I thought it would be fun to devote several posts to some of the Midwest’s grand old historic theatres you can still visit. This is the second of a five-part series.
Last time, I introduced the whole subject of great old theatres and talked generally about some of these palaces that still survive in the Midwest. In this post I’d like to take a closer look at the Paramount Theatre in Anderson, Indiana, a community of about 60,000 a few miles northeast of Indianapolis.
When the Paramount first swung its doors open to the public in 1929, it competed with no less than six other theaters along Anderson’s popular Meridian Street. But the Paramount lived up to its name, brazenly shouldering out lesser venues.
In its day, the Paramount’s 36-foot tall blade marquee lit up the whole block at night. At its opening, a local newspaper said the Paramount was unlike anything else in Anderson due to its “… mystic beauty of medieval Europe.”
The quote was a reference to the fact that the Paramount was an “atmospheric theatre.” Architect John Eberson, one of the leading proponents of the style, designed scores of such theatres (including Kalamazoo’s State) throughout the United States. The Paramount is one of about a dozen still functioning.
“Atmospheric” describes the effort to transport audiences to exotic foreign settings – a village square, a castle or amphitheatre, complete with twinkling stars, thanks to hundreds of low-wattage ceiling bulbs. The side walls added to the illusion, giving the impression of a garden or palace grounds.
Just stepping into the original Paramount was an experience to remember: “Imagine an ethereal rose-blue sky, awash with the twilight of a thousand twinkling stars.
“All around you, the terra cotta roof tiles and alabaster balconies of a Moorish courtyard emerge from the shadows. As the sun retreats, the glowing night sky deepens into a violet-cobalt blue, and the entire theatre is gloriously transported to a magical, balmy midsummer evening in sixteenth century Spain.”
By 1989, the great films of yesteryear as well as the headliners – including Frank Sinatra, Roberta Peters, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong and Gene Autry – who graced its stage were dim memories. The saga of the Paramount is a familiar story.
Too many years, too many owners and too little money. At the end of the 80s, the once proud Paramount was fated to become a parking lot. Enter a group of local visionaries who would become the Paramount Heritage Foundation.
Buying the theatre for $1 from the city, the group brought in Conrad Schmitt Studios, a nationally renowned restoration specialist to begin the enormous task of bringing the Paramount back. The grand old lady reappeared to a grateful public in 1995.
As is often the case with such structures, the Paramount has become the catalyst for a resurgence of arts and culture in Anderson and throughout the county. Today, the Paramount’s 1,458 seats are frequently filled with those attending the more than 450 events hosted here annually.
There is a four-year waiting list for proms. If you want to have your wedding reception at the new Paramount, make your plans early because there’s a two-year waiting list for that, too. What a wonderful epilogue to the life of a community treasure.
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