Brooklyn Paramount Theater
Encyclopedia
The Paramount Theatre is a former movie palace
located at 1 University Plaza at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenue
s in downtown
Brooklyn
, New York
. Originally opened in 1928, the building has been owned by Long Island University
(LIU) since 1962. Converted for use by LIU as classroom space and a gymnasium, the building retains much of the theater's original decorative detail. The venue is now operated as a 1200-seat multi-purpose arena
, formerly home to the Brooklyn Kings
basketball team.
, was designed by the Chicago theater architect team Rapp and Rapp
. The theater was the first designed for talking pictures, or movies with sound. A sister Paramount Theatre was located in Times Square
, Manhattan
. The rococo
-designed theater had 4,084 seats covered in burgundy velvet, with a ceiling painted with clouds. A 60-foot stage curtain was decorated with satin-embroidered pheasants, along with huge chandeliers and fountains with goldfish.
According to anthropology professor Michael Hittman, "while the Brooklyn Paramount is remembered as a popular movie house and early home of rock ‘n’ roll, it is a little known fact that it helped introduce Brooklyn to jazz
, with artists like Dizzy Gillespie
, Ella Fitzgerald
and Miles Davis
." Duke Ellington
first played at the Paramount in 1931. According to the (Dutch) biography 'De Keizer van het Jiddische Lied' it was in 1943 that singer Leo Fuld
introduced the Yiddish music on this stage. In the 1950s, Alan Freed
’s rock ‘n’ roll shows played at the theater, with acts including Chuck Berry
and Fats Domino
. Buddy Holly
played a show in September, 1957.
When Alan Freed
fell victim of the payola scandal, TV host Clay Cole
continued the ten-day holiday show tradition, in shows produced by Sid Bernstein
. The first, Clay Cole's Christmas Show broke all existing attendance records with a show featuring Ray Charles
, Bobby Rydell
, Brenda Lee
, Neil Sedaka
, Johnny Burnett, The Delicates
, Kathy Young
, Dion
, Bobby Vinton
, Bo Diddley
, Chubby Checker
, Bobby Vee
and groups, the Drifters, Coasters, Shirelles, and Little Anthony & The Imperials
. The last live rock 'n' roll stage show at The Brooklyn Paramount was "Clay Cole's Easter Parade of Stars" headlining Jackie Wilson
and an all-star cast. Then the theatre was shuttered.
The General Manager of the theatre was Eugene Pleshette, father of the actress Suzanne Pleshette
.The theater was bought by Long Island University
, Brooklyn Campus, in 1960 and converted into its current use as a gymnasium for LIU in 1962.
The Wurlitzer organ in the Brooklyn Paramount is second in size to the organ at Radio City Music Hall
. It has 2,000 pipes and 257 stops, and continues to be used at LIU sporting events.
Anthropology/Sociology Professor Dr. Michael Hittman presented an all-day seminar, a one-credit cross-linked course with emphisis on rock 'n' roll on March 27, 2009, at the LIU Brooklyn campus library. Clay Cole
was the keynote speaker and hosted panel discussions on the connections between rock 'n' roll and the historic Paramount Theatre. The seminar concluded with a ninety minute doo wop show, with artists.
for use as a gymnasium, now called the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Athletic Center. It was the home of the LIU Blackbirds basketball team until 2005. The Northeast Conference
men's basketball tournament was held here three times. Since the Blackbirds moved to the LIU Athletic, Recreation & Wellness Center
, the venue has served as an occasional host of Gotham Girls Roller Derby
bouts and as the home of the Brooklyn Kings
of the now-dormant USBL.
Movie palace
A movie palace is a term used to refer to the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed...
located at 1 University Plaza at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenue
DeKalb Avenue
DeKalb Avenue is a street in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, with the majority of its length in Brooklyn. It runs from Woodward Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens to Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn...
s in downtown
Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City , and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn...
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Originally opened in 1928, the building has been owned by Long Island University
Long Island University
Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...
(LIU) since 1962. Converted for use by LIU as classroom space and a gymnasium, the building retains much of the theater's original decorative detail. The venue is now operated as a 1200-seat multi-purpose arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
, formerly home to the Brooklyn Kings
Brooklyn Kings
The Brooklyn Kings are a United States Basketball League franchise in Brooklyn, New York. They play in Downtown Brooklyn, on the main campus of Long Island University. They started play in 1999. The league suspended operations after the 2007 season and the team has been inactive since then.-...
basketball team.
Theatre
The Paramount Theatre, built in 1928 by Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, was designed by the Chicago theater architect team Rapp and Rapp
Rapp and Rapp
The architectural firm Rapp and Rapp was active in Chicago, Illinois during the early 20th century. The brothers Cornelius W. Rapp and George Leslie Rapp of Carbondale, Illinois were the named partners and 1899 alumnus of the University of Illinois School of Architecture...
. The theater was the first designed for talking pictures, or movies with sound. A sister Paramount Theatre was located in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
-designed theater had 4,084 seats covered in burgundy velvet, with a ceiling painted with clouds. A 60-foot stage curtain was decorated with satin-embroidered pheasants, along with huge chandeliers and fountains with goldfish.
According to anthropology professor Michael Hittman, "while the Brooklyn Paramount is remembered as a popular movie house and early home of rock ‘n’ roll, it is a little known fact that it helped introduce Brooklyn to jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, with artists like Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
and Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
." Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
first played at the Paramount in 1931. According to the (Dutch) biography 'De Keizer van het Jiddische Lied' it was in 1943 that singer Leo Fuld
Leo Fuld
Lazarus 'Leo' Fuld was a Dutch singer who specialised in Yiddish songs.Prior to World War II, Leo Fuld was one the most popular recording and concert artists in Europe...
introduced the Yiddish music on this stage. In the 1950s, Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
’s rock ‘n’ roll shows played at the theater, with acts including Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
and Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
. Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
played a show in September, 1957.
When Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
fell victim of the payola scandal, TV host Clay Cole
Clay Cole
Clay Cole was an American host and disk jockey, best known for his eponymous television dance program, The Clay Cole Show, which aired in New York City on WNTA-TV and WPIX-TV from 1959 to 1968.-Origins:...
continued the ten-day holiday show tradition, in shows produced by Sid Bernstein
Sid Bernstein
Sid Bernstein is an American music producer and promoter. Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Moody Blues, The Kinks and The Beatles to America. He was the first impresario to organize rock concerts at sports stadiums.-...
. The first, Clay Cole's Christmas Show broke all existing attendance records with a show featuring Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Bobby Rydell
Bobby Rydell
Bobby Rydell is an American professional singer, mainly of rock and roll music. In the early 1960s he was considered a so-called "teen idol"...
, Brenda Lee
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...
, Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka is an American pop/rock singer, pianist, and composer. His career has spanned nearly 55 years, during which time he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard...
, Johnny Burnett, The Delicates
The Delicates
The Delicates, were a three-girl singing group, made up of members Denise Ferri, Arleen Lanzotti, and Peggy Santiglia. The group was formed in 1958 while all three members were attending Belleville High School in Belleville, New Jersey....
, Kathy Young
Kathy Young
Kathy Young is an American teen pop singer during early 1960s, whose rendition, at age 15, of "A Thousand Stars", rose to No. 3 on Billboard Hot 100....
, Dion
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci , better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop oldies music, rock and R&B styles....
, Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
, Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
, Bobby Vee
Bobby Vee
Robert Thomas Velline , known as Bobby Vee, is an American pop music singer. According to Billboard magazine, Vee has had 38 Hot 100 chart hits, 10 of which hit the Top 20.-Career:...
and groups, the Drifters, Coasters, Shirelles, and Little Anthony & The Imperials
Little Anthony & The Imperials
Little Anthony and the Imperials is a rhythm and blues/soul/doo-wop vocal group from New York, first active in the 1950s. Lead singer Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine was noted for his high-pitched falsetto voice, influenced by Jimmy Scott...
. The last live rock 'n' roll stage show at The Brooklyn Paramount was "Clay Cole's Easter Parade of Stars" headlining Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
and an all-star cast. Then the theatre was shuttered.
The General Manager of the theatre was Eugene Pleshette, father of the actress Suzanne Pleshette
Suzanne Pleshette
Suzanne Pleshette was an American actress, on stage, screen and television.After beginning her career in theatre, she began appearing in films in the early 1960s, such as Rome Adventure and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds...
.The theater was bought by Long Island University
Long Island University
Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...
, Brooklyn Campus, in 1960 and converted into its current use as a gymnasium for LIU in 1962.
The Wurlitzer organ in the Brooklyn Paramount is second in size to the organ at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
. It has 2,000 pipes and 257 stops, and continues to be used at LIU sporting events.
Anthropology/Sociology Professor Dr. Michael Hittman presented an all-day seminar, a one-credit cross-linked course with emphisis on rock 'n' roll on March 27, 2009, at the LIU Brooklyn campus library. Clay Cole
Clay Cole
Clay Cole was an American host and disk jockey, best known for his eponymous television dance program, The Clay Cole Show, which aired in New York City on WNTA-TV and WPIX-TV from 1959 to 1968.-Origins:...
was the keynote speaker and hosted panel discussions on the connections between rock 'n' roll and the historic Paramount Theatre. The seminar concluded with a ninety minute doo wop show, with artists.
Sports Venue
In 1962 the Paramount Theatre was converted by Long Island UniversityLong Island University
Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...
for use as a gymnasium, now called the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Athletic Center. It was the home of the LIU Blackbirds basketball team until 2005. The Northeast Conference
Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference is a college athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA. The NCAA designates the Northeast Conference to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for Division I Men's Football and to Division I Sports for all other sports.Founded in 1981 as the ECAC-Metro...
men's basketball tournament was held here three times. Since the Blackbirds moved to the LIU Athletic, Recreation & Wellness Center
Athletic, Recreation & Wellness Center
Athletic, Recreation & Wellness Center is a 2,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Brooklyn, New York. It was built in 2006 and is home to the Long Island University Blackbirds basketball team. It hosted the finals of the 2011 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament.-External Links:*...
, the venue has served as an occasional host of Gotham Girls Roller Derby
Gotham Girls Roller Derby
Gotham Girls Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league based in New York City, New York. Founded in late 2003, Gotham Girls Roller Derby was the first skater-operated flat track roller derby league in the metropolitan New York area...
bouts and as the home of the Brooklyn Kings
Brooklyn Kings
The Brooklyn Kings are a United States Basketball League franchise in Brooklyn, New York. They play in Downtown Brooklyn, on the main campus of Long Island University. They started play in 1999. The league suspended operations after the 2007 season and the team has been inactive since then.-...
of the now-dormant USBL.
External links
- Cinema Treasures listing
- Long Island University
- Clay Cole's show at Brooklyn Paramount
- Paramount Wurlitzer organ New York Theatre Organ Society
- Photo of fans at an Alan Freed concert at the Paramount Theatre Life Magazine, 1955
- Photo of a Rock and Roll concert on stage at the Paramount Theatre Life Magazine, 1958
- Photo of LIU gymnasium/Paramount Theatre Life Magazine, 1971