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Paramount Theater (Austin, Minnesota)
Encyclopedia
The Paramount Theatre is located at 125 4th Avenue NE, Austin
in the U.S.
state of Minnesota
. The theater was built as an atmospheric theatre
in 1929 to great fanfare, being the first movie palace
in Austin accommodating 914 seats. The ceiling was painted with figures of dogs, winged creatures, and Spanish designs. It served the town until it closed in 1975, the genre being quashed by television
and mall
cinemas. In 1987, Austin Area Commission for the Arts was formed to restore the building to its historic grandeur. Volunteers and donors, with the assistance of the Minnesota Historical Society
repaired plaster and masonry and replaced the seats. A stone spire that had been hit by lightning in the 1940s was also repaired. This is one of only four such theaters in the state to be used as a theater; the building is currently used for performances by the Matchbox Children’s Theatre, as well as assorted concerts and musical performances.
Austin, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,314 people, 9,897 households, and 6,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,168.2 people per square mile . There were 10,261 housing units at an average density of 954.3 per square mile...
in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. The theater was built as an atmospheric theatre
Atmospheric theatre
An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace which has an auditorium ceiling that is intended to give the illusion of an open sky as its defining feature...
in 1929 to great fanfare, being the first movie palace
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...
in Austin accommodating 914 seats. The ceiling was painted with figures of dogs, winged creatures, and Spanish designs. It served the town until it closed in 1975, the genre being quashed by television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
cinemas. In 1987, Austin Area Commission for the Arts was formed to restore the building to its historic grandeur. Volunteers and donors, with the assistance of the Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Historical Society
The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
repaired plaster and masonry and replaced the seats. A stone spire that had been hit by lightning in the 1940s was also repaired. This is one of only four such theaters in the state to be used as a theater; the building is currently used for performances by the Matchbox Children’s Theatre, as well as assorted concerts and musical performances.