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Paramount Theatre (Staten Island)

The Paramount Theater is a former movie palace located at 560 Bay Street in the Stapleton neighborhood of Staten Island. Second in importance and prestige to the nearby St. George Theater, the Paramount nonetheless was a significant center for cinema and music in the lives of Staten Islanders for half a century. Originally opened in 1930, the theater is most notable for being one of only ten in the United States to have a Wurlitzer theatre organ with two consoles. The theatre has been closed since the late 1980's, and hopes have been raised and dashed to its revival as ownership changes have come with promises and false starts at revitalization.

History[edit]

Theatre[edit]

The Paramount Theater was built on the location of the farm on which Cornelius Vanderbilt grew up by the Isle Theatrical Corporation, a group owned by the Moses brothers (Charles, Lewis and Elias). The Moses brothers built a chain of well known theatres throughout Staten Island including the Lane in New Dorp, the Victory in Tompkinsville, the Ritz in Port Richmond, and the Strand in Great Kills, among many others.^[1]

The theater was designed by the Chicago theater architect team Rapp and Rapp,^[2] known for designing other Paramount Theatres including the Paramount Theatre in Times Square, Manhattan and the Paramount Theatre in Brooklyn. The art deco-designed theater, with figurative wall sculptures and Egyptian-style ceiling paintings, had 2,500 seats and opened on October 31, 1930 with famed organists Betty Gould and Priscilla (Jean) Holbrook.^[3] The movie premiered on opening day was Monte Carlo, an American musical comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. Seats in the orchestra cost 50 cents, seats in the loge cost 60 cents, and children were admitted for 20 cents.^[4]

The theater was host to many movie stars of the mid 20th Century including Gary Cooper, Mary Pickford, and Mae West. In addition to hosting films the theatre held beauty contests, jitterbug contests, and was a venue for selling War Bonds during World War II.^[5] In 1953 television personality Ray Heatherton set a single day record drawing $1,202 for his kid focused show.^[6]

In 1954 the Wurlitzer organ, III/19 "Style Balaban 4" Wurlitzer, Op. 2129 (1930) was moved to Salt Lake City.^[7]

In 1961 the theater was closed for a four week, $135,000 renovation and reopened by Fabian Theaters as the New Paramount Theater with fewer seats (2,000) but with wider seats and isles. The theater hosted the first CinemaScope widescreen experience on Staten Island. Until 1977 the theater showed mainstream movies until 1977. After a brief stint as an adult movie theater, the Paramount stopped showing films around 1980.^[8]

Music Venue[edit]

In October 1980 the Paramount Theater became an unexpected hub for live musical performances, primarily rock, punk, metal and pop acts, on Staten Island, providing a more affordable venue for locals and thrifty New Yorkers as well as more intimate venue for performers. A brief list of the acts that came to the Paramount Stapleton include the Talking Heads, B-52s, the Dead Kennedys, XTC, Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, the Ramones, Joan Jett, Mettalica, Pat Benatar, Squeeze, Mission of Burma, the Specials, and PIL.^[9]

In the late 1980s the Paramount closed and briefly served as a storage area for Steckman's Sporting Goods.

References[edit]

^ Lundrigan, Margaret. Staten Island: Isle of the Bay Charleston, S.C., 2004, page 118.
^ Photograph by Edmund V. Gillon, 1995. Museum of the City of New York http://collections.mcny.org/Collection/[Paramount-Theater.]-24UAKVG05OT.html. Accessed May 8, 2015.
^ Landon, John W. Behold the Mighty Wurlitzer: The History of the Theatre Pipe Organ. 1983, page 144.
^ Backstage at the Paramount, Stapleton Secret Staten Island. http://www.secretsi.com/2012/04/12/backstage-at-the-paramount-stapleton/ Accessed May 8, 2015.
^ Reifer, Jodi. Historic Paramount set to reopen. Staten Island Advance, January 2, 2010.
^ Billboard, April 25, 1953, page 4.
^ The New York City Organ Project http://nycago.org/Organs/SI/index.html Accessed May 8, 2015.
^ Backstage at the Paramount, Stapleton Secret Staten Island. http://www.secretsi.com/2012/04/12/backstage-at-the-paramount-stapleton/ Accessed May 8, 2015.
^ Inside the Paramount Theatre, Shuttered For Over 25 Years Scouting New York http://www.scoutingny.com/inside-the-paramount-theatre-shuttered-for-over-25-years/ June 17, 2014. Accessed May 8, 2015

External links[edit]

Category:Theatres in Staten Island Category:Cinemas and movie theaters in New York City Category:Former cinemas in the United States Category:Movie palaces

[1] Lundrigan, Margaret. Staten Island: Isle of the Bay Charleston, S.C., 2004, page 118.

[2] Photograph by Edmund V. Gillon, 1995. Museum of the City of New York http://collections.mcny.org/Collection/[Paramount-Theater.]-24UAKVG05OT.html. Accessed May 8, 2015.

[3] Landon, John W. Behold the Mighty Wurlitzer: The History of the Theatre Pipe Organ. 1983, page 144.

[4] Backstage at the Paramount, Stapleton Secret Staten Island. http://www.secretsi.com/2012/04/12/backstage-at-the-paramount-stapleton/ Accessed May 8, 2015.

[5] Reifer, Jodi. Historic Paramount set to reopen. Staten Island Advance, January 2, 2010.

[6] Billboard, April 25, 1953, page 4.

[7] The New York City Organ Project http://nycago.org/Organs/SI/index.html Accessed May 8, 2015.

[8] Backstage at the Paramount, Stapleton Secret Staten Island. http://www.secretsi.com/2012/04/12/backstage-at-the-paramount-stapleton/ Accessed May 8, 2015.

[9] Inside the Paramount Theatre, Shuttered For Over 25 Years Scouting New York http://www.scoutingny.com/inside-the-paramount-theatre-shuttered-for-over-25-years/ June 17, 2014. Accessed May 8, 2015

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