Paramount Theatre

203 W. Alder Street,
Walla Walla, WA 99362

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Midstate Amusement Corp.

Functions: Parking Garage, Retail

Previous Names: Keylor Grand Opera House, Keylor Grand Theatre Paramount Theatre

Nearby Theaters

Paramount Theatre

The Keylor Grand Opera House was built by Howard R. Keylor in 1905. Its large stage made it one of the leading stops for touring companies in the west, and it hosted such spectacles as the 1909 tour of the stage production of “Ben Hur”.

The Keylor Grand Theatre presented live theatre until closing around 1930 and then remained dark for nearly a decade. On January 22, 1944 it reopened as a movie house, renamed Paramount Theatre with Bing Crosby in “Star Spangled Rhythm”. It remained through the early-1940’s to at least 1950 when it was operated by Midstate Amusement Corp. After that it became a venue for wrestling matches and other live events. In 1954 the auditorium was demolished, but the large stage house was converted to a garage. The stage house remains standing today.

Contributed by Joe Vogel

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on July 8, 2009 at 6:37 pm

The web site Walla Walla History has a pair of then and now photos of the Keylor Grand (click on the 4th thumbnail in the left-side frame on that page.)

The business currently situated in the theater’s old stage house (and a small modern addition) is an outfit going by the unusual name of H&H Sports and Loan. They give their address as 203 W. Alder Street, so that was probably the address of the theater as well.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 7, 2009 at 1:21 am

Here is an article from the Walla Walla Union Bulletin dated 5/15/54:
http://tinyurl.com/nl6l24
http://tinyurl.com/nj55dc
http://tinyurl.com/lsqyr6

jonnyh
jonnyh on September 26, 2011 at 9:45 pm

More links:

http://wallawalladrazanphotos.blogspot.com/2009/12/keylor-grand-theatre.html

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8342

http://www.thadsworld.net/2011/09/low-rise/

http://nwda-db.orbiscascade.org/findaid/ark:/80444/xv95245

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/17259

http://wallawallahistory.com/

http://www.whitman.edu/magazine/spring1999/speech.html

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=87565&cat=boxer

http://www.narhist.ewu.edu/pnf/articles/s1/vii-1/goodsamaritans/goodsamaritans.html

JackCoursey
JackCoursey on April 13, 2022 at 1:45 pm

This theatre was also known as the Paramount in 1946

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