The Paramount Theatre had a long and colorful history before it was turned into a dismal gray parking lot.

After it opened in 1918, the theater followed the successes of the movie biz. It started off showing silent films, then was later renovated for the newly introduced “talkies,” which is where it made its big bucks.

But, slowly, the theater’s 1,800 seats became less and less filled. And in 1976, its final movie, “Let’s Do It Again” (starring Bill Cosby) rolled its credits, and the show was over.

Since then, the building juggled several different renovation initiatives— meanwhile, its insides crumbled. Last summer, the city of Youngstown demolished the building and converted the space into a city hall parking lot.

Before it was torn down, though, photographer Matt Lambros took some photos of the Paramount Theatre and posted them to his website After the Final Curtain.

He’s agree to let us share them on our website.

This article appears in Feb 12-18, 2014.

Anne Nickoloff, a blogging intern, helps produce online content for Scene Magazine. She studies English and Psychology at Case Western Reserve University, and is involved with campus media. In her free time, Anne enjoys skiing, knitting, and exploring Cleveland.

3 replies on “11 Photos of Youngstown’s Old Paramount Theatre”

  1. These old buildings have a special – architectural – style……and though preservationists often have fine ideas, nothing can turn back the clock when things begin to rot away from the inside.

  3. Glad that they didn’t let the building sit there for another 50 years and just rot away into nothing. I’ve love to see pictures of this place from it’s heyday.

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