Club Quarter facts for kids

The Entertainment District is a lively area in Springfield, Massachusetts. It's found in the Metro Center part of the city, especially around the historic Stearns Square. This fun district stretches out for several city blocks around Stearns Square and Springfield Union Station.

For over 100 years, this area has been a popular spot for entertainment. It's home to many restaurants, cafes, and places to enjoy music or movies. Today, Springfield's Entertainment District has more than 75 places to eat and have fun. This makes it the biggest entertainment area between New York City and Montreal, Canada. Because of this, Springfield was even named one of America's Top Ten Best Cities for young people by Yahoo and Sperling's Best Places.

Fun Places Around Stearns Square

Many exciting places are located near Stearns Square. One of the oldest is Smith's Billiards, which opened in 1902. It's a place where people of all ages can play pool. Sometimes, even professional pool matches are held there!

Another long-standing spot is Theodore's Blues Club. It has been open for almost 30 years. This club has even been called the best blues club in the United States several times.

Other popular spots include The Shadow Lounge, which has a stylish feel. Shakago's is a place where you can enjoy jazz music and piano. Alumni is a spot popular with college students and recent graduates. They often have live rock music and DJs. You can also play games like Keno there. Fat Cat Bar & Grille is a casual place that plays punk and industrial music.

Glo Ultra Lounge is a popular club, especially on Saturday nights. It's known for its stylish look and cool light shows. Next door is Petra, which is Springfield's only hookah bar. The Pub Lounge used to be a different kind of bar, but now it focuses on sports. Adolfo's is an Italian restaurant that serves delicious food. It also has an outdoor bar with a DJ and dancing.

The Paramount Theater: A Historic Entertainment Spot

Since 1926, a special entertainment building has stood at 1700 Main Street. It's right next to Springfield's famous Gothic railway arch. This building is known as The Paramount Theater, and it was also called The Hippodrome for a time.

A Grand Movie Palace

The Paramount Theater was built in 1926. It cost over $1 million back then! During its best years, from the 1920s to the 1960s, it was the most beautiful movie palace in Western New England. It showed movies until the 1960s. After that, it became a place for movies, concerts, and live performances. Famous groups like The Velvet Underground and Eric Burdon and the Animals performed there. Even Alice Cooper once played at this theater.

From Theater to Nightclub and Back

In 1999, the theater found a new owner. It was bought and given a $1.3 million makeover. It was then turned into a fancy nightclub and performance space called The Hippodrome. The seats on the main floor were removed, but the 1,100 balcony seats were kept and fixed up. The original organ was also restored.

As The Hippodrome, it became a major spot for "rave" parties in the Northeast. Thousands of people would come every few months for these big events. When the rave scene changed, The Hippodrome became a hip-hop and novelty club. Performers like RuPaul even appeared there.

In 2010, the New England Farm Workers' Council bought The Hippodrome. They changed its name back to The Paramount Theater. Currently, The Paramount is undergoing a $1.725 million renovation. It's being updated to continue its long history as a place for entertainment.