What is the History of the Paramount, Boston?
This quote from a March 3, 2010 Boston Globe article by Geoff Edgers sums up what you’re about to read:
“The once-grand Art Deco theater, which had become a dilapidated porno movie house by the time it closed in 1976, has been restored to its former glory.”
Wait… there was a ramshackle X-Rated movie house in the middle of downtown Boston just a generation ago?!
Yes, that is correct. Remember two articles ago how we realized that our “Developed Country” has still done a ton of “Developing” recently, and is continuing to evolve as we speak? Well here’s another example: the glowing lights that I now declare “The Sexiest Sign in Boston”… the 7,000-bulb marquee for the Paramount Theater!
I walk by this tower of light several times a week, since it’s downtown on Washington Street by the Chinatown stop on the Orange Line, and thus it nuzzles near a bevy of stores and sights. As I pass, I always pause inadvertently to ogle. The term that comes to mind while I ogle this sign is: “Glamor.” Or, if you want to be fancy and British, “Glamour.”
The Paramount Theatre Shows Boston’s Renewal
In short, as the undulating red and gold and blue lights glitter through my eyes, I become convinced that I am actually wearing a flowing mink coat, have my hair in a voluptuously curled up-do, and am clutching a jeweled, gold-embroidered purse (full of diamonds of course).
Such is the power of a pretty sign on the mind of this gal.
But what of this sign’s history? What of these rumors of a tawdry and decayed past?
A little sleuthing yields the answer, and it ain’t pretty.
The Paramount was opened in 1932 as a 1,700-seat theater that, according to Wikipedia, was one of the first movie houses in Boston to play talking motion pictures.
Hear that, kids? Just seventy-nine years ago, it was crazy new technology to have a movie in which actors actually spoke aloud!
Did You Know About this Decay?
But as the twentieth century wore on, our cities here in America began to decay. This is an element of our national history that broke my heart when I learned it in college. Basically, by the 1950s, more people in the U.S. were living in suburbs than in cities for the first time in our history.
This was due to a combination of increased car ownership, a shift away from industrial jobs towards service ones, racial tensions (“white flight”), and more… but the end result was that our city centers began dying. The government started investing in things like highways out of the city, rather than in maintaining and improving our downtown hearts, and so those hearts became deathly sick.
And thus the Paramount Theater fell into squalor. And when I say squalor, I’m not kidding. Here’s a direct quote from Edgers’s Globe article about the Paramount:
“It may be hard, seeing the Paramount Theatre today, to understand just how dramatic a transformation has taken place.
Ross Cameron remembers. Five years ago, the project architect walked through the damp, dirty space to see what had to be done. He found bird skeletons and mold. He could see through a back wall into the alley behind the theater. And he could hear rats splashing around in the orchestra pit. At one point, Cameron entered the projection room. With no electricity, he had to follow the beam of his flashlight.
The Paramount Theatre Sign is Renewed, as is Boston!
“I caught this broken mirror, and next to it on the door, somebody had painted, in red, a skull and the word ‘REDRUM,’’’ said Cameron. “Ever seen ‘The Shining?’ I had to leave for the day.’’”
WHAT?! You can’t make this stuff up. But the point is clear: by 1976 when it shut down, everyone thought the Paramount was dead. And everyone thought our American cities were dead, too.
I really want you to get this, readers: it is a BIG DEAL that the Paramount is revitalized, because it is a BIG DEAL that our cities are coming alive again!
How happy I am to be living right in the heart of an American city, in an era when these precious city hearts are beating more and more strongly, thumping: “We are not dead! Keep nourishing us, and watch us flourish!”
Michael @ Changes In Longitude says
What a wonderful story. I love when old theaters like this are revitlaized. They are true gems.
Lillie says
They are!
Jimmy Huang says
The Paramount sign is sexy and it knows it!
Amy H. says
This sign is so shiny and pretty. I see this sign every single day!
Fiona P says
I love it there.
Qiyin Y says
Shouldn’t “R-rated” be the term for inappropriate movies instead of “X-rated”? That theatre is run down when I came to the US and I remember asking my mother questions on the theatre’s history. The theatre is like, invisible without the shiny lights luring customers inside the door. Back Bay is the complete opposite of the “dying cities” back then.
John Teehan says
Those signs look very bright just from the pictures.
Liz C. (Koraliz) says
Let me just ask you, how many pictures of the ‘sexy’ sign did you take?!?! Less than one thousand, right?
Jonny says
I’ve been by that sign so many times but barely noticed it. Now i’ll try to remember to look for it.
Stephanie says
I always pass by this sign but I never really thought about the history behind it. The porno movie house part was the most…surprising. But it is a really nice sign in general, it lights up downtown. (:
Amelia Carlson says
Whenever I see the Paramount sign I always stop and just stare at all of the colorful lights. It is so pretty especial at night when it lights up.
christopher reyes says
Wow. I’ve lived in boston my whole life and I never knew the theater was that important never knew that the theater was that important. I would usually just by it and not pay much attention to it.
Brendan Harriette says
Boston is known for a lot but I didnt know how important that theater was. I usually walk past it and say to myself, “blah looks so boring.”
shirley leung says
Interesting. I’ve lived in Boston for basically my whole life I guess and I never really thought about the history. It never approached me to find out more about it. But this is interesting.
Amtooj says
I find the Prudential center sign more charming than the Paramount sign.
Courtney says
The last time I did anything “historical” in town (other than going into Fanuiel Hall) was walking the freedom trail in 2006 the day after my aunt’s wedding in King’s Chapel (which is also a stop thing on the Freedom Trail).
Kevin Armstrong says
Wow I never knew any of that. Ms. Marshall you should also do some detective work on the famous “citgo” sign in Boston.
chris says
I think this was a great article. The next time I go downtown, I think I am going to go check ths out. Sounds very cool.
Genesis says
Woah. I can’t believe that there used to be a porno movie house in Downtown. I want to see what Boston was like around the 70’s and 80’s. The Paramount sign seems like the last thing you’d expect to see in Boston. It just seems so Hollywood. I love walking by it.
zamir says
I never really go downtown so i never knew this. Thanks for the great article
Daniel Rodriguez says
I like the article very much, and it emphasizes the economic and industrialized grow has been through in the last few generations. This signifies how the old can be new with only a few touch ups. Plus, as you go deeper into the city you can see the reminisce of the past mixed with the new culture of our time.
Kyle Undag says
Brava! This article, I must say, is your best so far! I haven’t been in Downtown in so long that I haven’t even gotten a chance to see this revitalized miracle. I remember passing by it with my mother as a 7 year old and seeing the boarded up doors bombarded with posters. I totally agree with you about the feeling glamorous part though! I feel like I’m in the 30’s with an up-do and red lipstick on a red carpet just looking at it!
Mary says
Excellent article. I really enjoyed reading it and joining you in celebrating the restoration of this special theater. I will have to check it out the next time I’m in Boston.