Paramount Theatre
1501 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1501 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
38 people
favorited this theater
Showing 451 - 475 of 508 comments
I remember the G & W Paramount. The ticket booth was on street level and the theatre was in the basement. Saw “The Bad News Bears” & “Silent Movie” there in the 1970’s. As I remember it was a nice theatre which was closed when the building was renovated by Trump.
I saw in “Times Square Style” that it was a Publix Theater. I didn’t know they had any houses in New York.
hardrockinjedi
scottfavareille mentioned the Hard Rock Cafe move to the former Paramount Theatre location on Dec. 13th 2004.
Has anyone submitted a posting on the Paramount Theatre that occupied the former Gulf & Western building at Columbus Circle from the mid ‘60s before it was taken over by Trump? It was an odd venue operated by Rugoff/Cinema V, and exhibited an odd mix of releases including the Hellstrom Chronicles and Network.
I may have missed something on this message board, but I didn’t see anyone mention that Hard Rock Cafe is moving into the Paramount Theatre. This project is to be completed by Fall of 2005. I believe a Hotel will be added shortly after that.
To get an idea of how it looked, check out the opening and closing scenes in Martin and Lewis' 1953 Paramount feature, THE CADDY. It not only includes actual newsreel footage from 1951 of the pandemonium created by Dean and Jerry throwing autographs out of their dressing room window onto 45th street, it also features a fairly accurate recreation of the Paramount stage set-up.
Incidentally, those dressing room windows are still visible on 45th street! I believe the space is used for offices now. What a shame.
Yes, Ernie, that’s a precise description of how most Paramount stage shows began. The band was the centerpiece feature. The last act was the “star” singer, who entered the platform stage from one of the curtained doorframes on either side of the proscenium.
Let me tell you something. For a teenage boy, during the early World War II years, there was no greater thrill than being in the balcony at the Paramount when one of your favorite bands — say,
Artie Shaw — was on the bill. You’d hear the exotic strains of his theme song (“Nightmare,” I think it was called) before you ever saw the band. It which would rise from the orchestra pit to stage level. Only then would the spotlights come on as the roar in the audience would reach a climax.
And they tore it down.
Maybe it’s all about Times Square for restaurants. Planet Hollywood moved to Times Square from 57th into their spinoff restaurant that didn’t make it, All-Star Cafe.
I assume that this restaurant space, under the name “World,†has also served as a techno-music night Club. My son is a techno musician who has played gigs there. I never envied his hard work, because the business is fiercely competitive. But when I learned of World’s connection with the Paramount, and so with the shades of Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Stafford, Como, Dorsey, Vaughan, Lee, and a host of others past, in however attenuated a fashion, my admiration brimmed over. Kudos to sites like this for strengthening generational bonds.
Update—WWE subleased it out to the Hard Rock Cafe, so it is going back to being used as a restaurant.
Back a-ways, it was mentioned that GOLDFINGER might of played here 24 hours…that was the DeMille (7th & 47th St.).
Even in that picture, you could see the facade was in desperate need of a good cleaning.
As “Warren”, and “Jim Rankin” mentioned last May 24th, the Paramount originally had a promenade around the dome in the auditorium. I remember my great aunt in New Jersey telling me about the beautiful theatres in Manhattan, and how she would catch a show at the Roxy or the Paramount after a day of shopping. She especially remarked on the beauty of the Paramount, and told me that there was a room above the auditorium where you could look down into the theatre. Years later, long after me dear aunt’s death, I read about this promenade and thought of my aunt and her memories of this place. I sure miss her, and I wish I’d had the sense to press her for more details.
In the late ‘40s and early '50s, newspaper ads for the Paramount stressed “Doors open 10:30 a.m. / 55 cents to 1 p.m.” In December 1950, Variety reported a beefed-up price scale of .90 to $1.80 for “Samson,” the same as at the Rivoli (instead of a stage show, the Rivoli offered its patrons the film’s climactic scene on the theater’s giant Cycloramic screen; q.v. this site’s page for that theater). The previous feature at the Paramount was Bob Hope’s “The Great Lover” and Sarah Vaughan(!) on stage, for a held-over four weeks with a price scale of .55 to $1.50. The previous feature at the Rivoli was Elia Kazan’s “Pinky,” which ran for thirteen weeks with a price scale of .60 to $1.25. Comparative price scales: the Capitol playing “The Red Danube” and Eddy Duchin Orchestra on stage at .80-$1.50; the Strand playing “The Inspector General” and Vaughn Monroe on stage at .55-$2.00; the Roxy playing “Dancing in the Dark” and Mindy Carson on stage at .80-$1.75 (with a 25 cent surcharge for reserved seats); RCMH playing “On the Town” and its Christmas stage show at .80-$2.40; the Astor playing “Battleground” at .60-$1.50; Loew’s State playing “East Side, West Side” at .50-$1.50; the Victoria playing “All the King’s Men” at .95-$1.50. All in all, the Paramount offered a bargain deal.
Wow thats alot of seats between the two houses. Was it roadshow at The Rivoli?
A nice article on the Marquee re-creation, with pictures, can be seen here: View link
Jesse remarried and his new wifes name was Lucy
Thanks for the info on Jesse Crawford. I discovered that Helen (nee Anderson) Crawford played in Chicago a couple of blocks away from where Jesse was playing. She pursued him and they married in 1923. Jesse was already married and sent his first wife back to California.
Helen accompanied Bing Crosby on the organ in the 1931 rendition of “Can’t we talk it over”. She played with a jazzy style and was probably a better organist. They split when Jesse refused to sign a new contract at the Paramount in NYC (lower wages) during the depression. Helen signed and the marriage ended.
There is a lot of New York Movie Theatre programs turning up on eBay lately. (Roxy, Rivoli, Capitol, Radio City Music Hall ….) These are the small programs that were available in the lobbies of these theatres for that weeks or next weeks features.
I wonder where these artifacts were that are turning up?
Anybody have bio info on Helen Crawford who, with her husband, Jesse, were top stars in Chicago and New York. I know she was killed in an auto crash in 1943. She evidently didn’t record much..and I understand she didn’t like the studio organ …too stuffy.. she prefered live performance.
There was another unique souvenir earlier this week from the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre. It was a wall mounted water fountain. Bidding started at $200.00, it had no takers.
If you’ve got a spare $12,000.00, you can own a very unique souvenir from this lost palace.
There’s an auction on eBay for an original balcony railing with the Paramount logo – auction # 3839413167. Be warned: it weighs 700 pounds!
Thank you Peter for the info, I never realised stereo sound was used in this way. I just assumed all stereo sound was magnetic stiping on the prints. I’m always happy to learn something new.