Brooklyn Paramount Theater

Brooklyn Paramount is a historic entertainment venue in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City, located at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues. Paramount Pictures opened the building in 1928 as a large movie palace and commissioned the Chicago architectural firm Rapp and Rapp, also associated with other Paramount theaters, to design it. The auditorium was conceived in an ornate rococo style, with approximately 4,084 burgundy-velvet seats, a cloud-painted ceiling, a large stage curtain embroidered with pheasants, chandeliers, and decorative fountains in the lobby. Its architectural character and surviving ornamental details later became central to efforts to restore the building as a performing-arts venue. Although film exhibition was its original purpose, the Brooklyn Paramount quickly developed an important role as a live-entertainment site. During the 1930s it hosted jazz and popular music performers, including Duke Ellington, who appeared there in 1931, as well as artists associated with the period's big-band and vocal traditions. Russ Columbo became one of the venue's most prominent early stars, with his performances connected to the popular “Battle of the Baritones” promotions that compared his appeal with that of Bing Crosby at Paramount theaters. The stage also became associated with Jewish and Yiddish music; reference material identifies Leo Fuld's 1943 appearance as an important milestone for that repertoire in the venue. The theater's musical profile expanded in the 1950s. Promoter Alan Freed presented rock-and-roll shows featuring performers such as Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, while Buddy Holly appeared at the theater in September 1957. After Freed's career was damaged by the payola scandal, television host Clay Cole and promoter Sid Bernstein continued the tradition of large holiday music programs. Clay Cole's Christmas Show assembled a broad roster of pop, rhythm-and-blues, soul, and rock performers and became an attendance success. The final live rock-and-roll stage production identified in the reference material was Clay Cole's Easter Parade of Stars, headlined by Jackie Wilson. Long Island University acquired the structure around 1960 and converted the auditorium for institutional and athletic use in 1962. The former theater became the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Athletic Center and was later known as Metcalfe Hall. It served as the home court for LIU's Blackbirds basketball program and hosted the Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament on three occasions through 2005. The building was also used for other sporting activities, including Gotham Girls Roller Derby events and games involving the Brooklyn Kings of the United States Basketball League. Its Wurlitzer organ, Opus 1984, a four-manual, 26-rank instrument with 1,838 pipes, remained associated with the building and continued to be used at university sporting events. LIU announced in 2015 that it had granted a 49-year lease to a company controlled by Bruce Ratner and Mikhail Prokhorov, then associated with Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets. The proposed project sought to restore the auditorium for live events while retaining significant historic features, including the Wurlitzer organ. The renovation, designed with involvement from Hugh Hardy's architectural practice, was initially expected to cost about $50 million and to finish around 2019, but the schedule slipped and the project was delayed in 2020. Live Nation Entertainment took over development in 2023 and announced a 2024 opening timetable. The venue held its first performance on March 27, 2024, hosted by Damian Marley and Stephen Marley. Brooklyn Paramount therefore returned to entertainment use after its long period as a university sports facility, combining historic theater architecture with contemporary concert programming.

Brooklyn Paramount opened in 1928 in Downtown Brooklyn as a movie palace built by Paramount Pictures. The studio selected Rapp and Rapp, a prominent Chicago theater-design firm, to create an ornate auditorium that complemented Paramount's theatrical presentation of films. The building had approximately 4,084 seats, burgundy velvet upholstery, a ceiling decorated with clouds, an expansive stage curtain embroidered with pheasants, and richly ornamented public spaces featuring chandeliers and fountains. The design made the venue one of Brooklyn's significant interwar theaters and established a visual identity that later restoration projects sought to retain. The venue was never limited to cinema. It became a major location for music and variety entertainment, particularly during the development of modern American popular music. Duke Ellington appeared there in 1931, and jazz performers including Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Miles Davis are associated with the theater's early programming. Russ Columbo was another important early draw. His highly publicized appearances formed part of promotional contests that compared the popularity of Columbo and Bing Crosby at different Paramount venues. The theater also presented Yiddish music; reference material identifies singer Leo Fuld's 1943 appearance as an early milestone for that tradition at the Brooklyn site. By the 1950s, the Paramount had become an important stop for emerging rock and roll. Alan Freed promoted shows featuring Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, and Buddy Holly appeared in September 1957. After the payola scandal curtailed Freed's role in the music business, Clay Cole and Sid Bernstein continued the theater's holiday concert tradition. Clay Cole's Christmas Show presented a large multi-artist bill spanning rhythm and blues, pop, soul, and rock. The final live rock-and-roll stage show cited in the reference material was Clay Cole's Easter Parade of Stars, led by Jackie Wilson. The building's original entertainment era ended as its ownership and use changed. Long Island University acquired the structure around 1960 and adapted it in 1962 as a gymnasium for its Brooklyn campus. The former theater became the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Athletic Center and was subsequently called Metcalfe Hall. It housed LIU's Blackbirds basketball team and hosted three Northeast Conference men's basketball tournaments before the university's basketball program moved to a newer athletic complex in 2005. Later uses included occasional Gotham Girls Roller Derby bouts and games by the Brooklyn Kings of the now-defunct United States Basketball League. The Wurlitzer organ installed at the theater, Opus 1984, remained an important surviving feature and continued to be used for university sporting events. LIU's 2015 announcement of a 49-year lease marked the beginning of a renewed effort to reactivate the building as a performance venue. The proposed development was associated with a company controlled by Bruce Ratner and Mikhail Prokhorov, and the renovation was planned with Hugh Hardy's firm. The project was expected to cost approximately $50 million, preserve original Rapp and Rapp details and retain the Wurlitzer organ. Completion projections moved beyond the initially anticipated 2019 date, and the project was delayed by 2020. In July 2023, Live Nation Entertainment was announced as the developer taking over the project. The venue was scheduled to reopen in the first or second quarter of 2024. Its first post-restoration performance took place on March 27, 2024, with Damian Marley and Stephen Marley. The reopening restored Brooklyn Paramount's role as a live entertainment venue while preserving its layered history as a movie palace, concert theater, university gymnasium, and architectural landmark.

1. 2024Venue reopens for live performance

   The first performance after restoration was held on March 27, hosted by Damian Marley and Stephen Marley.

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2. 2023Live Nation assumes development

   Live Nation Entertainment took over development and set a 2024 reopening target.

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3. 2015Long-term lease announced for venue restoration

   LIU announced a 49-year lease and plans to restore the building for live entertainment.

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4. 2005LIU basketball leaves the former Paramount

   The LIU Blackbirds basketball program moved to a newer athletic facility, reducing the former theater's regular sports role.

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5. 1962The theater becomes a university gymnasium

   The auditorium was converted into the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Athletic Center for LIU athletics.

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6. 1960Long Island University acquires the structure

   LIU acquired the former movie theater for use as part of its Brooklyn campus.

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7. 1957Buddy Holly performs at the Paramount

   Buddy Holly appeared at the venue in September during its prominent rock-and-roll period.

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8. 1943Yiddish music is presented on the stage

   Reference material identifies Leo Fuld's performance as an important early presentation of Yiddish music at the theater.

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9. 1931Duke Ellington appears at the venue

   Duke Ellington's appearance helped establish the theater as a significant Brooklyn music venue as well as a cinema.

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10. 1928Brooklyn Paramount opens

    Paramount Pictures opened the Rapp and Rapp-designed movie palace in Downtown Brooklyn with an auditorium seating approximately 4,084 people.

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A landmark Brooklyn entertainment venue positioned around historic architecture, cultural memory, and live music. Its identity spans the Paramount movie-palace era, the building's long association with Long Island University athletics, and its post-renovation role as a modern concert and performing-arts venue.

• Movie-palace auditoriumCinema1928

  The original 1928 offering was a large Paramount Pictures movie palace with approximately 4,084 seats. Its ornate rococo interior, cloud-painted ceiling, embroidered stage curtain, chandeliers, and decorative lobby features made the cinema itself part of the audience experience.

• Live music and variety showsLive entertainment1931

  Brooklyn Paramount hosted jazz, blues, popular music, rock and roll, and multi-artist holiday programs. Performers associated with its stage include Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and Jackie Wilson.

• University athletics facilitySports venue1962

  From 1962, the former theater functioned as the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Athletic Center and later Metcalfe Hall. It served LIU basketball and hosted conference tournament games, along with other sporting events, until the main basketball program moved elsewhere.

• Restored Brooklyn Paramount live venuePerforming arts venue2024

  Following a delayed restoration, the building returned to live-event use in 2024. The redevelopment sought to combine modern concert operations with preservation of significant historic features, including original architectural details and the Wurlitzer organ.

• 2009Rock-and-roll history seminar

  Brooklyn, United States

  LIU professor Michael Hittman organized an all-day, one-credit seminar at the Brooklyn campus library examining the connections between rock and roll and the historic Paramount. Clay Cole served as keynote speaker and participated in panel discussions.

  Outcome. The program concluded with a 90-minute doo-wop show, using education and performance to preserve the venue's cultural history.

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• 1950Clay Cole holiday concert tradition

  United States

  After Alan Freed's involvement ended, Clay Cole and Sid Bernstein continued the theater's large holiday music-show format. The programs used broad multi-artist bills to connect the venue with contemporary pop, rhythm and blues, soul, and rock audiences.

  Outcome. Clay Cole's Christmas Show was reported to have surpassed previous attendance records, and the format continued through the final live rock-and-roll stage production, Clay Cole's Easter Parade of Stars.

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• 2023Transfer development to Live NationStrategy

  The restoration project had experienced delays after earlier plans targeted completion around 2019.

  What changed. Live Nation Entertainment assumed development responsibility and scheduled the venue for a 2024 reopening.

  Aftermath. The building returned to live performance use in March 2024.

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• 2015Lease the building for conversion back to live entertainmentStrategy

  With LIU basketball moving to a newer facility and the former theater no longer serving as the program's principal home, the building became a candidate for renewed cultural use.

  What changed. LIU announced a 49-year lease involving a company controlled by Bruce Ratner and Mikhail Prokhorov, with plans for an extensive restoration overseen by Hugh Hardy's firm.

  Aftermath. The project was delayed beyond its initial target and was later taken over by Live Nation for development.

  Proposed renovation cost. (2015 proposal)

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• 1962Convert the theater into a university athletic facilityStrategy

  After acquiring the building, Long Island University repurposed the former movie palace as part of its Brooklyn campus rather than continuing it primarily as a cinema and concert theater.

  What changed. The auditorium was adapted into a gymnasium and renamed the Arnold and Marie Schwartz Athletic Center, later becoming known as Metcalfe Hall.

  Aftermath. The building hosted LIU basketball and other sports for decades, while its historic theatrical identity remained embedded in the surviving architecture and organ.

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• 2024Damian and Stephen Marley host the first performance after reopening

  The restored venue held its first performance on March 27, 2024, hosted by Damian Marley and Stephen Marley.

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• 2023Live Nation takes over Brooklyn Paramount development

  Live Nation Entertainment was announced as the new developer of the venue project, with an opening targeted for the first or second quarter of 2024.

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• 2020Brooklyn Paramount renovation schedule slips

  The planned conversion of the former university athletic facility back into a performing-arts venue was reported as delayed after earlier projections targeted completion around 2019.

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• 2015Long Island University announces a long-term lease and proposed restoration of the Brooklyn Paramount

  LIU announced a 49-year lease involving a company controlled by Bruce Ratner and Mikhail Prokhorov. The plan called for a major renovation to return the former theater to live entertainment while preserving historic architectural details and the Wurlitzer organ.

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1. Brooklyn Paramount
2. LIU athletics page for the Schwartz Center