Brooklyn's Once Opulent Paramount Theatre to Be Restored by Global Entertainment Giant

A phoenix rises at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue Extension and DeKalb Avenue: After a false start and a change of operators, the formerly magnificent but long-defunct Brooklyn Paramount Theatre in Fort Greene is being revamped by the world’s largest live entertainment company and will reopen in 2024 as a major live-act venue.

The Paramount, which debuted in 1928 and had multiple lives as a movie theater and music venue, was taken over in 1962 by Long Island University, its resplendent music hall converted to a gym, with the stage removed but its elaborate gilded latticework ceiling remaining, and upstairs offices used for academic purposes.

In 2015, the then-operator of Barclays Center, Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim, announced an ambitious $50 million plan to renovate the creaky Paramount and restore it as a performance venue, well after the gym had relocated. But that plan never fully launched, and ran aground after Prokhorov sold the Brooklyn Nets and the arena company.

Even the university’s own student newspaper, as of late 2021, wondered about the theater’s fate, while the school’s Paramount web page has not been updated.

Getting ready for 2024

Despite no official announcement or fanfare—other than a teaser video from Schimenti, the construction company working on the restoration and modernization—the entertainment giant Live Nation, which operates Brooklyn Bowl and Irving Plaza (among many others), is readying the theater at 385 Flatbush Avenue Extension, to be known as the LIU Brooklyn Paramount Theatre, for a reopening in the first or second quarter of 2024.

In a presentation last month to Community Board 2’s Health, Environment & Social Services Committee, Live Nation reps described the plans and programs. They gained unanimous support from the subcommittee, and later the full board, for the venue’s pending liquor license, serving indoors until 4 a.m.

The renovated Paramount, at least according to the images provided, will have a relatively restrained exterior appearance, compared to the version proposed in 2015, with a smaller marquee and no vertical banners.

The considerable original detail remaining on the walls and ceiling of the baroque-style theater and in its lavish columned lobby will be retained, renderings show, and a new box office will be created.

While the theater will mainly host musical events, it also will feature family shows, comedy, sporting events, special events, private programs for Long Island University, and community events.

Live Nation, which with Ticketmaster is part of Live Nation Entertainment, has a 25-year lease, according to the presentation, but the terms—and the renovation budget—haven’t been announced. (None of the principals responded to queries.)

While Long Island University didn’t comment by this publication’s deadline, in 2015 President Kim Cline said the return of the Paramount would bring “our commitment to the arts–and our role in the arts community–to an entirely new level,” solidifying “our role as a major cultural driver in Brooklyn.”

Live Nation’s presentation said the space could accommodate 1,200 seated and 2,600 total. As of 2015, the university said a flexible seating configuration would “accommodate primarily general admission-style setups.” Some 120 to 150 workers will be hired, many of them part-time.

So the Paramount, which sits over the DeKalb Avenue subway stop for the Q, R, and other lines, could thus compete with the larger—though more distant from the subway—Kings Theatre in Flatbush and even with some smaller Barclays Center events.

Making the case

At Community Board 2, lobbyist Michael Woloz explained that Live Nation had provided a tour for Community Board 2’s chair and district manager, and had met with stakeholders including Council Member Crystal Hudson and Borough President Antonio Reynoso, the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.

John Huff, Live Nation’s Northeast regional VP and the general manager of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, cited past Paramount performers such as Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Miles Davis—others included Alan Freed, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry —and said that Fitzgerald inspired the venue’s new Ella’s Lounge.

Restoration workers have been cleaning the accumulated “grit and grime” from the interior. The security check for attendees will take place in the entry lobby, while guests gathering before doors open will line up in front of the building, “but probably 40 feet from the sidewalk itself so there won’t be any impact there from our guests,” Huff said.

A second set of doors will be closed during performances to mitigate any escaping sound. “We did two sound studies in the design of this building,” Huff said, to ensure the sound wouldn’t impact Long Island University’s classrooms, “and we feel like that mitigation really helps on the outside as well.”

The structure is three stories, with limited box seating upstairs. The theater has ramps, rather than stairs.

Loading will occur on Hudson Avenue behind the Paramount, minimizing the impact on DeKalb Avenue, Huff said, while garbage bins will remain inside before pickup.

Security questions

All security guards will be Live Nation employees. Committee Chair Brandon Smith asked for details. “We try to staff one security guard to every 250 guests and sometimes we get down as low as one to 150,” Huff responded.

Regarding intoxicated customers, “our security will be the first line and then the NYPD will be the second,” Huff said. “Also on certain shows, we’ll have medical on site.” He noted that Brooklyn Hospital is virtually next door.

Regarding underage drinking, Huff said that DLS, which is Live Nation’s primary concession operator, provides wristbands to anyone 21 years or older

Committee response

Committee members were generally positive. Emily Anadu thanked Live Nation for outreach to the tenant associations at the nearby Whitman and Ingersoll housing projects, who might be seeking jobs. (That outreach was, as of Live Nation’s presentation, planned but not yet accomplished.)

Committee member Jeffrey Ryan, noting the applicant’s invocation of Black entertainers at the Paramount, asked about the role of minority investors. Huff said Live Nation is publicly traded. Ryan suggested that “Live Nation should be willing to think about contributing to the community in a large way.”

Anadu asked about the ownership of DLS, the liquor licensee, and was told it is a closely held company, and none of the principals are people of color. Chairman Smith suggested the applicants be mindful of those concerns.

What about the organ?

Another question mark involves what Long Island University calls “an incredible piece of theater history in our Wurlitzer 4/26 orchestral organ,” one of only two such models in operation, with the other at Radio City Music Hall.

“We’re preserving the space for [the organ] there as well,” Huff said, without indicating how and whether it might be used. That, presumably, will be up to Long Island University.

[Renderings from Live Nation via Brooklyn Community Board 2 unless noted otherwise]

Related Stories

• A History of Brooklyn’s Extravagant, Soon-to-Be-Restored Paramount Theatre
• Revamped Kings Theatre in Flatbush Sells to Ambassador Theater Chain
• The Opulent Splendor of Downtown Brooklyn’s Lost Fox Theatre

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