Paramount Theatre
5405 Hohman Avenue,
Hammond,
IN
46320
5405 Hohman Avenue,
Hammond,
IN
46320
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August 13, 1965 photo credit Hammond Historical Society Flashback.
https://www.facebook.com/HammondHistoricalSocietyFlashback/photos/pb.100066727507601.-2207520000/2118140861625674/?type=3
This opened on August 2nd, 1930.
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Found on Newspapers.com
Here’s a clip from late 1962 at the Paramount https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnLEimmli48
From Variety Wednesday August 20, 1930 – “Hammond, Ind. – Paramount-Publix has opened it’s first theater here, Paramount. Seats 2,000.” Earlier Variety items listed the opening as July 3, then August 2 1930. In the same 8/20 issue it’s mentioned that the Parthenon is being sold to Warner Bros. by William Kleihege. I got all these old news items via http://mediahistoryproject.org/
From Variety Wednesday March 26, 1930 “Hammond, Ind. – Publix Great States' first house here, de luxer, will open around June 1. Probably will be named Paramount.”
From Film Daily September 23, 1929 “Publix Starts New Hammond House – Building operations at the new theater to be erected at Homan & Clinton Sts., by Publix, have been stated by Fred Rowley Co., which must complete the structure within eight months.” Paramount-Publix was the name used for the theaters owned by Paramount Pictures.
Just added a Circa 1973 photo courtesy of the Planet Hammond Facebook page.
I lived across the state line in Illinois in the 50s and we would frequently take the bus to Hammond, visit the magic shop, the Army/Navy surplus store, and Woolworth’s, then head for either the Paramount or the Parthenon, the theaters that anchored the north and south ends of town. Great fun. I also remember seeing a double feature at the Paramount, Billy Budd and The Days of Wine and Roses. Not so fun.
This web page features several photos of the Paramount Theatre in Hammond and, for some reason, one photo of the Oakland, California, Paramount.
A legal case in the late 1980s revealed that the 99-year lease on the land the Paramount Theatre occupied began in 1929, so construction of the theater most likely also began that year.
This film was playing at the Paramount on 2/21/43:
STARTS TOMORROW – ADULTS ONLY!
NO GREATER SIN
Sin Dens Exposed as Under-Age Girls' Menace
Thrill Seeking MEN!
Other theaters advertised in the Hammond Times were the Calumet, Parthenon, Hohman, Orpheum, American, Midway, Ace, Rio, Vic, Forsythe Capitol, Indiana, Voge, Hoosier and Broadway.
I was an usher at the Paramount Theatre from November,1978 to March, 1979. I did some exploring myself. Does any one have any photos or home movies of the theatre
when it was up and running? I would love to do a documentary on this great movie palace.
I am posting some pictures on my website of The Paramount Theater…
http://www.dixiesquaremall.com
My grandmother would let the grandkids walk to downtown Hammond to the Paramount theatre, about a mile away from her home (on Willow Court). This was circa 1965, when you could let kids walk somewhere without an armed guard. I remember sitting through “The Ten Commandments” three times in a row. On Saturdays, Mom would drop off a stationwagon full of friends and cousins to enjoy the matinees (probably second-run movies, but when you’re 10 years old, who cares?). The Paramount had a ceiling that seemed to stretch to the stars, and a great concession stand (very important for a 10 year old!). Ah, the good old days!
I worked for a short time at the Paramount in the late 70s. I remember showing Coma. After closing I used to spend hours exploring the theater. There were a lot of leftovers from when the theater was in her prime. There were underground dressing rooms and call boards for the live acts. I spent so much time exploring because I had been told that Al Capone had once owned the theater and had used it as a distribution hub for liquor during prohibition. There were tunnels running under Hohman Ave that ran to storefronts where the booze was supposed to have been sold out of. This was around the time that Geraldo was cracking open Capone’s vault in downtown Chicago, so I had it in my mind that I might find some of Capones lost money. I found nothing but a lot of mold and spider webs. It was fun exploring though. The Paramount was a beauty, though, and I wish I had seen her in her prime.
I went to the Paramount only once back in 1978 to see “Coma”. I remember most how big the auditorium was and that the balcony was closed off to the public. It appeared to still be in decent shape at the time but the area had become rundown and not very safe. Sadly both the Paramount and the Parthenon (which was down the road) are long gone with no signs that they ever existed. What’s more of a shame is that the area of Hammond where these beautiful theaters were is starting to be built up again and there isn’t a theater within miles. A real shame.