Paramount Theater - Abilene, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 32° 27.122 W 099° 44.047
14S E 430999 N 3590779
Built in 1929 by philanthropist H.O. Wooten. Designed by architect David Castle. The exterior is Spanish Colonial Revival and baroque style.
Waymark Code: WMZQAY
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 12/21/2018
Views: 2
NRHP Nomination Form"The large, two-story theater is rectangular in plan and measures 75 by 104 ft., with a height of 75 ft. Today the edifice is still structurally sound. Its walls are constructed of reinforced concrete and measure 13 in. in thickness. Stucco covers them on the interior, while brick with decoratively carved stone is the outside facing. The theater has a flat roof and contains no windows. The exterior has three openings which include the front entrance, an additional front door, and a fire exit in the rear. The long axis of the theater is oriented east-west, with the main entrance facing east onto Cypress Street.
The relative simplicity and balanced composition of the east facade sets the exterior design apart somewhat from the eclectic style of the interior, which is more elaborate and decorative. The most impressive decorative element of the facade is a series of alternating rectangular plaques of polychrome terra cotta, located at the roof edge. These eight plaques show stylized and angular volute patterns surrounding either circular or crested emblems. The plaques are separated from each other by coursed pilasters with finialed capitals. This kind of roof silhouette which is created by the regular alternation of the finials with the swan's-neck pediments of the plaques, is reminiscent both of early renaissance cresting and of the decorative Spanish baroque cartouches which enclose the royal arms.
Built in 1929 for the purpose of showing first-run movies and stage shows, the Paramount Theater survived the Great Depression and has remained a significant architectural and historical landmark in downtown Abilene for over fifty years.
After fifty years of operation as a movie house, the Paramount was sold by the Wooten family to the Wooten Investment Co., in October 1979. The building was afterwards leased to the Paramount Opry of Abilene, Inc. After other unsuccessful business ventures, the Paramount was finally purchased by the Abilene Preservation League on December 31, 1980. The league plans to maintain and preserve the building as one of the older and more intact examples of the elaborate West-Texas movie palaces of the 1920s."