Paramount Theatre
612 Main Street,
Buffalo,
NY
14202
612 Main Street,
Buffalo,
NY
14202
8 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 145 comments
Sam_e… Thanks for clarifying that, but I must say that the images are very misleading because I am hard pressed to believe that a 3000 seat theater would fit into the structure I see in those photos! Did the auditorium run parallel to Main Street or did it run straight back from the street entrance with the stage wall at the rear (where the parking lot is)? Again, from those photos, the building looks too shallow for it to have run straight back – particularly when considering those interior images.
Ed & Patsy: The post Paramount photos are what the building looked liked, boarded up and abandoned, until it was renovated into the City Centre condominiums. The theatre had been housed totally inside the structure that you see, with the windows in the rear of the building cut into it after it was converted into a furniture warehouse by Nemmer Furniture. As well, floors were created inside the former auditorium space. The parking lot at the rear is now mainly visitors parking for the condo with a rear entrance to the building from the parking lot. I’ve visited friends who have a condo there and the lobby bears no hint, as far as I could tell, of it’s former life as a theatre. In fact it is so totally altered that I didn’t realize I was in the former Great Lakes-Paramount building.
This friend in Buffalo was just sent Ed’s post so perhaps he can be of help to us. Jerry is the lifelong Buffalo resident and knows alot about its history including its rich theatre history. After viewing the Paramount interior I am saddened that Buffalo has lost its Paramount, but thank goodness the beautiful Shea’s Buffalo remains for us to enjoy today thanks to the local volunteers. BTW, in the lobby of the Shea’s are many paintings of local celebs which includes Buffalo Bob of Howdy Doody fame!
Photo #3 shows THESE COLUMNS!
I have a friend in Buffalo who knows the condo developer. I met him last August and he told me that some theatre items were in storage such as columns, etc.
Hey all… I recelved those images from Patsy and have uploaded them on my photobucket account. I hope RJT and Patsy don’t mind that I took liberties to try and enhance the images and increase the size of some of the smaller files. Here they are:
Fox Great Lakes exterior illustration 1927
Side Box house left 1927
Mezzanine Foyer 1927
House view from stage 1930
Alt House view from stage 1930’s
Paramount exterior 1957
Post-Paramount exterior view
Post-Paramount view 2
Post-Paramount rear view
Those last few modern day images are not dated. Perhaps Patsy can provide further info on that. Did someone post that the building was demolished entirely? From those images, looks like the office building that contained the theater entrance and lobby survived for at least some time into the 1980’s or ‘90’s. Not being familiar with Buffalo, I can only assume that the parking lot in the rear of those photos is where the auditorium was previously located.
Lost Memory: The photos I rec’d were from “RJT” who posted about these photos on April 18, 2004 and his email is on his profile page.
Lost Memory: I was recently sent several Paramount photos that I’d like to see posted here so with your expertise perhaps you can help. Since I can’t seem to locate your email address please contact me and I’ll send you the photos. Thanks.
DUnks: “I have the organ that was originally installed the theater.” Interesting to read this quote from your Feb. 10, 2005 post.
All of the comments on Laube’s Old Spain and the Great Lakes/Paramount Theatre brought back many memories. The Laube family also had two cafeterias in downtown Buffalo. One at the Downtown YMCA at 45 W. Mohawk Street, and the other at Pearl and Eagle. As to the Shea’s Great Lakes and Shea’s Buffalo – I went to Shea theaters (there were over 30 of them) on an average of 3 times a week in the 30s because my boyhood friends father, William Frank was the maintenance supervisor at the Great Lakes, and his uncle Ed Frank was the Chief Engineer for Shea theaters and had his office in the basement of the Shea’s Buffalo. Some great memories.
sam_e: Always good to read your posts on the Buffalo theatre scene both then and now. The saying “the more things change the more they stay the same” isn’t always true and certainly not in the theatre world. The one theatre that comes to mind is the Roxy in NYC with that photo of Gloria Swanson among the ruins! Such a shame to have lost that theatre.
Hens & Kelly’s known irreverently by many Buffalonians as Hens ‘n’ Chickens. Western New Yorkers and Buffalonians in particular were/are fiercely loyal to locally owned businesses. Sadly, most of them are now only a memory, either out of business or swallowed up by outside competition.
By the way, except for 620 Main, all the buildings between the former Paramount and Shea’s comprise Theatre Place with businesses that cater to theatre goers (leaning towards food and drink).
Out of sight past Shea’s at the other end of the block is Studio Arena theatre. (live stage productions). It occupies the theatre building that was formerly home to the 2nd Palace Burlesque. There was an earlier Palace Burlesque theatre further down Main (demolished).
And in the current issue of Heritage there is a photo of the former Hens and Kelly department store which was a famous landmark/store in its day! Sometimes I wish I could take a time machine back and make these wonderful vintage photos come alive as I would certainly check out many of the grand theatres, but thank goodness Buffalo still has the beautiful Shea’s. The lobby is awesome and one that shouldn’t be missed by any theatre buff.
I wish the City of Buffalo had left Main as it were and not closed it to traffic, only pedestrians as it sure changed the look and feel. When I look at the 50’s postcard photo and all of the cars back then it’s like looking at a cruise-in today with the old gems. I especially like the T-bird heading east on Main and the lady crossing the street with her stylish skirt.
sam_e: Thanks for that information so the next time I’m in downtown Buffalo on Main I’ll be sure to look around (and up)even more closely. I’ll be there for a Shea’s production of Mamma Mia in October, but will not wait until then.
Patsy, The church in the background is St Louis RC church and is on the National Register of Historic places. It is an excellent example of German gothic architecture.
Except for the condo building that incorporated the Great Lakes/Paramount into the new structure and the building on the corner of Main and Chippewa that replaces the long gone MacDoels restaurant and Harvey & Crey drug store building, the rest of the block as far as Shea’s Buffalo theatre retains all the buildings pictured in the older post card photo. They have been cleaned and restored and probably look better now than they did for many years.
Lost Memory: These photo comparisons especially the present day one is fascinating to look at. I, for one, would rather see the old scene still in existence and NOT that condo building, etc. I noticed the church steeple in the background of both photos so at least they didn’t tear down that church in the name of progress!
Being that a few of you are on this page may I direct you to the page of the Baronet in Asbury Park. There MikeH has a wonderful post from yesterday describing what it was like working for the Walter Reade organization in ‘65 at a couple of Asbury movie palaces. These were the final golden days of single cinema exclusive first run film engagements when movie going could be like going to a Broadway show.
Vincent: If you really want to see a beauty that is no longer with us, check out the Palace in Youngstown OH. I was almost brought to tears when I saw that theatre’s interior and read it’s history.
And the best part of all of this Paramount discussion is that there wasn’t an unkind word written about anything or anyone which is very much appreciated as I wouldn’t want to ever lose ‘our’ wonderful Cinema Treasures website/forum.
For the past several days all of my CT notices have basically been #3701 so I know that interest in the Paramount has really been created over the past several days. And on behalf of myself and the many CT members I will thank my friend, Jerry for his great help and research.
Well you guys have been going on about this place for a while now and I am dying of curiousity. I bet it was a beauty.
Vincent: A very good question and one I hope we can ‘get our hands on’ as I especially would like to see interior photos of this one that once stood…as Lost Memory posted earlier….“somewhere on Main”. I know that Chuck and Lost Memory have provided photos in regards to other theatres across the country so maybe with a little more ‘sleuthing’ we can find a photo(s)! I also belong to a true crime website so I guess the term, sleuthing, is appropriate for me. And now I need to see if I can talk Jerry into becoming a CT member as I think after all of this Paramount Theatre sleuthing he may have caught the incurable theatre ‘bug’!
So where are the pictures of the interior so we can get a sense of how beautiful this theater was.
Crafty bunch, those people from Buffalo! Trust them to list it under a different name and then give it the wrong address. Looks like they’re still doing it. City Centre Condominiums has 600 Main St as an address. Since it’s a retrofit/rebuild of the Paramount theatre building it should probably be 612-614 also, but why quibble.
Nevertheless, great sleuthing Jerry and Patsy.