Spent 20 years of my life working there for my father. I hated mowing because I donated more blood because of the thorn bushes that surrounded the place, but driving the old farmall mower around was awesome. I was sadden the day we removed everything out of it. I still have most of the equipment in storage and get asked all of the time if there will ever be another drive in built in P.C. because alot of people miss it. The mosquitoes never hahaha
I remember the clinton well even though i was a small child, my father managed the theatre and the drive in theatre in port clinton for years. I remember the day the owners decided to close it down, i was sitting there watching a Disney movie when a portion of the roof caved in about 7 seats away, and that was a deciding factor. I was totally afraid to help my father open the place, because he had to fire up the boiler every night, and when that beast fired up it rattled the building, that and the trains. I have pictured buried somewhere in storage, when i discover them ill post them.
The Paramount has gone through some serious improvements over the years. Since the Armstrong Circuit/Sweeney Family ran the movie house, it lost most of it lack luster. Tilton and Associates bought the theatre in the mid 80’s and began a restoration and began upgrading the theatre. The first was to make this theatre a multi-plex to offer the residents of fremont and the surrounding area a better movie experience. The two stores that leased space were closed, and torn out and blocks were put in its place to make way for a handicapped accessable ramp and a “screening room” having about 40 seats (usually housing the final run movie. the main theatre was cut in half making way to twin the balcony section. Also moving the concession stand from in the center of the lobby to the right side offering more choices than just popcorn, pop, and candy, this makes waiting to buy tickets better than standing outside. As of the the late 90’s, the Great Eastern Theatre Chain who took over the theatre after the death of Mr. Tilton, has upgraded the sound systems in all of the auditoriums, providing digital sounds,Screen 1 has Sony digital sound (The top of the line in digital sound) while screen 2-3-4 have DTS (still considered HI TECH in the motion picture industry), placing stadium seating in the entire theatre. Sometimes, yes you might hear sound coming through the “wall” but you only hear this when someone opens a door to the auditorium. They also owned the small house that between the Theatre and the Municipal Building to make a larger parking area for patrons.
there was 5 functioning motion picture theatres in the bowling green area. Lyric, the State, The Stadium 1&2, the Cla-Zel, and the Portage Drive In (just outside BG). For those who remember the offices for the Armstrong Circuit Theatre Group were located above the rogers pharmacy, next to the Cla-Zel. Factoid, the Armstrong Circuit also was very community oriented, they had a train that kids could ride during parades, and at the portage drive in on movie nights. When the Portage Drive In was demolished, the “Armstrong Tooter” was sold to a local resident, the Tooter was in poor shape from being stored under the screen all of those years, never being used and weather and bird dropping placed on it, so no one knows if anything has been done to it since.
Spent 20 years of my life working there for my father. I hated mowing because I donated more blood because of the thorn bushes that surrounded the place, but driving the old farmall mower around was awesome. I was sadden the day we removed everything out of it. I still have most of the equipment in storage and get asked all of the time if there will ever be another drive in built in P.C. because alot of people miss it. The mosquitoes never hahaha
I remember the clinton well even though i was a small child, my father managed the theatre and the drive in theatre in port clinton for years. I remember the day the owners decided to close it down, i was sitting there watching a Disney movie when a portion of the roof caved in about 7 seats away, and that was a deciding factor. I was totally afraid to help my father open the place, because he had to fire up the boiler every night, and when that beast fired up it rattled the building, that and the trains. I have pictured buried somewhere in storage, when i discover them ill post them.
The Paramount has gone through some serious improvements over the years. Since the Armstrong Circuit/Sweeney Family ran the movie house, it lost most of it lack luster. Tilton and Associates bought the theatre in the mid 80’s and began a restoration and began upgrading the theatre. The first was to make this theatre a multi-plex to offer the residents of fremont and the surrounding area a better movie experience. The two stores that leased space were closed, and torn out and blocks were put in its place to make way for a handicapped accessable ramp and a “screening room” having about 40 seats (usually housing the final run movie. the main theatre was cut in half making way to twin the balcony section. Also moving the concession stand from in the center of the lobby to the right side offering more choices than just popcorn, pop, and candy, this makes waiting to buy tickets better than standing outside. As of the the late 90’s, the Great Eastern Theatre Chain who took over the theatre after the death of Mr. Tilton, has upgraded the sound systems in all of the auditoriums, providing digital sounds,Screen 1 has Sony digital sound (The top of the line in digital sound) while screen 2-3-4 have DTS (still considered HI TECH in the motion picture industry), placing stadium seating in the entire theatre. Sometimes, yes you might hear sound coming through the “wall” but you only hear this when someone opens a door to the auditorium. They also owned the small house that between the Theatre and the Municipal Building to make a larger parking area for patrons.
there was 5 functioning motion picture theatres in the bowling green area. Lyric, the State, The Stadium 1&2, the Cla-Zel, and the Portage Drive In (just outside BG). For those who remember the offices for the Armstrong Circuit Theatre Group were located above the rogers pharmacy, next to the Cla-Zel. Factoid, the Armstrong Circuit also was very community oriented, they had a train that kids could ride during parades, and at the portage drive in on movie nights. When the Portage Drive In was demolished, the “Armstrong Tooter” was sold to a local resident, the Tooter was in poor shape from being stored under the screen all of those years, never being used and weather and bird dropping placed on it, so no one knows if anything has been done to it since.