Paramount Theatre (Middletown, New York)

Last updated
Paramount Theatre
Paramount Theatre, Middletown, NY.jpg
Paramount Theatre marquee in 2007
Location17 South St., Middletown, NY
Coordinates 41°26′44″N74°25′16″W / 41.44556°N 74.42111°W / 41.44556; -74.42111
Built1930 [1]
Architect Rapp and Rapp
Architectural style Art Deco
Website www.middletownparamount.com
NRHP reference No. 02000136
Added to NRHPMarch 6, 2002
Theatre seating area Paramount Theater Seating Area.jpg
Theatre seating area
Faux opera boxes Opera Boxes.jpg
Faux opera boxes
Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ The Wurlitzer.jpg
Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ

The Paramount Theatre is a historic theater located at 17 South Street in Middletown, New York, United States. It was built in 1930 in an Art Deco style, a twin to the Paramount Theater in Peekskill, across the Hudson River. [1] It was included in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Paramount-Publix Corporation (now Paramount Pictures) built and opened the building on June 12, 1930, with a celebration that included a parade at noon, a musical performance by the Paramount Symphony Orchestra, and the first movie, The Big Pond , starring Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert at 6 p.m. The feature film was preceded by a newsreel, a short film about Middletown and its citizens and a welcome film starring Buddy Rogers. [1]

Paramount-Publix sold the theater after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1948 United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. decision, which required the movie studios to divest themselves of their theater chains. ABC, a successor corporation, owned the Paramount until 1973 when it sold it to Hallmark Releasing. After several other owners, it closed five years later. In 1979, the city took title when back taxes went unpaid. [1]

Two years later, the Arts Council of Orange County bought the building and renovated it into a performing arts center. An apron was added to the stage, and a pavilion on the back of the building provided dressing room space. It was reopened in 1985. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. [1] The theatre hosts a variety acts and events, as well as art exhibits, lectures, civic fundraisers, dance recitals, business receptions, school theatre series, performing arts summer camp and some film features.

The New York Theater Organ Society installed the Wurlitzer organ from the Clairidge Theater in Montclair, New Jersey. The Paramount's organ's original keyboard is now part of the organ at the Orpheum Theater in Phoenix, Arizona. [1]

The Hoboken International Film Festival takes place annually at the theater.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolph Zukor</span> Hungarian-American film producer (1873–1976)

Adolph Zukor was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures. He produced one of America's first feature-length films, The Prisoner of Zenda, in 1913.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Theatre (Oakland, California)</span> Concert hall in Oakland, California

The Paramount Theatre is a 3,040-seat Art Deco concert hall located at 2025 Broadway in Downtown Oakland. When it was built in 1931, it was the largest multi-purpose theater on the West Coast, seating 3,476. Today, the Paramount is the home of the Oakland East Bay Symphony and the Oakland Ballet. It regularly plays host to R&B, jazz, blues, pop, rock, gospel, classical music, as well as ballets, plays, stand-up comedy, lecture series, special events, and screenings of classic movies from Hollywood's Golden Era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama Theatre</span> Movie theatre in Birmingham, Alabama, USA

The Alabama Theatre is a movie palace in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built in 1927 by Paramount's Publix Theatres chain as its flagship theater for the southeastern region of the United States. Seating 2,500 people at the time, it was the largest in the Birmingham theater district. The district was once home to many large theaters and movie palaces that featured vaudeville, performing arts, nickelodeons and Hollywood films. Built to show silent films, the Alabama still features its original Wurlitzer theater organ. The Alabama Theatre and Lyric Theatre are the district's only remaining theaters, and as of 2024, both are in operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Arts Center</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio Theatre (Columbus, Ohio)</span> Theater and former movie theater in Columbus, Ohio

The Ohio Theatre is a performing arts center and former movie palace on Capitol Square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. Known as the "Official Theatre of the State of Ohio", the 1928 building was saved from demolition in 1969 and was later completely restored. The theater was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saban Theatre</span> Historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California

The Saban Theatre is a historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California, formerly known as the Fox Wilshire Theater. It is an Art Deco structure at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hamilton Drive designed by architect S. Charles Lee and is considered a classic Los Angeles landmark. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre</span> Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument

The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, 155-foot (47 m) Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a blue-green glazed architectural terra-cotta tile and situated diagonal to the street corner, the complex is considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the United States. The Wiltern building is owned privately, and the Wiltern Theatre is operated by Live Nation's Los Angeles division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Famous Players–Lasky</span> American motion picture company

The Famous Players–Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company – originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays – and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall</span> Historic theater and performing arts center in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall is a historic theater building and performing arts center in Portland, Oregon, United States. Part of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, it is home to the Oregon Symphony, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, White Bird Dance Company, and Portland Arts & Lectures. It is also a concert and film venue. Originally the Paramount Theatre, it is also locally nicknamed "The Schnitz".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Theatre</span> Theater and former movie theater in Chicago, Illinois, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Theatre (Seattle)</span> Performance hall in Seattle, Washington

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rialto Theatre (Tucson, Arizona)</span> Historic performance venue

The Rialto Theatre is a performance theater and concert venue located on Congress Street in downtown Tucson, Pima County, southern Arizona. The cinema−theater and surrounding Rialto Building commercial block were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Theatre (Manhattan)</span> Former movie theater in New York City

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saenger Theatre (New Orleans)</span> Theatre

Saenger Theatre is an atmospheric theatre in downtown New Orleans, Louisiana, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Once the flagship of Julian and Abe Saenger's theatre empire, today it is one of only a handful of Saenger movie palaces that remain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Theatre (Denver)</span> United States historic place

The Paramount Theatre is a concert venue in Denver, Colorado, located on Glenarm Place, near Denver's famous 16th Street Mall. The venue has a seating capacity of 1,870 but is a popular destination for large acts looking for a smaller concert setting. With spelling as Paramount Theater, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Plitt Theatres was a major movie theater chain in the United States and went under a number of names, Publix Theaters Corporation, Paramount Publix Corporation, United Paramount Theatres, American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres and ABC Theatres and operated a number of theater circuits under various names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atmospheric theatre</span> Type of movie theater

An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace design which was popular in the late 1920s. Atmospheric theatres were designed and decorated to evoke the feeling of a particular time and place for patrons, through the use of projectors, architectural elements and ornamentation that evoked a sense of being outdoors. This was intended to make the patron a more active participant in the setting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Theatre (Anderson, Indiana)</span> United States historic place

The Anderson Paramount Theatre is a historic movie theater located in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana. It opened on August 20, 1929, and at the time was part of the Publix Chain of theaters, owned by Paramount Pictures. The theater was designed by the famous movie theater architect, John Eberson. The Paramount is an atmospheric theater and is one of twelve atmospheric theaters left standing in the United States and Canada. The auditorium was decorated in the style of a Spanish village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center</span> United States historic place

The Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center or The Rose, also known as the Astro Theatre, originally opened as The Riviera. It is located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1926 in a combination of both Moorish and Classical styles, the building was rehabilitated in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">F. M. Kirby Center</span>

The F. M. Kirby Center is a historic Art Deco-Moderne style movie theater located at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Paramount Theatre — History". Archived from the original on 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2007-09-07.