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Goldsboro Rethinks Restoration of Gutted Paramount Theatre
posted by
btkrefft
on
April 4, 2006 at 8:48 am
GOLDSBORO, NC — After a fire destroyed the historic Paramount Theatre in Goldsboro in February of 2005, leaving little more than the shell of the 124 year-old structure, there was immediately talk of rebuilding the theater. However, recently those plans have come to a standstill, according to News 14 Carolina. It is estimated that it will cost over $12 million to rebuild the Paramount, which opened in the 1920s and was being used as a performing arts center before its destruction.
Some city officials are saying that there isn’t enough support for the Paramount to rebuild it and say that other downtown projects should take priority over the Paramount. However, Charlie Gaylor of the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation says that the city can’t afford not to rebuild the theater. “Hundreds of people came into Goldsboro every single weekend for performances at the Paramount and when you have children involved in those performances, you’re probably looking at folks coming in from out of town, they’re spending money here by eating dinner or lunch or breakfast and they’re staying in the hotels.”
The Goldsboro City Council hasn’t yet voted on whether or not to restore the Paramount.
Comments (1)
I was lucky to see the PARAMOUNT during a November 2004 holiday show. It was really something, filled to the gills with happy citizens enjoying a holiday variety show. The lobby and the street were both alive with activity related to the show. This site has such a great history of continuous yet different use … an armory turned opera house, turned cinema, turned performing arts center … that I feel it would be shortsighted to not rebuild a similar venue for continued entertainment/community-building use. For those who have not seen downtown Goldsboro, it is really an American treasure. It makes Mayberry look like a dump. And note all of the surviving nickleodeon storefronts nearby … a couple blocks of cinema treasures, no kidding! I wish Goldsboro and these planners the best. The PARAMOUNT was really something — something worth seeing again!