| Paramount Center at Emerson College | |
| Former Names: | Paramount Theatre |
| Address: | 559 Washington Street |
| Location: | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Type: | Theatre |
| Owner: | Emerson College |
| Operator: | Emerson College |
| Architect: | Arthur Bowditch[1] |
| Capacity: | Robert J. Orchard Stage: 596 Jackie Liebergott Black Box: 150 Bright Family Screening Room: 170 |
| Publictransit: | Boylston, Chinatown, Park Street |
Paramount Theatre is a theatre in Boston on Washington Street, between Avery and West Streets.
The Paramount opened in 1932 as a 1,700-seat, single-screen movie theatre. It was one of the first movie houses in Boston to play talking motion pictures. The theatre was named after its original owner, Paramount Pictures. It closed in 1976 and most of the Art Deco interior decoration was destroyed in the 1980s during the removal of asbestos.[2] In 1984, the building was designated a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission.
In 2002, Millennium Partners agreed to restore the Paramount's facade, marquee, and vertical sign in exchange for city approval of their adjacent Ritz-Carlton Towers project. The city occasionally lighted the sign at night. The city's hopes that the site would be developed by the Cambridge-based American Repertory Theater were not fulfilled.
In April 2005, Emerson College announced plans to renovate the Paramount Theatre and build a performing arts facility in and around the original building. The $77 million project involved the renovation of the building and adjacent parcels of land into a complex containing a 550-seat theater, a Performance Development Center, a student residence hall, a 125-seat black box theater, a 170-seat film screening room, eight rehearsal studios ranging from 700square feet to 1900square feet, six practice rooms for individuals and small groups, a sound stage for film production classes, a scene shop, several classrooms, a restaurant, and up to a dozen offices for faculty and staff. Design was by Elkus Manfredi Architects, Boston.[3] Acentech Incorporated consulted on the acoustical design of the facility, providing guidance on room acoustics, sound isolation between the stacked spaces on the tight urban site, and mechanical system noise control in the historic building.
The project was completed in early 2010. On March 18, 2010, Emerson College celebrated the grand re-opening of the Paramount Theater with Mayor Thomas Menino.