Cinema Treasures Paramount Page

The website Cinema Treasures has a page dedicated to the Paramount Theater. The page and following comments are full of misinformation, But I found it interesting to read.
The picture to the right is what appears on the Paramount Page. (2002 maybe?)

Please click on the link below.


http://cinematreasures.org/theater/1261/

Hippodrome Springfield 3rd Anniversary

This video was produced in 2003 and features original construction photos and highlights from 2000 through 2003. The title says 2nd anniversary, but was actually the 3rd. this was produced for the anniversary party in December of 2003.
I didn't spend much time there in late 2003, I was busy building and opening Rain several blocks away.
The music is terrible. (I had nothing to do with it) But there is some great footage halfway through.
I assume the use of the Sinatra version of "Downtown" has to do with the fact that Downtown Springfield was a thriving Restaurant and Entertainment destination at that time, with the Hippodrome being it's centerpiece. In 2001 and 2002 The Hippodrome was The third largest tourist attraction in Western Mass. ( 400,000 annual visitors)
WARNING: Much of this video is graphic.

DECONSTRUCTING THE HIPPODROME

I took this picture of the Hippodrome's lighting truss from the Masslive website. I am sure I have hundreds of pictures of it on a CD somewhere, but it is much easier to copy and paste.


This week we started removing it from the Theater.  The truss system featured nine 1-ton motors, 260 feet of box truss, 400 amps of three phase power, and articulating hinges which gave the system the ability to bend in half and contort into an endless amount of configurations.

The system, with it's original lighting, special affects, and video was the ultimate dance floor light show.  The system was raised and lowered throughout the evening to accommodate the evening's programing. For example; The truss was raised while video was played on the movie screens, then lowered for a dance set, raised for the snow and wind machines to be used, then lowered to lift an aerialist  for a trapeze performance, etc. It was an expensive piece of equipment that gave the space versatility.

The first thing we had to do was lower the truss to the floor to remove all of the electrical wiring.

"Me" posing as an electrician

The truss is disassembled and moved. Chains were dropped from the ceiling. Now it's final, Although it hasn't been used as a nightclub since 2005, the Hippodrome (Paramount) is no longer usable as one.

Steve and I took advantage of the fact that Anthony was there with his camera and started posing for pictures by pointing at things that don't exist.

SOME BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS

We Purchased the Paramount Theater in August of 1999. We renovated through 2000 and opened the Hippodrome in December of 2000

                                                 Here are some Before and after Pictures

SAME VIEW

 BEFORE

AND AFTER

The old sign was removed in the fall of 2000

The new sign went up in December of 2000

                    THE NEXT TWO PHOTOS ARE THE VIP BOOTH BEFORE AND AFTER

ALL OF THE GOLD LEAFING WAS REPLACED AND PAINT BROUGHT BACK TO ORIGINAL

NEXT ARE SOME EVENT PHOTOS

MORE CONSTRUCTION AND INTERIOR SHOTS



HIPPODROME CROWD SHOTS

KID CUDI LAST OCTOBER

OLD TEEN NIGHT SHOT

White Elephant To Golden Goose

This article was originally posted in 2009 while the Hippodrome
was closed. I am reposting it now to serve as a reminder as to
how much of an impact this facility and Rain/Skyplex has had on the region.


The Paramount Theater was purchased in the summer of 1999. The Theater hadn't been opened for years, employed no one, and paid no taxes. We Made a huge investment, Saved a local landmark, employed over 150 people, and paid approximately $220,000 in back taxes to the city of Springfield. The Hippodrome opened in December of 2000 after a year of renovations.

We decided to look back over the last 9 years and see what the actual economic impact of our businesses has been for the City and the Region.

The first subject we researched was Police Details. We added up the amounts paid to the Springfield Police Department for Extra Duty Police at The Hippodrome and Rain/Skyplex. I think this makes us the largest private employer of extra duty police in the city. (Not including the gas and electric co.) Police Details $1,093,000 (Yes that is over 1 million dollars)

Next was the total amounts paid to the City of Springfield for Real Estate taxes, licensing, permits, and fees.
Total to City of Springfield for taxes,etc. $1,119,000
(over 1 million dollars again.)

Payroll wages are one of our largest expenses and all of our employees are local residents. This means that the wages we have paid go directly into the local economy.
Wages Paid (excluding owners) $5,600,000
(over 5.5 million)

We have employed plenty of local construction and repair people over the years. This includes, Painters, Plumbers, Carpenters, electricians, HVAC, etc.
Amount spent locally on construction, repairs, etc. $4,375,000

This is the total amount that Rain/Skyplex has directly spent into the local economy
$8,200,000

This is the total that The Hippodrome has directly pumped into the local economy
$15,252,000

Total for both spent directly into the local economy
$25,452,000

We tried to calculate the amount of money that our patrons (over 2 million people) have spent locally and what benefit it has had to the economy. This is a hard number to calculate, but we figure between, Hotel rooms (we know the number was over 500 room nights per year), Parking ( we know our patrons pay to park in local lots),Meal from local restaurants, Gas,Etc.
Benefit to local economy from customers visiting downtown
$20 to 40 Million dollars

Number of Patrons:
well over 2 million

Number of license violations in over 9 years:
0 (zero)

We were also responsible for booking all of the shows for the City Block Summer Concert Series at Stearns Sq. The Skyplex provides the Beer Concessions and bathrooms for the concert series along with the liability insurance for the shows. We didn't take the time to figure any of the economic benefit of our role in these shows, but from a public relations standpoint, this is the area's most anticipated yearly series of events and draws between 30 and 50 thousand people to Downtown Springfield every summer. I will be writing a post about this soon.

A Word About Bookings, Blogs, and Thanks

The Paramount finally re-opened in April. We are now booking shows and events daily. The dates are almost coming in too fast to keep track of. We are booking events from many sources, which promises a diverse mix of programing. The events that are being posted are only the events that are "On Sale", there are dozens more booked, but not yet announced. Even more dates are being held, waiting to be confirmed.
I will be announcing dates on this blog first, then on our website.


For the last few weeks it seems all I have been posting are ticket on sale dates for events, that is not the only function of this blog. I will be posting more "behind the scenes" info as time goes by and more shows take place.


I would appreciate any feedback from readers, Please feel free to email me with comments, reviews, ideas, opinions, etc, about the blog or Paramount Theater. The Email address attached to this blog is: Mikebar909@gmail.com


I would like to thank everyone for reading this blog and for your support and encouragement.

Hippodrome (Paramount's) First Week Back in Operation

Wednesday April 7th The Paramount hosted an evening of Boxing, featuring "The Massachusetts State Police Boxing Team". This was the first event at the Hippodrome since June 6th 2008.


The event was a benefit for The Springfield Girls Club. There were 10 fights and a good turnout.


Friday Night was a Latin concert featuring Tito El Bambino. The Night was a huge success. The Hippodrome, Over the last ten years, has been the best destination for Tropical Latin acts in The Northeast.


The next round of bookings will be announced soon and will include some Rock and Pop acts.

The Springfield Intruder and a "behind the scenes" tour of the Theater.

I recently gave a tour of the Paramount to Bill Dusty of the Springfield Intruder. I thought that some people may find it interesting to see parts of the theater that the public never sees. Below is a link to the story that Bill wrote about the tour and a link to the video that he made.



http://springfieldintruder.com/?p=3169

View From The Top

The Paramount has a 90 ft. "Boom" lift on the dance floor. The lift is being used to install the sprinkler system on the ceiling, which is 60 feet above the floor.

(Click on any of the pictures to enlarge)

Here is a view of the mural above the stage, taken from the same level as the mural. I was bout 15 feet away from it when I took this picture.

The last time we had this type of lift in the theater was in 2000 for the Hippodrome restoration. I have to confess that sometimes at night when all of the workmen go home, I like to take the lift out for a spin. This lift is made to be used indoors "only" and can fit through narrow doorways. That is why I think it sways so much. It takes some getting used to as the lift is rising and the shaking becomes more pronounced, the higher you go.

Above is a picture taken on the way up of the dome in the center of the ceiling.

Here is a view from above the mural. Not a great angle to see the painting, but a very different perspective on the whole theater from this high up.




This is a birds eye view of the Proscenium Arch.




This is the view looking back into the balcony and all of the scaffolding above it.
The dome is lit with red lights.
The batteries on my camera went dead after I snapped these pictures, unfortunately, I wasn't even all the way up to the ceiling yet.
In the next few days I will take the machine for another ride and get some better pictures.