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The Paramount Theatre opened on April 19, 1930, on Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts. With a seating capacity of over 2,000, it was one of the first designed exclusively for the “talkies.” It was advertised as “an acre of seats in a palace of splendor.”
In 1930, Paramount Pictures had almost 2,000 screens nationwide and was primarily focused on expanding its business in the Northeast region. At that time, the company had a theater division named the Paramount-Publix Theatres Corporation. It was a common practice in the 1920s and 1930s for movie studios to operate their own theaters, which led to the development of multiple movie houses within a single town or area.
A parade to celebrate the occasion was organized in the downtown business district with Mayor George J. Bates leading the way. The guests of the new theater were welcomed with floral displays in the lobby while vocalist Marguerite Porter serenaded the crowd. This event was especially significant for the residents of Lynn, who were eagerly anticipating the opening of their own Paramount Theatre on Union Street in June.
The Paramount Theatre received high praise for its extravagant decorations. According to Cinema Treasurers, the space was richly ornamented with gold trim accents, following the Rococo style. The walls boasted illuminated murals in the style of French artist Jean-Antoine Watteau, and the theater had lush velvet curtains that separated different spaces within it.
The theater showcased an 85-foot projection screen for movies and a stage for live performances, where iconic artists, including Alfred Hitchcock, the Ted Lewis Orchestra, and Louis Armstrong, are said to have performed.
The Paramount Theatre featured one of just nine Wurlitzer organs made specifically for accompanying silent films, which would rise out of the orchestra pit on command. According to the Salem News, “It became obsolete, however, even before the Salem Paramount opened because "talkies" came along while the theater was still under construction. But because the Paramount and Wurlitzer already had a signed contract for the organ, it was finished and installed anyway in the plush Essex Street movie house.” Instead of being played to accompany films, the organ entertained moviegoers between double features and before showtimes.
During the Great Depression, cinemas in Salem faced significant difficulties, which were further exacerbated by the increasing popularity of television. Paramount-Publix declared bankruptcy in 1935 but reorganized as United Paramount Theatres. However, they were soon impacted by new anti-trust laws that deemed studios distributing their films to their theaters as monopolies. As a result, studios were required to sell off their theater divisions.
In 1971, during Salem’s Urban Renewal period, the Paramount Theatre was demolished and replaced by the East India Mall, now known as the Witch City Mall. According to a 2011 article in the Salem News, “When the Paramount was torn down, the organ was sold to a pizza shop in Seattle, where it stayed until recently when it was sold to a man in Washington state, where it now sits in a barn.”
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