Paramount Theatre (Seattle) facts for kids
The Paramount Theatre in 2015
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| Address | 901 Pine Street Seattle, Washington 98101 |
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| Coordinates | 47°36′47″N 122°19′53″W / 47.61306°N 122.33139°W |
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Paramount Theatre
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| Architect | Rapp & Rapp; B. Marcus Priteca |
| NRHP reference No. | 74001959 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 19, 1974 |
| Capacity | 2,807 |
| Opened | March 1, 1928 |
The Paramount Theatre is a famous place for shows and concerts in Seattle, Washington. It has 2,807 seats! This amazing theater first opened on March 1, 1928. Back then, it was called the Seattle Theatre and had 3,000 seats.
The Paramount Theatre is a very important building. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is also a special City of Seattle landmark.
Today, the Seattle Theatre Group owns and runs the Paramount. This group is a non-profit organization. They also manage two other theaters: the Moore Theatre and the Neptune Theatre. The Paramount was first built to show movies and vaudeville acts. Vaudeville was a type of show with many different performances like singing, dancing, and comedy. Now, the Paramount hosts many kinds of shows. You can see Broadway musical theatre, concerts, dance, and comedy. It is one of the busiest theaters in the area!
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History of the Paramount Theatre
During the 1920s, movies and vaudeville shows were very popular. Before "talkies" (movies with sound) came out in 1927, silent movies were a big hit. Seattle had over 50 movie palaces, which were grand theaters built for films.
Paramount Pictures, a big movie company, wanted to show its films everywhere. So, they built large movie palaces in many major cities. Most of these were built between 1926 and 1928. In 1926 or 1927, Paramount Pictures decided to build one in Seattle.
Building the Grand Theatre
Adolph Zukor, the head of Paramount Pictures, spent a lot of money to build the theater. He hired Rapp & Rapp, a famous architecture company from Chicago, to design it. A Seattle architect named B. Marcus Priteca designed the apartments and offices next to the theater. He was well-known for designing movie palaces.
Unique Features of the Paramount
The Paramount Theatre was the first place in the United States to have a special floor system. This system can change the theater into a ballroom! This means the main floor can be an open space for people to stand. The theater can hold up to 3,000 fans for concerts. Even with the floor changed, the balcony seats stay in place.
The Paramount Theatre also has a very old and special organ. It is a Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ. This organ is one of only three like it that are still original. Jim Riggs plays this organ for the "Trader Joe's Silent Movie Mondays" series. Volunteers help keep the organ working.
Renaming and Modern Updates
The theater was first called the Seattle Theatre. It was renamed the Paramount in the 1930s.
In 1985, the famous singer Madonna started her first tour, "The Virgin Tour," at the Paramount. She performed three shows there for almost 9,000 fans!
Around 2009, the Paramount got a new sign outside. The old sign from the 1940s used many light bulbs. The new sign looks just like the old one, but it uses modern LED lights. These LED lights save energy. The Paramount Theatre was also used for auditions for the TV show America's Got Talent.
See also
- 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle's other theater producing Broadway musicals
