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| Historic Paramount Theatre | |
|---|---|
| Name | Historic Paramount Theatre |
| Caption | Exterior of the theatre in 1931 |
| Address | 123 Main Street |
| City | Metropolis |
| Country | United States |
| Architect | William W. Smith |
| Owner | Paramount Theatres Corporation |
| Capacity | 2,400 |
| Opened | 1928 |
| Reopened | 1979 |
| Closed | 1968 |
| Designation | National Register of Historic Places |
Historic Paramount Theatre The Historic Paramount Theatre is a landmark movie palace and performing arts venue located in Metropolis, United States, originally opened in 1928 by the Paramount Theatres Corporation. Designed by architect William W. Smith, the theatre has hosted silent films, vaudeville, orchestral concerts, Broadway touring productions, and film retrospectives, and has been the focus of multiple preservation campaigns culminating in National Register of Historic Places recognition. Its programming, architectural features, and restoration efforts link it to broader currents in American urban revitalization, historic preservation, and performing arts networks.
The theatre was commissioned during the late 1920s expansion of the Paramount Pictures exhibition network and built amid downtown redevelopment efforts influenced by City Beautiful movement, Roaring Twenties prosperity, and regional competition with nearby houses such as the Roxy Theatre and the Fox Theatre (Detroit). Opening night featured a premier screening distributed by Paramount Pictures accompanied by a stage show promoted by the Keith-Albee-Orpheum corporation talent circuit and a pipe organ demonstration by an organist affiliated with the American Theatre Organ Society. During the Great Depression the venue shifted programming under the auspices of local exhibition managers and became a focal point for wartime bond drives associated with War Bond campaigns and USO-style benefit performances with entertainers linked to United Service Organizations. Postwar trends in suburbanization and the rise of television led to declining attendance, and the theatre closed in 1968 amid the broader contraction of downtown theaters such as the Loew's State Theatre closures. Community activists, including local chapters of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the League of Historic American Theatres, mobilized in the 1970s to save the building, leading to a municipal purchase and reopening in 1979 as a performing arts center integrated into urban renewal strategies promoted by the Local Redevelopment Authority.
Designed by William W. Smith in an eclectic blend of Beaux-Arts architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, and Art Deco, the theatre exhibits an opulent auditorium with a proscenium arch, atmospheric ceiling, and a two-tiered balcony modeled after major movie palaces like the Palace Theatre (New York City). Exterior masonry and terra-cotta ornament reference precedents set by McKim, Mead & White and ornamental programs seen in the Chicago School (architecture). Interior decorative painting, stenciling, murals, and gilded plasterwork were produced by artisans who trained in studios connected to the American Institute of Architects networks and had worked on commissions for venues such as the Metropolitan Opera House and the Chicago Theatre. The original theatre organ, a four-manual instrument by Wurlitzer, sat in an ornate organ chamber and was used for silent film accompaniment and interludes during vaudeville bills, mirroring practices at contemporaneous houses like the Orpheum Theatre (San Francisco). Structural systems combined steel frame construction aligned with standards promulgated by the American Institute of Steel Construction and acoustic treatments inspired by research from institutions like the Bell Labs and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
From vaudeville revues and silent film screenings to midcentury cinema and late-20th-century Broadway tours, the theatre’s billings reflected national circuits including the United Artists distribution network, touring companies of the Shubert Organization, and symphony residencies drawn from the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra. Notable performers and touring productions that appeared on the stage included acts associated with Bob Hope, dancers formerly with the Ziegfeld Follies, and revivals curated by the Film Society of Lincoln Center-style programming groups. The restored venue later booked touring Broadway shows presented by producers linked to the Nederlander Organization and hosted contemporary popular music concerts promoted by firms like Live Nation Entertainment and classical recitals connected to the Juilliard School alumni circuits. Educational outreach and film series were developed in partnership with local institutions including Metropolis University, the Public Library of Metropolis, and regional arts councils affiliated with the National Endowment for the Arts.
Preservation advocates marshaled support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Historic American Buildings Survey, and state historic preservation offices to document the theatre’s significance following criteria used by the National Register of Historic Places. A major restoration campaign in the 1980s employed preservation architects who had worked on projects such as the rehabilitation of the Ford's Theatre and the Carnegie Hall renovation, and received grants coordinated with the National Endowment for the Arts and state historic tax credit programs modeled on the Tax Reform Act of 1976 incentives for rehabilitation. Efforts included conservation of original mural programs, reconstruction of ornamental plaster, stabilization of the Wurlitzer organ with assistance from the American Theatre Organ Society, upgrading to modern rigging and house lighting designed by technicians formerly from venues like Radio City Music Hall, and improvements to accessibility conforming to standards later codified by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The preservation process balanced historical integrity with contemporary building codes and acoustical engineering consultations from firms experienced with the Smithsonian Institution conservation protocols.
The theatre became a civic symbol tied to downtown Metropolis’s cultural identity, contributing to tourism strategies that referenced historic districts listed alongside landmarks like Metropolis City Hall and the Central Business District (Metropolis). Its revival catalyzed adjacent commercial reinvestment, influencing projects promoted by chambers of commerce and economic development agencies modeled on the Main Street America program. As an educational resource it partnered with university programs in theatre history and historic preservation, echoing curricular themes at institutions such as Columbia University and Preservation Massachusetts. Scholarly and popular attention to the venue has linked it to broader narratives about American entertainment infrastructure, the rise and fall of movie palaces, and the role of restoration in urban renewal, with case studies appearing in journals associated with the American Historical Association and conferences convened by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Category:Theatres in the United States Category:Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places