Paramount Theatre
560 Bay Street,
Staten Island,
NY
10304
560 Bay Street,
Staten Island,
NY
10304
17 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 241 comments
A new article about Staten Island neighborhoods at the Forgotten New York website claims that the Paramount’s marquee has now been removed, possibly in advance of the building’s demolition. Click here
Listings ended in 1978 as a cinema.
Recent photo and preservation update can be viewed here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutingny/14250330989
I was on the commercial strip today of which the Paramount was once a part. There are many new businesses opening in long-shuttered buildings, as well as new ones that have been built. A brand new municipal parking lot is nearing completion adjacent to a McDonalds in the nearby area. To know that the restored theatre whatever it’s intended function would have been a part of this is truly a shame.From the info we have it was the city’s anti small business practices that caused the restoration to prematurely end.
And, remember, they did a major reno on the St. George which is just down the road and has parking and access to Manhattan via the ferry.
Curbed has posted a story on its website titled “Peek inside Staten Island’s long shuttered Paramount Theatre” http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/06/17/peek_inside_staten_islands_longshuttered_paramount_theater.php#reader_comments
For 4 million dollars you can buy the Ritz Theatre in Elizabeth NJ and its been all refurbished. All 2760 seats have been redone, new carpet, new bar, new restrooms. And it has a 5 story parking deck right next door.
Even if the incoming DiBlasio administration is more friendly to small businesses, It would be very difficult to get a thriving operation off the ground in that neighborhood. The loss of the parking lot across the street and the still stagnant economy would be 2 more hurdles.
What’s the point in purchasing the theatre if the rules and regulations get in the way. The current owners gave up on trying to do anything long before Sandy blew in with all the red tape.
Robert, sadly nothing good to report. I see no activity going on when I pass by. I also read on a Stapleton website that there may have been water damage from Sandy. Many businesses on that stretch of Bay Street are only recently reopening after suffering damage. If I hear any news I will post.
any news on this?
Some bookings of the 1970s:
4/70-THE DAMNED
4/70-TICK,TICK,TICK
4/70-FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED
4/70-GOODBYE,MR.CHIPS
I have uploaded several photos taken during the attempted restoration. I found them on a website called Staten Island and the Arts. And Vito you were right, note the marquee photo advertising “2 Big XXX Hits!”
You’re welcome, Vito. It’s amazing that they managed to get as far as getting most of the marquee up and running and were just waiting for the green light to have it lit up in the evenings. I remember when Peter used to visit this site. I wish everybody all the best of luck, and am also curious as to what’s happening, even though I don’t reside in the area.
Thanks NPoi abd garth, I too was very excited about the project as well as Peter and his partner. They managed to get most of the marquee up and running again and were waiting on a permit to light it up in the evening. And yes, if you are wondering, Peter said “ I want to bring movies back to the Paramount” I know Peter used to visit this site so Peter if you are put there please let us know more of what happened.
As a fan of this theatre I would like to thank Vito for his info and the assistance he gave the new owners in their attempts to restore the theatre. The owners deserve thanks for what they tried very hard to accomplish.
Thanks for the heads up, Vito. It sounds as if getting the codes up to date was the toughest part of all.
I am sure there may have been other contibuting factors but I belive the code updates were a big part of it. I worked on the St George and it was just one thing after another getting the fire codes up to date. It is a tribute to that wonderful family who persurvered and got the job done.
Without knowing the facts, something sounds a little funny here. If the Paramount really is too expensive to continue renovations on, because getting it up to today’s codes is much too expensive, that’s really unfortunate, because the Paramount looks like such a beautiful theatre.
Sorry that the person who was one of the investors never took you up on your offer to speak to the family that had restored the St. George in order to get assistance.
When I last spoke to Peter Lisi, who was one of the investors, he told me of the unexpected problems with getting the building back up to code and the enormous expense involved perticularly with fire codes. I believe this to be the primary reason for the end of the restoration. I offered to speak with the family that had resored the St George for assistance but he never took me up on that.
That’s too bad about the Paramount becoming so expensive to renovate that the owners decided not to continue with the project, and to cut their losses instead. Another one bites the dust, I guess.
What is the latest status of this Art Deco gem? I hope to see this theater preserved. You may e-mail me at
Thank you,
Michael Perlman
Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance
I don’t know him personally , the Paramount issue came up on the Lane theatre page about the closing of Uncle Vinnies. I do pass by there and if I see the front gate open I will see what I can do.
Since you’re on friendly terms with Vito could you get in there with a camera and immortalize the place before, whatever is going to happen?