THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE, AN ART DECO MASTERPIECE
Friday night, March 9, Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) will screen at Oakland, California’s spectacular Art Deco movie palace, The Paramount Theatre, as part of its Spring Movie Classic Series. The ticket price is an amazingly low $5.00. And…Movie Classic Night includes a newsreel, cartoons and Jerry Nagano at the Mighty Wurlitzer. Kudos to the sponsors of the series, Vo’s Restaurant (authentic Vietnamese cuisine) and the Pacific Pinball Museum. |
| Above, the marquee; at top, the lobby entrance |
The Paramount is one of two great Art Deco movie theaters remaining in America – the other is Radio City Music Hall. Designed by celebrated San Francisco architect Timothy L. Pflueger (who also designed that city's Castro Theatre), its construction was begun by Publix Theatres, the exhibition arm of Paramount Pictures, during the Great Depression. Financial problems forced the sale of the building-under-construction to Fox-West Coast Theatres who completed the project and opened the Paramount in December 1931. |
| Mosaic exterior |
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| Mosaic detail |
Though Hollywood studios owned all the major theaters and controlled film distribution completely during the “The Golden Age,” the Depression would bring change and the Paramount would be the last studio-owned movie house built in the U.S. In its day, with 3,000+ seats, the Paramount boasted the largest auditorium seating on the West Coast.  |
| A balcony view of the stage |
As with so many of America’s once-grand movie palaces, the Paramount suffered a long period of decline following its glory years - but it was more fortunate than most. In 1972 it was purchased by the Oakland Symphony and given a thorough and authentic restoration that was completed in 1973. In 1975 the City of Oakland assumed ownership and the theater became a California Registered Historic Landmark in 1976 and a National Historic Landmark in 1977. Today the Paramount is home to the Oakland East Bay Symphony (formerly the Oakland Symphony) and the Oakland Ballet. The theater is a premiere year-round performing arts facility that hosts concerts of all musical genres (from B.B. King to Leonard Cohen), variety shows, stage productions and movies.
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| Lobby detail |
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| Theater interior |
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| Theater interior |
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| Theater interior |
Tours of the Paramount, located in the trendy Uptown district, are scheduled on the first and third Sundays of every month, excluding holidays and holiday weekends. Ticket price: $5. Click here for more on what’s happening at Oakland's Paramount Theatre. Click here for more photos. |
| Auditorium view from center stage |
Vertigo is little mentioned in this post, but for those interested in reading about it at length - click here. It goes without saying that The Lady Eve isn't about to miss her chance to see Vertigo at the Paramount…
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Thursday, March 8, 2012
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