tonight, Paramount’s VistaVision and Technicolor “Strategic Air Command” had its invitational world premiere at the Times Square Paramount on what was claimed to be “The World’s Largest Theatre Screen.” James Stewart, one of the stars of the movie, headed the celebrity-studded event, which was covered “live” by Arthur Godfrey on his national CBS-TV program. Regular continuous performances of “Strategic Air Command” started the next day at the Paramount, with doors opening at 8:30am.
Here is a link to the New York Times review of Strategic Air Command. And here is an excerpt from that review, reporting on both the film and surrounding hoopla. Sounds like it was a helluva night:
“NEVER, in many years of looking at Air Force and aviation films, have we seen the familiar wide blue yonder so wide or so magnificently displayed as it is in the Vista-Vision process used to project "Strategic Air Command.”
“This latest Paramount service picture, which received a full-dress première under the sponsorship of the Air Force Association last night at the Paramount Theatre, is far and away the most elaborate and impressive pictoral show of the beauty and organized power of the United States air arm that has yet been put upon the screen.
“But, certainly, an equal measure of credit for the pictorial impressiveness of this show must go to the Vista-Vision process, which is here being revealed for the second time. The first use of Vista-Vision was in "White Christmas,” several months ago, but that use was technically less finished and on a subject of less scope than is shown here.
“Now the full advantage of the Vista Vision wide film in giving size, depth and clarity, as well as fidelity of color, to big and detailed outdoor scenes is richly and dramatically apparent. The great panoramic shots of air fields, crowded with colorful equipment, betoken the precision and clear focus of the large Vista Vision lens. And the scenes in the air of cloud formations, of planes venting feathery vapor trails and of in-air refueling operations, all graphically shown, attest to the new dramatic potential of the sharp and well-proportioned image on a large scale.
“Vista Vision, in this particular showing, appears as grand as Cinerama, more felicitous and free than CinemaScope.
“But, above all, there are those airplanes, the roaring engines, the cluttered cockpits, the clouds and sky. These are the things that make your eyes bug and your heart leap with wonder and pride.
“The invitational world première of "Strategic Air Command” was held under the auspices of the Air Force Association.
“A large crowd thronged the Times Square area before the theatre, where searchlights heralded the occasion. The spectators watched the arrival of 3,500 guests, who included personalities in the armed services, politics, entertainment and business.
“Interviews with James Stewart, co-star of the picture, and other attending celebrities were telecast from the theatre lobby to a national audience on the Arthur Godfrey program. Mr. Godfrey served as moderator.
“In a stage ceremony prior to the screening, Mr. Stewart accepted a citation of honor from Maj. Gen. C. R. Smith, representing the A. F. A., for "distinguished public service and outstanding artistic achievement” in connection with the film."
Click here for an exterior view of the Paramount Theatre in 1929.
Thanks Brad…