Moulin Rouge Theatre

The July 13, 1935, issue of Motion Picture Herald noted quite a few new cinema projects planned, underway, or recently completed across the United States, which was in an accelerating economic recovery, but the news from economic laggard France was not so good:

“Ostensibly a summer closing move, the two largest halls of the Paris Pathe Natan Circuit now are dark, the Empire Cinema-Music Hall and the Moulin Rouge. The Empire (3,000 seats) had a combination cinema and variety policy and had been managed by Pathe Natan for one year. The Moulin Rouge (2,200 seats), former music hall where Mistinguett was a star, has been a cinema since 1929. It had been managed by Pathe Natan since 1930. The closing comes at a time when Pathe Natan is awaiting a general reorganization.”

Here are some vintage postcard views of the Moulin Rouge over the years:
The original building in 1889:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/489041668/
Eleven years later in 1900:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/489069379/
As a music hall in 1925:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/489070119/
As a cinema & cabaret theatre in the early 1930’s:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/489070753/
A closer view of the cinema & cabaret theatre in the mid-1930’s:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/489043854/
A photograph I took in April 2007:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/489073097/

The Paramount Opera Theatre address is 2 Boulevard des Capucines, Paris area 9. It opened in 1927 for Adolph Zuker’s Paramount Pictures. Seating was for 1,920 in stalls, mezzanine and balcony. The architect was Frank T. Verity who also designed the Plaza, Lower Regent Street, London, UK for Paramount Pictures in 1926 which closed in 2002 and has been gutted for retail and multiscreen cinema use. The state of the Paris Paramount when I was last there about 7 years ago was that it had been converted into 7 screens during the 1970’s. The largest (screen 3 holds 800) Screen 1 in the basement holds 400, Screens 2 & 4 hold 60 and 400 and screens 5, 6 & 7 range from 90 to 125 seats. The facade of the building was still impressive and there was some original decorative features in the large main entrance foyer.