Paramount Theatre

Love this theater. Well worth the drive from Homewood or even Chicago if it’s a film in the main theater.

2006 Auditorum photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus815/2116795008/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnus815/2116799904/

I was the last projectionist at the Town Cinema theatre taking
Meredith place when he went out West.

Jer

So I found out who owns the Majestic, and he supposedly has plans to do something with it. Also one evening, as I was enjoying a drink at the City Tavern (heh heh, with its “great” history) I noticed a photo of the Majestic on the wall next to the restrooms. The only old picture I have seen of it. I about died of happiness. It’s hard to find photos and other info on theatres here in Kankakee.

and maybe someone remembers the drive-in out on 17?

It was indeed the Majestic when it was originally opened from the late 1930s (I think) through the mid or late 1950s. My father spent many a Saturday at the Majestic during this period watching Flash Gordon serials and Johnny Weismuller Tarzan flicks. It was later reopened in the early 1970s as the Town Cinema (this was just a few years after Kankakee’s other theatre, the Luna, was closed down) and remained in business through the early 1990s (I forget the exact date, although the last film I remember seeing there was “Dances With Wolves” in 1991, just a few months before moving to Oklahoma). It wasn’t as ornate as the Paramount and had a smaller screen, but it was a good little theatre for much of its life; towards the end it fell on hard times, both physically (it became quite run down near the end) and in terms of the films it showed (there was a period in the mid to late 80s when it even showed porn films on a fairly regular basis, unfortunately). My favorite memory of the Town Cinema is of sitting through multiple showings of the original “Star Wars” during its initial run in 1977, when I was but a lad of 14. Spent quite a bit of my paper route money that summer on George Lucas, Coke and Lemonheads, as I recall. Those were the days…

When I was a projectionist at the theater kitty-corner to the Paramount in 1974, it was called the Town Cinema. It had been converted to a much smaller theater from what it had originally been. My gosh, the old projection booth was clear up on the roof of that building. To get into the old projection booth, you had to climb a ladder on the outside of the building to get to it. When I ventured up to it in 1974, the door was sealed shut for 30 years, but I busted into it. It was like going back in time. The projectionists there then, I guess had expected to be back soon because their working slippers, reading materials and medicines in the cabinet had not been removed. Back then, Oscar Schmidt was the projectionist across the street at the Paramount. Oscar and his brother Jim ran the union in town. Ah, those were the days… :)

Taken from the Classic Cinemas Web Site:
Beginning in the early 1920’s, the Famous Players-Laskey Film Company expanded because of the success of films and became known as the Paramount Pictures. Balaban & Katz of Chicago merged with them, and in 1926 the groups opened the New York Paramount Theatre as its home base on Times Square. Almost always movies produced by Paramount Pitcures, the company established theatres across the country. It continued building theatres into the early 1930’s and developed standardized furnishings, management details and assessories.
When the Kankakee Paramount opened on April 11, 1931, the Mayor of Kankakee designated the ensuing week as “Paramount Week.” At that time there were at least six other theatres in downtown Kankakee, but by the 1980’s only two remained.
The owner of the Paramount building contacted Classic Cinemas, which decided to buy it. Although the building’s interior was badly neglected over the years, the building was structurally sound and many of its art deco elements were still intact.
It took more than double the purchase price, but the Paramount was renovated and modernized in keeping with its heritage, reopening on December 15, 1988/ The lobby features the original poster cases topped with the “Publix Theatres” symbol, a trade name ised by the entire Paramount circuit on everything from advertising to buttons on the ushers' uniforms. Ten plaster plaques are positioned around the upper portion of the lobby walls. Several are originals; three were recast during the renovation.
The reconstructed auditorium doors, w\ith highly polished hardware and stained glass inserts lead to one of the largest halls in Kankakee. The auditorium is decorated in a style that is very typical of Paramount theatres with a cobalt blue ceiling and intricate geometric designs in green, red, gold and silver. All the painting was done by local painter and artisan Gary Reynolds.
The theatre was also redecorated throughout with new tile floors, new carpeting and cand counter. The marquee was restored. New Projection equipment and new screens also were installed.
In the fall of 1990 four more screens were added to the theatre by building in the parking lot adjacent to the theatre, perserving the large, historic auditorium. The art deco style was carried into the new wing, and art deco lights were purchased from a theatre in Pennsylvania for the “new” auditoriums.
In 1998 an excellant HPS 4000 Dolby Digital Sound system was added and in 1999 new theatre seats were installed in the main auditorium.