Paramount Theatre
5405 Hohman Avenue,
Hammond,
IN
46320
5405 Hohman Avenue,
Hammond,
IN
46320
6 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Balaban & Katz Corp., Paramount-Publix
Architects: Louis C. Hess
Nearby Theaters
Paramount-Publix opened the Paramount Theatre on August 2, 1930 with Jack Oakie in “The Social Lion”. It was located just a couple blocks up Hohman Avenue from the grandiose Parthenon Theatre, and could seat almost 2,000.
Though not as ornate as the Parthenon Theatre or the State Theatre, the Paramount Theatre was nonetheless just as popular, and featured not just motion pictures but live stage shows, as late as the mid-1950’s.
The Paramount Theatre featured its own house orchestra, as well as an army of ushers and uniformed doormen who greeted patrons like royalty.
Over the years, many celebrities graced the Paramount Theatre’s stage, among them, Minnie Pearl, Pat Boone, and the Benny Goodman Band.
After falling into disrepair, the Paramount Theatre was shuttered in 1981, and has since been razed, recently replaced by Hammond’s brand-new Federal Courthouse Building.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 15 comments)
This film was playing at the Paramount on 2/21/43:
STARTS TOMORROW – ADULTS ONLY!
NO GREATER SIN
Sin Dens Exposed as Under-Age Girls' Menace
Thrill Seeking MEN!
Other theaters advertised in the Hammond Times were the Calumet, Parthenon, Hohman, Orpheum, American, Midway, Ace, Rio, Vic, Forsythe Capitol, Indiana, Voge, Hoosier and Broadway.
This web page features several photos of the Paramount Theatre in Hammond and, for some reason, one photo of the Oakland, California, Paramount.
A legal case in the late 1980s revealed that the 99-year lease on the land the Paramount Theatre occupied began in 1929, so construction of the theater most likely also began that year.
I lived across the state line in Illinois in the 50s and we would frequently take the bus to Hammond, visit the magic shop, the Army/Navy surplus store, and Woolworth’s, then head for either the Paramount or the Parthenon, the theaters that anchored the north and south ends of town. Great fun. I also remember seeing a double feature at the Paramount, Billy Budd and The Days of Wine and Roses. Not so fun.
Just added a Circa 1973 photo courtesy of the Planet Hammond Facebook page.
From Film Daily September 23, 1929 “Publix Starts New Hammond House – Building operations at the new theater to be erected at Homan & Clinton Sts., by Publix, have been stated by Fred Rowley Co., which must complete the structure within eight months.” Paramount-Publix was the name used for the theaters owned by Paramount Pictures.
From Variety Wednesday March 26, 1930 “Hammond, Ind. – Publix Great States' first house here, de luxer, will open around June 1. Probably will be named Paramount.”
From Variety Wednesday August 20, 1930 – “Hammond, Ind. – Paramount-Publix has opened it’s first theater here, Paramount. Seats 2,000.” Earlier Variety items listed the opening as July 3, then August 2 1930. In the same 8/20 issue it’s mentioned that the Parthenon is being sold to Warner Bros. by William Kleihege. I got all these old news items via http://mediahistoryproject.org/
Here’s a clip from late 1962 at the Paramount https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnLEimmli48
This opened on August 2nd, 1930.
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Found on Newspapers.com
August 13, 1965 photo credit Hammond Historical Society Flashback.
https://www.facebook.com/HammondHistoricalSocietyFlashback/photos/pb.100066727507601.-2207520000/2118140861625674/?type=3