Party at the Paramount Theatre

Friday night is usually our date night. But this week Jim was sweet and didn't mind that I went with three friends to the Paramount theater. We went to dinner at a cute little place called The Crepevine. Excellent!

We saw an old movie from 1939 called The Women. It is full of vintage Hollywood bombshells and not a single male graced the screen! It was far more interesting than Lawrence of Arabia that had men only. The only thing that kept me awake in that one was the cute guy sitting next to me on my first fancy movie date! But that is a totally different movie story for another time! The newsreel from the mid 60's and the Warren Brothers cartoon were pretty interesting Friday night. It was truly a different world in those days.


Oakland's Paramount Theatre is one of the finest remaining examples of Art Deco design in the United States. It was completed in late 1931. After its initial brief blaze of "movie palace" glory in the 1930's, this remarkable auditorium suffered three decades of neglect and decline until its rescue by the Oakland Symphony, the City of Oakland and numerous private donors. A painstaking and authentic restoration was completed in 1973 .

The Paramount Theatre became a California Registered Historic Landmark in 1976, and on May 5, 1977, was declared a National Historic Landmark.

Restored to its original splendor, meticulously maintained, and fully upgraded to modern technical standards, the Paramount now serves all the arts. The Paramount Theatre is the home of the Oakland East Bay Symphony and, as one of the San Francisco Bay Area's premiere performing arts facilities, hosts a year-round schedule of popular music concerts, variety shows, theatre, and - of course - movies.

It is beautiful building but I do wonder what
the designer was "on" when they chose this
carpet and upholstery fabric. Sometimes I think
they pick something outlandish and call it 'designer' just
to be funny and see if people fall for it??
Not buyin' it here!

Can you say...Art Deco? This place is dripping in

ornate pattern and glitz. It is delicious to the eye
albeit a little over the top.
At least they didn't have to worry about
hanging art pieces ~not a single spot
for your eye to rest in the entire place.
"Less is more" is definitely not a theme here!

Before the movie the organ is played and
it is really fun and nostalgic.
They also have some big wheel spins with
free raffle tickets with dinner for 2 from local
dining establishments as prizes.

The Lobby sans the huge crowd that was there.

A great time was had by all. It is so wonderful
to be out with friends doing fun things. We are
so blessed to live in a place that is so
culturally rich at every turn.