Paramount
Building, New York
Architect
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Rapp &Rapp
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Date
Built
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1926- 27
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Location
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1493-1501
Broadway, Borough of Manhattan
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Description
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The I.andrnarks
Preservation Commission website describes the
Paramount Building as an exemplary example of,
".... the innovative setback skyscraper
type of the 1920s, while the ornamental
details are classically inspired, a
hallmark of Rapp & Rapp's style, the
striking silhouette of the upper stories
is enhanced by four giant clock faces,
which were conceived to create a memorable
image of the the Paramount trademark in
the minds of moviegoers, and a crowning
glass globe. The Paramount Building, which
once housed the Paramount Theater, stands
as as an important reminder of Times
Square's boom in the 1920s during the
early years of the motion picture
industry."
The building's Wikipedia website adds that, "....
Paramount Pictures, one of the major
American motion picture companies in the
1920s, built its headquarters at the 1501
Broadway location along with a cinematic
theatre. Construction lasted a year
between 1926–1927 costing $13.5 million.
At the time of its completion, it was the
tallest building in Times Square, and once
sported an observation deck."
".... The Rapp
brothers created a thirty-three story
office tower which was influenced by
the Art Deco style, and a theatre in
the palatial Neo-Renaissance style
behind it. In 1922, Paramount
Pictures had purchased the Putnam
Building. Construction of the building
began on November 1925. The Paramount
Theatre opened on November 19,
1926. With the spin-off of the
theater units in 1950 as United
Paramount Theatre, Inc. the building
became the UPT's headquarters being
leased along with the theater from
Paramount Pictures. The building
continued as American
Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres's
headquarters after UPT's merger with
ABC. The theater closed in 1964 under
UPT ownership only to be reopened
later that year under new ownership,
while ABC moved to the ABC Building at
1330 Avenue of the Americas in 1965.
The theater was dismantled in 1967."
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