Brooklyn Paramount

If I’m not mistaken, the wonderful historical descriptions of the organ and the theatre on the New York Theatre Organ Society web page (the ones that Patsy quotes and EdSolero links to above) were written by the late Ben Hall in 1970. I was an NYTOS member and a junior at Pratt Institute at the time and had the pleasure of working with Ben on the 1970 ATOS Convention souvenir booklet that he was putting together. He wrote similar pieces about each of the organs and theatres being used for the convention and asked me if I would design and produce the booklet and create illustrations of each of the consoles – he wanted to do something different from the usual photographs. It appears as if the NYTOS webmaster felt – rightly so IMHO – that Ben’s words could not be improved upon. (In any case, they own the copyright on the booklet.)

I was also charged with redecorating the console of the Wurlitzer for the same convention (someone had sprayed the entire case with gold monochrome gold paint and the desire was to have it look something like it did up to the mid-sixties – a mottled glazed background with gilded ormolu). Talk about a learning curve!

In my post of November 9, 2004, I describe what the theatre looked like in those days. The sound of that instrument in the room was breathtaking. The University wanted the organ used during the basketball games and back then my friend Jim Leaffe played most of them. He was a classical organ student with a love for the theatre organ and had a unique modern jazz style. The fact that he was the same age as the students and was playing hits of the day made him very popular. He was very proud of the fact that he was the only member of the Seneca tribe to become a theatre organist! He even recorded the instrument, an amazing album called “Blue Heron”. Look for it on eBay.

I remember a number of NYTOS-sponsored concerts on the organ, which was restored and taken care of by an all-volunteer crew led by Bob Walker. Over the years, Bob gave the instrument the TLC and fastidious attention it deserved. Without his dedication I doubt that the instrument would have been kept in as excellent condition as it was.

One of the most touching moments occurred during Don Baker’s homecoming concert in February (I think) 1971. It was his first time playing the organ since he had been on staff shortly after it had opened. The concert was the first NYTOS event since Ben Hall’s murder the previous December, and we asked Don if he would play a tribute to Ben, which he readily agreed to. The number we asked him to play was one of Ben’s favourites, the theme from the “Little Orphan Annie” radio program. Trouble was, Don didn’t know it! I stood beside him just before the concert and whistled the melody to him, twice, as he memorized it with his eyes closed. About five selections into the concert he explained the tribute and then played the most beautifully subdued, almost reverent, arrangement of what is really a pretty bouncy tune. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place by the time he finished. That one is on record, too, on a Don Baker album called “Homecoming”, which features excerpts of this concert.

Hey Patsy look at it this way. At least they didn’t demolish the place. Unlike the Kings that has suffered from weather beating and vandalism the BP is still in good shape. An effort should be spearheaded to restore this historic place and turn it in to a cultural center for live shows and concets and maybe even premier movie openings. A lot has been done over the last 10 years to rebuild the area so why not include the BP. Unlike the Kings the BP is in a major transportation hub of subway and bus lines as well as a short walk from the Atlantice Ave LIRR terminal.

The photo Warren links to is the one I spoke of in my post above. Looking at it there again, I couldn’t help but wonder at the enormous job of replacing the light bulbs!! There must have been THOUSANDS of them in there!! This would have been one of those cases where by the time a man got done replacing bulbs at one end of the theatre, it was time to start again at the other!

While I’m on the subject of one of my very favorite theatres, the B.P., let me excerpt a small portion of a MARQUEE article on the business practices of the B.P. which did NOT deal with business:

“In the lower lounge the architects had planned the installation of a huge fish tank to be stocked with exotic fish. There were large colored spotlights on both sides of the tank, red, blue, and amber, …. The tank was approximately ten feet in height and fifteen feet in width…. On the night before the opening of the theatre the workmen began filling the tank with water, slowly…. The water had reached perhaps three quarters of the tank’s capacity , representing thousands of gallons…. Suddenly there was a tremendous crash; the glass gave way and an enormous cascade of water came pouring into the lounge, engulfing everything, including us.

“Need I say that the lounge had been completely furnished with magnificent carpeting, furniture, artworks, bric-a-brac, etc. Bedlam reigned….

“We toiled all night [to clean up.] Everyone was exhausted. We could not remove the soaked carpet, but managed to bail out most of the water…. It tooks weeks to restore the lounge to its intended beautiful state, minus the fish tank. Architects make mistakes too.” —-by Ben Rosenberg on page 26 of MARQUEE of 3rd Qtr. 1999 (Vol 31#3)

Let me speculate here that it was not the architects' fault at all. An architect is also an engineer and can easily calculate the strength of glass and framework needed for so much water, unless all details were up to a negligent contractor, as this would have legally been a ‘furnishing’ and thefore not part of an architect’s contract. Likely what happened was that those lamps warmed the glass just as the workmen put in the hose from the nearest cold water spigot. Cold water on warm glass would have created so much thermal stress that failure of the glass was a forgone conclusion to any engineer, and no doubt none were present that night. Large aquariums were successful in many other theatres, so the concept was not at fault; the installation was. One wonders what replaced so large a furnishing.

Patsy puts quotation marks around the wonderful description but forgot to list the source! You know: Speaker, Title, Date, etc. Come on Patsy; I know you can do it. Any more of the description that can be copied?

As to views of the original interior, do look up the article I listed above where there are 4 views in b&w, of course, one of which is not seen elsewhere. That elsewhere includes the Theatre Historical Society’s MARQUEE magazine of 3rd Qtr. 1998 (Vol 30 #3) wherein there are 11 photos (including a gorgeous two-page spread) as well as the cover, all vintage b&w. This can be obtained for a few dollars under the BACK ISSUES link on their site: www.historictheatres.org They also have color snap shots of the interior pre- and post gymnasium conversion, not published. All these can be made for you as photo prints for a fee; see their link there: ARCHIVE. Send them a photocopy of the view you want from the magazines and the appropriate fees as listed on their ARCHIVE page, and in a few weeks you will have a photo print worthy of framing. I know; I have an 8x10 of that glorious proscenium! I sometimes use a magnifier and put it and the photo close to my nose and then slowly back it away, and the sensation is as though one is right in the room. Of course, once you get a photo, nothing prevents you from blowing it up to mural size if you really want to be able to ‘walk into’ it!

I hope LIU considers restoring the Paramount to it’s former glory now that they will not be having basketball in there. I had been in the building a couple of times and even in it’s current status it is still a grand place.
And Wow looking back in the posts and seeing Clay Coles name. I know i was only 8 in 1964 but I do remember his TV show. :)

“For the true movie palace buff it is difficult, even today, to refer to the Brooklyn Paramount as the basketball court of Long Island University. There s still enough of the original grandeur visible to see why audiences in 1928 considered it the most beautiful motion picture theatre in the world. It opened on November 23,1928, with Nancy Carroll in Manhattan Cocktail as "Paramount-Publix’s Gift to Brooklyn” and closed its doors to movie-goers on August 21, 1962, with John Wayne in Hatari. The Brooklyn Paramount was the capstone in the career of the noted architects, Rapp & Rapp, and for sheer opulence it outshone anything they ever designed. The great latticed ceiling and arches along the side walls were originally festooned with artificial foliage; the arches concealed the lights of the Wilfred Color Organ, a lighting system that subtly changed the color of the whole theatre to suit the mood of the moment. Chorus girls pranced down the golden staircases from the organ grilles to the stage. The 4,500 seats (making it the second largest theatre in New York when it opened) were upholstered in random tones that ranged from plum to scarlet. Below the stupendous grand drapery of the proscenium arch hung a midnight-blue velvet curtain embroidered with pheasants in polychrome satin.“ This really says it all in regards to this former theatre that, imo, should have stayed a theatre!

Ed: Can you direct me to any old photos of the Paramount interior…lobby, proscenium, balcony, etc. as it looked when it was a theatre and NOT a gym?

Ed: Those photos with the 11/28/05 post were amazing to look at and thanks for bringing them to my attention. Can you tell me anything about the Wurlitzer and how it played into the games? And if the last game was recently played in that space what will happen to the former Paramount Theatre AND Wurlitzer? I can’t imagine going to a game and not looking around to see what once was, but I’m sure there were many who didn’t really give it much thought as they were there to see a basketball game and their team win!

It’s interesting to note that this theatre is now a gym and that the Wurlitzer is still being used. I can’t imagine how it must look so if anyone can tell us, please do.

The best repository of information is the Theatre Historical Society in the Chicago area; contact their Ex. Dir. via the E-mail address given on their site at: www.historictheatres.org Look on the page there: Archive for details.

Of course you will already have contacted Long Island Univresity, the owner of the former theatre for what they have, but a historic source you may not be aware of is the well illustrated magazine article “Theatre Lighting, Its Tragedies, Its Virtues — The Brooklyn Paramount” by Frank Cambria in The Illuminating Engineering Society’s journal TRANSACTIONS of Nov., 1929 (24:810—907) to be found in larger libraries or the Library of Congress.

Please keep bus up to date on the progress of the book, which I am sure many of us will buy.

The theatre and surrounding massive office building are still owned by Long Island University, so one would have to consult them as to the future of the former theatre space, which, one must remember, it has not been since 1961. So don’t expect anyone there to remember it as the Brooklyn Paramount. It is still to them their old gymnasium/classroom space. I suggest a New Yorker approach them in writing to get a preferably written response; but don’t hold your breath waiting for a response, since they are a private business that is NOT responsible to you. No one can demand that they respond, or do this or that with their own property. Gentle, respectful inquiries and encouragement to preserve what is left of the theatre are the best that any outsiders can do.

Fascinating. I completely missed this development. I went through the building in the 90’s. Looked to me like the lobby was mostly intact. The removed balcony section could be replaced. When the Sioux City Orpheum was un-twinned they had to replace the front balcony section. I imagine the stage would probably be expanded and re-fitted in a restoration anyway. So loss of the old one not a big deal in my book. Decoration lost around the b-ball court could be recast. Plenty of movie palaces in the process of being restored over the last thirty years have replaced decoration destroyed by water damage or remodeling. I got the impression that those classrooms in the balcony were basically perched up there within the auditorium shell with access from some old passageway. So my guess is that the back of the house hasn’t been destroyed. But I didn’t go up to verify. All of that is to say that restoration doesn’t appear to be a ridiculous notion. The biggest obstacle in my book, at least given the the impression I have of the structural issues, is finding a viable use for the restored auditorium. Does LIU need 4,000 seats for it’s preforming arts functions? I don’t know the answer to that question. There was certainly a large arts complex were I went to school: U. of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. But I don’t know how LIU’s siuation compares.