The Paramount Theatre is a live theatre venue/

movie theatre A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

located in downtown

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. The

classical revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

style structure was built in 1915. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on June 23, 1976. In the Paramount's 100-year history, it has played host to a wide variety of acts ranging from

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

, musicals, legitimate theater, and movies, including premieres of such films as 1966's ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

''.

History

The four-story theater was built by Ernest Nalle, who commissioned architect

John Eberson John Adolph Emil Eberson (January 2, 1875 – March 5, 1954) was an Austrian-American architect best known for the development and promotion of movie palace designs in the atmospheric theatre style. He designed over 500 theatres in his lifetime, e ...

to design the building in January 1915. The theater opened under the name "The Majestic" on October 11, 1915, and hosted various

performers including the

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

. In 1930, the theater was purchased by

Karl Hoblitzelle Karl Hoblitzelle (October 22, 1879 – March 8, 1967) was an American theater owner, real estate investor, and philanthropist. He was the co-founder of the Interstate Theaters Company, a chain of vaudeville theaters (later movie theaters), now a s ...

, who renamed it to the "Paramount Theatre" and added carpeting, upholstered seating, and the addition of a giant lighted blade sign reading "Paramount". In 1941, the theater was purchased by the Margaret Reed Estate. In November 1963, the building's facade received a renovation. The renovation included the removal and reprogramming of the signature blade sign. However, the sign was never re-installed and its fate was never revealed. By the 1970s, the popularity of television and suburban movie theaters led to a decline in theater attendance. In 1975, proprietors John M. Bernardoni, Charles Eckerman, and Stephen L. Scott formed a nonprofit group to restore the building, which was in deteriorating condition. Local philanthropist

Roberta Crenshaw Roberta P. Crenshaw (April 17, 1914 - February 8, 2005) was an American civic leader and philanthropist. Crenshaw campaigned for over 60 years to preserve parkland in Austin, Texas and supported Austin-area cultural institutions. Early life and ...

, who owned a 50% stake in the building through her late husband's estate, donated her half of the trust to the nonprofit, meanwhile, the other half of the trust offered a 99-year lease. In 1976, the theater's listing on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

qualified the venue for federal restoration funds. Renovations began in September 1977 following a $1.85 million grant from the federal government, which was also used to spur economic development in Downtown Austin. In 2015, the theater embarked on an effort to recreate the signature blade sign that was lost in 1963. Since there were no known architectural or engineering plans for the original sign, the designers analyzed old footage of the theatre that included the sign. On September 23, 2015, the blade sign was lit for the first time in over 50 years.

Gallery

File:Paramount Theater - Austin, Texas - DSC08308.jpg, Paramount Theatre in 2015 File:Paramount Theatre Austin TX (877324112).jpg, Marquee sign detail File:One of three architectural elements above the Paramount Theatre in downtown Austin, Texas LCCN2014632643.tif, Architectural elements File:P071014CK-0099 (14992504778).jpg, President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the theatre in 2014

References

External links

Paramount Theatre History
Cinemas and movie theaters in Texas City of Austin Historic Landmarks Theatres in Texas Culture of Austin, Texas Buildings and structures in Austin, Texas Theatres completed in 1915 Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Austin, Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks {{US-theat-struct-stub