Paramount Theatre

50sSNIPES on October 5, 2023 at 9:15 am

The Paramount Theatre opened its doors on June 9, 1949 with the Canadian Premiere of Bob Hope in “Sorrowful Jones” along with a Paramount Screen Song (“The Ski’s The Limit”), a Paramount Popular Science (“Air Force Fire Fighters”), and a Fox Movietone Newsreel. It was first operated by Famous Players.

There was a lot of original information about the Paramount Theatre, which goes as follows: As of 1949, the original capacity of the theater housed 900 seats (with 600 in the original section and 300 in the balcony). The marquee measures 50ft towering 6ft over the top of the building with bold Neon letters and incandescent flashing borders. The marquee is outlined in Neon tubing and the readograph is illuminated by cold cathode on the inside and neon lights at the edges. 15 150-watt floodlights were located at the underside of the marquee which leads to the six such doors in the theater. Three are the entrance and the other three at the threshold of the lobby. The roomy box office is situated at the east end of the building at the street line providing convenience of entrance for ticket buyers. Equipped with heavy place glass windows, the box office equipment contains the latest establishments. On Grand Opening, Mayor T.T. McCammon launched the official opening when he cut the ribbon.

Aisles of the theater as of 1949 featured heavy carpeting in pastel shades to harmonize with the color scheme of the turquoise-colored walls and red-rippled satin draperies with extra silver and rose textures on the walls with some rose blush title sheet. The lobby leads up three competed stairs to the large rectangular richly carpeted foyer, and the floor of the outer lobby is brick-colored tile in an attractive pattern. At the right is a broad stairway sweeping towards the mezzanine and balcony section. There are two wide entrances to the orchestra section of the auditorium, which both of its doors keep out extraneous sound from the audience. At the left is the cosmetic salon for the females and past that is the compact confection bar. The foyer walls are painted in old rose shades with matching shades to the ceiling.

One of the most unique things about this theater is hearing aids. Citizens who had experienced deafness or any difficulty hearing the movie are welcome the news that special hearing aids (coming in two different versions) have been installed along one of the rows of the center section of the theater. Usherettes at the Paramount as of 1949 are smartly attired in bolero type double-breasted jackets, set off by white piquet collars and cuffs, and with divided long skirt slacks, both in blue. The Famous Players logo insignia is carried on the right sleeve. The doorman wears a smart navy blue double-breasted pea jacket with light blue trousers.

The walls of the theater are fireproof and was built more than 800 yards of reinforced concrete and 60 tons of structural steel. The largest of the cantilever steel girders are 24-inch “I” beams which are equal to any single steel unit in Pattullo Bridge. The comfort of the theater features unseen pipes, fans, cooling coils, boilers, and furnaces are thermostatically controlled to assure an acme of ultra-modern heating and ventilation. Fresh air is circulated by 28 vents strategically located throughout the theater, Heating was done by recessed steam radiators with most heating equipment located underneath the stage. Lungs of the air-conditioned network are situated in a penthouse on the roof, where huge fans turn fresh air through a honeycomb of filtering apparatus before the air is piped in to all parts of the building.

Liverpool, England resident Claude G. Smith who worked in the show business since 1913 was listed as the first manager for the Paramount. He was a former assistant property master in the old Grand Theatre in Calgary and once lived in Vancouver before moving to Chilliwack in 1937 right at the same time the Famous Players Corporation took over the former RKO-operated Orpheum Theatre. Smith joined the organization served in Kelowna, Penticton, Nelson, back to Vancouver, and then back to Chilliwack a short time later. He was once the manager of the Strand Theatre there as well. The Strand Theatre nearby was forced to close its doors in connection of the opening of the first-run Paramount Theatre. The Strand did reopen its doors a short time later but didn’t show any mainstreamers.

On June 8, 1975, the Paramount closed its doors as a single-screener with “The Trial Of Billy Jack” for a short time due to twinning, which immediately downgraded its original capacity of 900 to 774 seats, however, Wilf Keelan (the manager at the time) said that the theater will be more wider but advantages are a problem.

Some comparing from the original and the twin contains the main snack bar being replaced with a stretched snack bar across the middle of the front lobby and will serve both theaters. A smaller snack bar was also added but located on the top floor but was only used during very busy periods.

The Paramount reopened as a twin on August 14, 1975 with “Mandingo” at Screen 1 and “Young Frankenstein” at Screen 2, featuring a total capacity of 774 seats (with 496 seats at Screen 1 with a 14x28ft screen, and 278 seats at Screen 2 with a 13x30ft screen).

CSWalczak on December 17, 2012 at 10:45 pm

The Chilliwack City Council voted in August, 2012 to demolish the Theatre; the Friends of the Chilliwack Paramount believe that the process used by the Council limits their efforts to preserve the theatre.

kencmcintyre on March 14, 2008 at 6:09 pm

The Paramount was part of the Famous Players Canadian Corporation in the early Sixties.