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Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, The Supremes, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles and Frank Sheen Frank Sinatra and others are just a few of the stars who have performed at the Brooklyn Paramount. The Brooklyn Paramount, a 1928 French Baroque Revival theater, recently reopened at 385 Flatbush Avenue.
For decades, this palatial music venue was used as a rather ornate (albeit inappropriate) basketball court by Long Island University. Now, the Brooklyn Paramount Hotel has been restored to its original glory as a mixed-use entertainment center with a grand performance stage, a gilded lobby, a cocktail lounge and other amenities.
The Brooklyn Paramount was acquired by Live Nation in 2023 and was later restored by Dutch engineering design firm Arcadis. In the coming months, artists such as Norah Jones, Mariah The Scientist, Busta Rhymes, Sean Paul and more will be taking part in the historic Performing in a building with a long history that the heavyweights of yesteryear had brought down. Bob Marley’s sons Damian Marley and Stephen Marley were invited to perform their first concert on March 27 at the Paramount in Brooklyn.
“Decades ago, Brooklyn’s Paramount Theater broke down barriers and provided access to black artists Segregation on stage has been present since the earliest days of jazz and rock music U.S. Congresswoman Yvette Clarke attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Brooklyn’s Paramount Hotel along with Senator Chuck Schumer and Mayor Eric Adams. “Thanks to Live Nation’s vision in partnership with Long Island University, Brooklyn Paramount will once again become a cultural center showcasing some of today’s most talented artists and bringing people from all backgrounds together for conversation.”
The downtown Brooklyn venue first opened on November 4, 1928. Its visionaries, Rapp & Rapp Architects, designed it as “America’s first movie theater built for sound.” In fact, when it opened, it was the first venue designed specifically for “talkies” (also known as soundtrack films). Paramount Pictures, the forum’s owner, calls it Brooklyn’s “Baroque Palace.”
The Chicago firm previously designed a sister theater for Paramount Studios in Times Square. In downtown Brooklyn, Rapp & Rapp designed an 11-story office tower atop an auditorium.
At the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, Rapp & Rapp designed an iconic marquee anchored at the corner of Flatbush and Dekalb with big, bold electronic letters that read “Paramount Theater,” announcing the event to the world. Complex activities. Visitors enter the lobby from beneath the marquee, a spacious space 147 feet long and 42 feet high. There, a giant chandelier floats from above and a fountain with goldfish swimming below. Later, patrons are attracted by the auditorium’s 4,124 burgundy seats or the luxurious cocktail lounge.
The auditorium’s curtains are 60 feet high and decorated with satin-embroidered pheasants. The space is centrally controlled via the Wilfred Color Organ, a mechanism that allows operators to adjust lighting according to mood. For those in the know, the Wurlitzer Organ at Paramount in Brooklyn is a masterpiece in its own right: It contains a total of 257 stations, controlling more than 1,800 pipes.
The Brooklyn Paramount is located on the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Dekalb, in the heart of the Brooklyn Theater District. The historic 25,000-seat theater is just a few blocks away. The nearby Brooklyn Academy of Music was built in 1908 by Leopold Eidlitz and Henry Beaumont Herts; the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower is a Beaux Arts-style building designed by Halsey, McCormack Designed by McCormack and Helmer and completed in 1929. Bedtime drink, or shake for those under 21 years old.
During the Great Depression, Brooklyn Paramount was in dire straits. In 1935 it was sold to a benefactor named Simon Fabian. But eventually, the theater made a comeback thanks to the unforgettable performances of Bing Crosby and his contemporaries. In 1940, during the Holocaust, a Dutch Jewish singer named Leo Fuld performed an entire show in Yiddish.
In 1954, Long Island University (LIU) purchased the building. Liu then transformed the upper floors into classrooms and administrative spaces. In 1962, the theater was converted into a basketball court, followed by a second round of renovations in 1975. The majestic Paramount Theater marquee was replaced with a gloomy overhang, and many long-time residents and businesses left downtown Brooklyn during the white flight and urbanization. renew.
Decades later, downtown Brooklyn was reimagined. In 2004, the Downtown Brooklyn Redevelopment Plan was approved and developers showed renewed interest in the area. Ambitious plans to bring retail back to the neighborhood were followed by urban designs like the Fulton Street Mall and new luxury high-rises, projects more akin to the building boom along Central Park.
How will the revitalization of downtown Brooklyn proceed? It’s too early to tell. But for some, it’s great to see the exciting words of Brooklyn Paramount back on a street corner in Old Flatbush.
The restoration project, led by Live Nation and Arcadis, carefully preserved the original details of the 1928 building. While the lobby no longer has a fountain filled with goldfish, it does remain a wonderful place to see and be seen. In a nod to the building’s important role in history, its cocktail lounge is named after Ella Fitzgerald, who recently performed at Brooklyn’s Paramount.
“This grand reopening is a testament to the Brooklyn community’s passion for our cultural heritage and opportunities,” New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said on the reopening. “Not only do I look forward to seeing the show share the stage with legends from the past, performances, and look forward to seeing the impact this iconic institution will have on students at Long Island University and the surrounding community. Brooklyn has always been a space for artistic expression and cultural growth, and the return of the Brooklyn Paramount after decades marks the A bright artistic and economic future for the borough and city.”
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