This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2018) |
Paramount Theatre | |
Location | Ashland, Kentucky |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°28′47″N82°38′34″W / 38.47972°N 82.64278°W |
Built | 1931 |
Architect | Rapp and Rapp |
Architectural style | Art Deco [1] |
Part of | Ashland Commercial Historic District (ID94000838) |
NRHP reference No. | 75000736 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | June 30, 1975 |
Designated CP | August 5, 1994 |
The Paramount Arts Center is a historic theater located in Ashland, Kentucky, in the United States. Listed as the Paramount Theatre on the National Register of Historic Places, this theater is an important part of theater in Kentucky.
The Paramount Arts Center, at that time known as the Paramount Theater, was one of the first transitional theatres built for "talking pictures" and was to be a model theatre for others around the country to showcase films produced by Paramount Pictures. The Great Depression, however, soon changed the course of events for the theater, as Paramount had decided to do away with the project altogether. The plans were picked up by an Ashland-based company with Paramount craftsmen providing the interior furnishings - and the building was then leased to Paramount Publix Corporation. Because of the change in plans, the original design by Rapp and Rapp was scaled back by one third. Had the Depression not caused a redesign, the Paramount would be three times[ citation needed ] as large.
In 2001, Mike Myers of Ashland reported that the original general contractor was Wade Gates of Ashland. Gates's secretary, Marie Duncan, provided this information. [2]
The Paramount first opened on September 5, 1931, [3] and closed forty years later in 1971. In 1972, the Greater Ashland Foundation (Foundation for the Tri-State Community), was created. Under the leadership of Ashland Oil Inc. Foundation President Paul G. Blazer Jr. (son of Ashland Oil & Refining Company founder Paul G. Blazer) one half of the corpus of the terminating Stuart M. Blazer [family] Foundation was gifted and used for the Greater Ashland Foundation's purchase of the Paramount Theatre and establishing it as a performing arts center. It opened that same year under the new name "Paramount Arts Center". The theater has undergone several renovations since 1972, most recently in 2002 when a new stagehouse was added and new dressing rooms, rehearsal space and banquet facility were added in a nearby building that was purchased in 1998. In addition, this renovated space was connected to the main building.
The theater now operates as a non-profit organization, showing symphonies, Broadway plays, ballets and other productions. In addition, in 1992 the music video for the song "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus was filmed here.
The Paramount Arts Center suffered major water damage in November 2006. It occurred when a beauty pageant contestant hung a dress from a water sprinkler while using a steamer to remove wrinkles. Heat from the steam set off the sprinkler system. Water poured from the second floor causing close to $30,000 US dollars in damage to the building.1
It is said that during early renovation work on the Paramount Theatre, a death occurred there and the man's ghost has since haunted the Paramount. According to the story, in the early 1940s, four construction workers from Boyd Theater Company in Cincinnati, Ohio were working on a project inside the auditorium. It is reported that all of them had gone to lunch except one man, named Joe. When the other three returned, they are said to have found Joe hanging from the curtain rigging, dead. Allegedly, since that time, sounds have been heard, things have gone missing, cold drafts have been felt, and the image of a man has been seen to appear on occasion. Despite this, most versions of the story refer to Joe as a "good ghost"—one who seems to look out for the benefit of the theatre and its occupants.
When Billy Ray Cyrus was at the Paramount filming his video for "Achy Breaky Heart," he was told about the legend of Paramount Joe. It is customary to get 8 x 10 photographs signed by each performer that appears at the Paramount and then hang the photo on the 'Wall of Fame' in the box office. Billy Ray autographed large color posters to each of the female employees working here at the time - and one with a personal inscription to Paramount Joe, whom he now had a fondness for. Each woman put her poster near her desk and Joe's was hung in the box office, near all the other performers. As time passed and the walls in the box office became too full of 8x10's signed by other performers, the executive director felt that some of the pictures and posters needed to come down. Nobody wanted to take their personally autographed picture of Billy Ray down so they took down the one he had signed to Paramount Joe. The next day, the story has it that every 8x10 and poster that had been hanging neatly on the walls the night before were now lined strewn on the floor, many of their glass frames shattered. Paramount Joe's poster still hangs in the Paramount, in part of The Marquee Room, which is now the site of Paramount Joe's Rising Star Café.
In 2004, marketing director Tyson Compton was giving a tour to some high school students. As he was relating the Paramount Joe story, he realized that he was always talking about Joe, and not to him. So as he spoke to the students, he stopped and called out, "Joe, are you here? Is it okay that I tell your story?" While he swears that he then heard a seat squeak, that is not the most chilling part of this story. Compton relates how he received a call the next day from a psychic who lived in the area. She asked him if someone in his family or a close friend had recently died because she had gotten a message from "the other side." She said, "I'm supposed to tell you that Joe said he is here." [4]
The Paramount Players are a group of local actors that come together and audition for the various straight plays and musicals that are produced under the direction of Paramount Arts Center's Director of Education.
The Paramount Players have won several awards including Kentucky Theatre Association Outstanding Production for RENT and Cabaret, IMEA Award for Best Musical for CATS and RENT, and Best Director And Best Choreography.
Ashland is a home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The largest city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon a southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West Virginia. The population was 21,625 at the 2020 census. Ashland is a principal city of the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, referred to locally as the "Tri-State area", home to 376,155 residents as of 2020. Ashland serves as an important economic and medical center for northeastern Kentucky.
Billy Ray Cyrus is an American country singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and became the first single ever to achieve triple platinum status in Australia. It was also the best-selling single in the same country in 1992. Due to the song's music video, the line dance rose in popularity.
C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in Chicago, the office designed over 400 theatres, including the Chicago Theatre (1921), Bismarck Hotel and Theatre (1926) and Oriental Theater (1926) in Chicago, the Five Flags Center (1910) in Dubuque, Iowa and the Paramount Theatres in New York City (1926) and Aurora, Illinois (1931).
"Achy Breaky Heart" is a song written in 1990 by Don Von Tress. First released in 1991 by the Marcy Brothers with the title "Don't Tell My Heart", it was later recorded by American singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus and released on his debut album, Some Gave All (1992). The song is Cyrus's debut single and signature song. It became the first single ever to achieve triple platinum status in Australia and also 1992's best-selling single in the same country. In the United States, it became a crossover hit on pop and country radio, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Hot Country Songs chart, becoming the first country single to be certified platinum since "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton in 1983. The single topped in several countries, and after being featured on Top of the Pops in the United Kingdom, peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. It was Cyrus's biggest hit single in the U.S. until he was featured on "Old Town Road" by rapper Lil Nas X, which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 27 years later.
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The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban and Katz (B&K) group of theaters run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaban and partner Sam Katz. Along with the other B&K theaters, from 1925 to 1945 the Chicago Theatre was a dominant movie theater enterprise. Currently, Madison Square Garden, Inc. owns and operates the Chicago Theatre as a 3600 seat performing arts venue for stage plays, magic shows, comedy, speeches, sporting events and popular music concerts.
Ronald Ray Cyrus was an American politician and public servant in Greenup County, Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives for 11 consecutive terms, from 1975 until he retired in 1996.
Paramount Theater or Paramount Theatre may refer to:
Ashland Community and Technical College (ACTC) is a public community college in Ashland, Kentucky. It is an open-admissions college and part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. It was founded in 1938 to allow students the opportunity to obtain associate degrees, certificates and diplomas as well as provide vocational and technical training. The courses offered range from Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, business, education, health-related courses, information technology and a range of industrial technology degrees among others.
The Paramount Theatre is a 2,807-seat performing arts venue located at 9th Avenue and Pine Street in the downtown core of Seattle, Washington, United States. The theater originally opened on March 1, 1928, as the Seattle Theatre, with 3,000 seats. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 9, 1974, and has also been designated a City of Seattle landmark.
Robby Ray Stewart is a fictional character from the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, portrayed by Billy Ray Cyrus. Robby is the widowed single father of Jackson Stewart and Miley Stewart. He appears in all episodes in seasons 1 and 2, is absent for 3 episodes in season 3, and is absent for 1 episode in season 4. The character is based on Jed Clampett, the main character of The Beverly Hillbillies, even to the point of using Jed's famous catchphrase "Well doggies!"; the character’s name of “Robby Ray Stewart” is also a clear play on the portrayer’s real name.
The Paramount Theatre was a 3,664-seat movie palace located at 43rd Street and Broadway on Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Opened in 1926, it was a showcase theatre and the New York headquarters of Paramount Pictures. Adolph Zukor, founder of Paramount predecessor Famous Players Film Company, maintained an office in the building until his death in 1976. The Paramount Theatre eventually became a popular live performance venue. The theater was closed in 1964 and its space converted to office and retail use. The tower which housed it, known as the Paramount Building at 1501 Broadway, is in commercial use as an office building and is still home to Paramount Pictures offices.
Some Gave All is the debut studio album by American singer Billy Ray Cyrus. It was his first album for Mercury Records in 1992 and became the best selling album of that year in the United States, selling over 9 million copies in the first 12 months of release. It produced four hit singles on the Billboard country charts. The first of these was Cyrus's breakthrough song "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the charts in several countries. In the US it was a five-week number one on the Hot Country Songs chart, as well as a top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It became the first single ever to achieve triple Platinum status in Australia and was the best-selling single of 1992 in the same country. Thanks to the video of the song, there was an explosion of line dancing into the mainstream, becoming a craze. The song earned Grammy Award nominations for Cyrus in the categories Record of the Year and Best Country Vocal Performance, Male. That same year, Cyrus also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. "Achy Breaky Heart" was originally recorded as "Don't Tell My Heart" by The Marcy Brothers on their 1991 self-titled album.
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