Paramount Theatre

Balloon, great photo! I like all the others in your album too…
You should post this in the Valencia section. In your address bar where it says “548” for the Paramount, just put “903”, and go.
Either that, or you can search for any theater in the top left where it says “search” theater, and type in any name, like “Valencia”.

thats where my mom took my sister and me to see THE TEN COMMANDMENTS back in the early early 70s. My pop was still working out of a command housed in the 103 Precinct then.

Its a joy to hear they didnt strip it when it became Tabernacle of Prayer.

oh maaaaaaaaan what a gem :–)
who remembers the CENTURY theater chain?
And the Loews Valancia!~
What a friggin palace that place was!~
Least its still standing as a church rather than being gone outright.

We almost lost Carnegie Hall; we lost Penn Station; casinos are being imploded in Las Vegas almost daily; all the legendary night clubs in Hollywood (Ciro’s, Brown Derby, etc.) have disappeared. We have no sense of history or continuity. It’s the American way.

Ernie Nagy

happy sigh
those vintage shots rock. I truly believe I was born in the wrong period sometimes.
And all the times I ate at Ollies I n e v e r realized where I actually WAS!!!!! And the weird part IS…I KNEW there was a Manhattan PARAMOUNT!!!!
Im absoutely ASHAMED of myself (Im a history loving NATIVE for God sake!!)
Lemme put it this way…for those familiar with NYC stuff pertaining to Coney Island. Each year after the Mermaid Parade, theres the fundraiser for Coney Island USA called the Mermaid Parade Ball. This year it was at the building that used to be Henderson’s Music Hall and Restaurant til 1923. Outside the Palace in Manhatan, it was like THE vaudeville house in NYC. The likes of Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, and Harpo Marx in his debut with the Marx Brothers played there. I do burlesque and vaudeville work. When I heard I was to perform at the Ball in THAT venue…I was awestruck. When I was escorted in the back door to the place, I was just speechless…I could almost feel the spirits of those guys in the house. It was the ultimate feeling of reverence on my part. I just ran my hand up the wall as I climbed the stairs. It was by no means the stage door and stairs, but who CARES!!! I was THERE!!! Inside, when you know where to look, you can see the wall supports for the balcony tiers on the north and south walls on the east interior of the building.
Thats why I was wondering if the PARAMOUNT was a vaudeville house too. I figure…1926 opening with live stage shows…it MIGHT have been.

yup…the elevators are passenger operated now.
Thanks muchly guys…I got new stuff to do now next time Im up that way. Its unfortunate that a lot of the pix linked from here are dead links.

ok…I know I shoulda read everything before posting…but it was just such a rush to find you guys I had to go with it.
So I have it straight…am I to understand that the entrance under the marquee takes you into the Hard Rock and not the office building lobby?
Im rarely that far uptown, Ive never taken notice of the features of the building until just last week. Now I have to really go look. Dumb question..where is the office building lobby in regard to the HRC/Marquee?

What a great photo! A poignant reminder of heady days. The war was turning in our favor and the big bands were in full cry. I was among those in attendance during this engagement. It was intense!

Cheers.

Ernie Nagy

Bill, It was quite a nice little screening room, we had 12 seats that came from the Staten Island Paramount when it was renovated, the screen came from the Staten Island Lane when they installed Cinemascope. We cut a 6x 8-foot piece, rolled it up, shelped to my house and installed it. We had two Bell and Howell projectors, and yes, we made changeovers. As I recall, an average movie was mounted on three or four reels. You mentioned the movies probably played in my basement at the same time they were in theatres, well, we had United Artists “Hole in a Head”, which was in Deluxe color, a week before it opened on B’way at Loew’s State. Maybe my little theatre should be listed here :)

Bill I understand why you get flustered. The best way to enjoy “Journey” was at at the Paramount in four track mag stereo.
Yes, the 16mm print was anamorphic (scope) Fox did not strike the flat letterbox versions of their movies in the initial rollout.
The 16mm prints were made at the same time as the 35mm theatre release for distribution to the the Army and Navy. We were able to borrow all the Fox films, and any other studio that used Deluxe color. I also had “The Blob” from Paramount, and “Elmer Gantry” from U.A among others. I also got my hands on “Physco” though a trade with a buddy of mine at Paramount, I gave him “Can Can”. When “South Pacific” was re-released, the prints were struck by Deluxe rather than Technicolor, so it played my basement as well.

Sorry about the double post. See how flustered I get when the conversation turns to “Journey to the Center of the Earth”?

“Journey” was my favorite of all the “4:30 Movies”. Remember how exciting it was when a beloved movie showed up in next week’s TV Guide? It’s a good thing to be able to own the movies now and see them whenever we want, but something very special has been lost at the same time.

Ed: was that 16mm print in CinemaScope? That must have been quite a show down there in your basement. It was probably still playing in neighborhood theaters at that time.