Paramount Theatre
518-520 Adams Street,
Toledo,
OH
43604
518-520 Adams Street,
Toledo,
OH
43604
8 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 61 of 61 comments
Bryan: Would love to see interior photos (grand staircase, auditorium and lobby) of this theatre that is now and unsightly parking lot! The fine folks of Toledo really lost a piece of history when they chose to demolish THIS one!
Was this actually Rapp & Rapp’s only atmospheric theatre?
Such a shame to read that this atmospheric in Toledo was demolished! I had hoped to see it while in Toledo. I will be in this city this summer so is there one that someone could suggest?
When theaters were architectural masterpieces, rather than indoor seating versions of today’s big-box retail stores, the Paramount Theater was the largest & finest theater in Toledo and NW Ohio! Being born & raised in Toledo, I was lucky enough to have been entertained there many times during my childhood & teenage years. Things I remember most were tales of the famous stripper Gypsy Rose Lee performing there (live) to packed crowds at every show. This is according to my former father-in-law, octagenarian & life-long Toledo resident, Ralph Boerst, who was fortunate enough to see her perform. Ralph told me that the MC of the show had to come on stage & request that people leave the theater after each show so others could see the show. They were lined up for blocks outside, waiting to get in. Also a big deal was the first “cinarama movie” I ever saw at the Paramount. And, I remember seeing the epic film Doctor Zivago there. The Paramount was absolutely fabulous in design & opulence. As a builder, contractor & developer in Michigan, Florida & Ohio, today I have an even greater appreciation of the Paramount Theater. The recently renovated Lowes Valentive Theater (in Toledo)is nice, and much better renovated than torn down, but in no way challenges the Paramount for the titla of biggest, best & most beautiful theater in Toledo & NW Ohio. It was a very sad day when those without vision thought an asphalt parking lot would be a better use of the land that the Paramount sat on… rather than restoring it. Thus, today that land is still being used as an ugly surface parking lot… reminding all who can remember as they pass by every day of the tragedy of tearing down the Paramount Theater.
David Hill, Former Toledoan … E-mail:
Bryan: Your July 29th 2004 post doesn’t show the auditorium, lobby and the grand staircase. Please advise. Thanks.
The Paramount was torn down long before I was born, but I know it was considered by many to be the grandest of Toledo’s movie theatres. There is currently a parking lot in its place.
I can remember my stepmother taking my hand as we walked into the Paramount. As a tot of six or seven I was overwhelmed by the opulence. I recall red-velvet ropes leading you to the Grand Staircase. This was 1943/44. To this day at age 66, the memories of the Paramount, Lowe’s Valentine, Pantheon, State, Rivoli linger on, never to be forgotten. BobnDenver.
My father, Ralph W. Lawler was the manager of the Paramount Theater in Toledo, Ohio from 1937 – 1943 during World War II. He also managed the Princess Theater in Toledo during that time. I have many fond memories and photos of the Paramount and the Hollywood stars that my father brought to the Paramount stage for stage shows as well as World War II War Bond Drives. Would like to be in contact with anyone who knows any information of that time period concerning the Paramount Theater.
The long lost and lovely, the PARAMOUNT of Toledo was at 518-20 Adams St., Toledo OH, and is recreated in vintage b/w photos (and some in sepia tone), plus history, abstracts, and drawings in the ANNUAL of the Theatre Historical Society for 1992, titled: “TOLEDO PARAMOUNT.” Within its 34 pages one can relive this sole atmospheric type designed by the famous theatre architects of Chicago, Rapp & Rapp. Some fine art work by Mark Hylton of Columbus, Ohio also graces this ANNUAL.
PHOTOS AVAILABLE:
To obtain any available Back Issue of either “Marquee” or of its ANNUALS, simply go to the web site of the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA at:
www.HistoricTheatres.org
and notice on their first page the link “PUBLICATIONS: Back Issues List” and click on that and you will be taken to their listing where they also give ordering details. The “Marquee” magazine is 8-1/2x11 inches tall (‘portrait’) format, and the ANNUALS are also soft cover in the same size, but in the long (‘landscape’) format, and are anywhere from 26 to 40 pages. Should they indicate that a publication is Out Of Print, then it may still be possible to view it via Inter-Library Loan where you go to the librarian at any public or school library and ask them to locate which library has the item by using the Union List of Serials, and your library can then ask the other library to loan it to them for you to read or photocopy. [Photocopies of most THSA publications are available from University Microforms International (UMI), but their prices are exorbitant.]
Note: Most any photo in any of their publications may be had in large size by purchase; see their ARCHIVE link. You should realize that there was no color still photography in the 1920s, so few theatres were seen in color at that time except by means of hand tinted renderings or post cards, thus all the antique photos from the Society will be in black and white, but it is quite possible that the Society has later color images available; it is best to inquire of them.
Should you not be able to contact them via their web site, you may also contact their Executive Director via E-mail at:
Or you may reach them via phone or snail mail at:
Theatre Historical Soc. of America
152 N. York, 2nd Floor York Theatre Bldg.
Elmhurst, ILL. 60126-2806 (they are about 15 miles west of Chicago)
Phone: 630-782-1800 or via FAX at: 630-782-1802 (Monday through Friday, 9AM—4PM, CT)
Toledo Paramount theatre: opened in 1929, 3400 seats, Rapp & Rapp Atmospheric. Demolished September, 1965. 4/20 Wurlitzer pipe organ was recorded by Virg Howard, and organ now plays in an auditorium in Berkeley, California.
Believe the theater was Rapp & Rapp’s only atmospheric theater. Do not know the date but it was demolished