 The building in 1925 | |
 Interactive map of Paramount Theatre | |
| Former names | Metropolitan Theater |
|---|---|
| Address | 323 W.6th and 536 S.Hill Street Los Angeles |
| Coordinates | 34°02′51″N118°15′10″W / 34.04740°N 118.2529°W /34.04740; -118.2529 |
| Type | Movie palace |
| Capacity | 3600+ |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1921–1923 |
| Renovated | 1952 |
| Closed | 1960 |
| Demolished | 1962 |
| Years active | 1923–1960 |
| Architect | George Edwin Bergstrom William Lee Woollett |
Paramount Theatre, formerlyMetropolitan Theater orGrauman's Metropolitan Theater, also known asParamount Downtown, was amovie palace and office building located at 323 W.6th Street and 536 S.Hill Street, across the street fromPershing Square, in thehistoric core ofdowntown Los Angeles. It had an additional entrance connecting it to theBroadway Theater District and it was the largest movie theater in Los Angeles for many years.[1]
Downtown Los Angeles's Paramount Theatre opened as Grauman's Metropolitan Theatre on January 26, 1923. The building was financed by theHill Street Fireproof Building Company, designed byGeorge Edwin Bergstrom with the theater and building interior designed byWilliam Lee Woollett, all for impresarioSid Grauman,[2] known at the time for theMillion Dollar Theatre and best remembered today for his twoHollywood movie palaces: theChinese andEgyptian theaters.[3] The theater's first screening was thefilm premiere ofGloria Swanson'sMy American Wife, with the actress in attendance.Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanian Orchestra accompanied the film on stage, as did threevaudeville acts.[4]
Upon opening, Metropolitan Theater sat more than 3,600, making it the largest movie theater in Los Angeles for many years. The theater also featured anorchestra lift, one of the largest balconies ever built, the longestprojection throw in Los Angeles, and the theater was one of the first to beair conditioned in the United States.[2] The building itself featured two entrances, a main entrance on6th Street and a small entrance onHill. These entrances quickly proved inadequate, and so a third entrance was added onBroadway, connecting the theater to theBroadway Theater District.[1][5]
In 1924, Grauman sold all his downtown holdings toParamount Publix, who then employedFox West Coast Theaters to operate this theater.[1] In 1929, the theater was renamed Paramount Theatre, and was informally known as Paramount Downtown to distinguish it from the other Paramount Theatres in Los Angeles.[2]
In 1950,Cabart Theaters Corp took over the theater, and two years laterUnited Paramount Theatres took it over from them, after which they modernized the building with a newmarquee and updatedlobby.[4]
The theater closed in 1960 and the building was demolished in 1962. It was replaced by a parking lot, which itself was replaced by sixteen story tower in the early 1980s. The tower currently houses the International Jewelry Center.[4]
Metropolitan Annex | |
 The annex in 2014 | |
| Location | 551-555 S.Broadway,Los Angeles, California |
|---|---|
| Built | 1923 |
| Architect | Hal Pereira (remodel) |
| Part of | Broadway Theater and Commercial District (ID79000484) |
| Designated CP | May 9, 1979[5] |
Metropolitan Theatre originally featured two entrances but they quickly proved inadequate and so a third entrance was added onBroadway. This entrance, located in the Metropolitan Annex at 551-555 S.Broadway, connected the theater to theBroadway Theater District.[1][5]
Metropolitan Annex was built ofbrick withterra cotta detailing in 1923, and was remodeled byHal Pereira in 1941.[2] It was not demolished with the rest of the building in 1962, and was instead converted to a commercial/office building with ground floor retail. It was also listed as acontributing property in theBroadway Theater and Commercial District when the district was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1979.[5][6][7]
The Metropolitan Annex was sold for $700,000 in 1999.[8] It is all that remains of Paramount Theatre today.[2][4]