User:Jauerback/Paramount Theatre (Aurora, Illinois)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If you have arrived at this page via a search engine, this author's contributions or a link, it should be noted this is a Wikipedia article in progress. It may be incomplete and some facts at this time may be wrong or not reliably referenced. It should not be treated as definitive information until it has been placed in the article mainspace. Please do not waste your time correcting spelling and links. The author of this page works erratically, and whole sections are likely to be swept away at whim.

Paramount Theatre The Paramount Theatre during renovation. Location 22 East Galena Boulevard Aurora, Illinois, USA Coordinates 41°45′28″N 88°18′52″W / 41.757637370033486, -88.31429332494736 Type Indoor theatre Opened September 3, 1931 / April 29, 1978 Owner J.J. Rubens (1928) Paramount Pictures (1931—1976) Aurora Civic Center Authority (1976—present)[1] Renovated 1976—1978, 2006 Expanded 2006 Closed 1976—1978 (1st restoration) Seating type Orchestra, Balcony

Paramount Theatre U.S. National Register of Historic Places location of Paramount Theatre in Illinois Coordinates: 41°45′27.49″N 88°18′51.45″W / 41.7576361, -88.3142917Coordinates: 41°45′27.49″N 88°18′51.45″W / 41.7576361, -88.3142917 Built/Founded: 1931 Architect: Rapp & Rapp Designated as NHL: 1980-03-18[2] NRHP Reference#: 80001371

The Paramount Theatre is an Art Deco movie theatre located in downtown Aurora, Illinois, USA.^[1] Today, the Paramount is the home of the Fox Valley Symphony, it regularly plays host to R&B, jazz, blues, pop, rock, gospel, classical music, as well as ballets, plays, stand-up comedy, lecture series, special events, and re-runs of classical movies from Hollywood's Golden Era.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Renovation 1.2 Expansion 2 Photo gallery 3 Main events 3.1 Symphony & ballet 3.2 Notable concerts 3.3 Live stage plays 3.4 Classic movie nights 3.5 Notable events 4 References 5 External links 6 See also

[edit] History

The Paramount Theatre, designed by architects C.W. and George L. Rapp opened in 1931 as a motion picture palace, during the rise of the motion picture industry in the late 1920s.^[1][3] It was built on the site of the old Realto Theater, which burned down in 1928. The theater was commissioned by theater owner J.J. Rubens who, before construction, sold the company to the Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation. When Paramount Pictures owned the design, they decided to build movie palaces all over the country, using the Paramount as a prototype.^[3]

Palace was both a common and an accurate term for the movie theaters of the 1920s and early 1930s. In 1925, Adolf Cukor's Paramount Publix Corporation, the theatre division of Paramount Pictures, one of the great studio-theater chains, began a construction program resulting in some of the finest theatres built.

The Art Deco design was a trend referred to the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris.^[4] The term Art Deco has been used only since the late 1960s, when there was a revival of interest in the art and fashion of the early 20th century.^[5]

[edit] Renovation

[edit] Expansion

In July of 2003, the Paramount announced plans to expand the theater, for a cost of almost $6 million dollars, which included renovating and doubling the size of the lobby with the addition of 5,000 square feet of land to the west, formerly part of Sesquicentennial Park, which was purchased from the city of Aurora for $306,000. Before the renovation, the lobby could only accommodate about 1,000 people of the 1,800 seating capacity which was a nuisance in the winter forcing many theater visitors to wait outside before a show. The expanded lobby now includes a catering kitchen, a gift shop, a bar and a lounge. The bigger space allows the theater to hold banquets, weddings, conferences and dinners before or after shows. The renovation also included the addition of elevators to the mezzanine, expanded restrooms and a larger box office.^[1][6]

The theater's owners also purchased the former Fox Theatre located on Downer Place, the street behind the Paramount, for $125,000, which sat vacant for years. The Fox Theatre was also renovated to accommodate new rehearsal, production, and dressing rooms, a storage area and classroom space for dance and acting classes that is open to the public.^[1][6][3]

^[7]

^[8]

^[9]

^[10]

^[11]

^[12]

^[13]

[edit] Photo gallery

[edit] Main events

[edit] Symphony & ballet

[edit] Notable concerts

[edit] Live stage plays

[edit] Classic movie nights

[edit] Notable events

[edit] References

References (text)

[edit] External links

• Paramount Theatre

[edit] See also

• Chicago Theatre

v • d • e U.S. National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register · History of the National Register of Historic Places · Property types · Historic district · Contributing property List of entries National Park Service · National Historic Landmarks · National Battlefields · National Historic Sites · National Historical Parks · National Memorials · National Monuments

Category:Buildings and structures in Illinois Category:Illinois Historical Landmarks Category:Cinemas and movie theaters in Illinois Category:Concert halls in the United States Category:National Historic Landmarks in Illinois Category:Movie palaces Category:Kane County, Illinois Category:Aurora, Illinois