Paramount Theatre

204 E. Baltimore Street,
Jackson, TN 38301

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Malco Theatres Inc., Paramount Pictures Inc.

Functions: Office Space

Previous Names: Marlow Theatre, State Theatre

Nearby Theaters

Paramount Theater / Malco Theater Jackson TN June 1996

The Marlow Theatre was opened in May 1902. It was renamed State Theatre in the 1930’s and on January 10, 1951 it was renamed Paramount Theatre.

Contributed by Jack Coursey

Recent comments (view all 15 comments)

Patsy
Patsy on February 6, 2008 at 4:12 pm

Is there an old theatre operating today in downtown Jackson?

kpdennis
kpdennis on April 26, 2009 at 8:51 pm

Wow, that night shot of the Paramount makes it look alive! Which is not how it looked in 1996:
View link

And here’s the Paramount and its neighbor, the Malco:
View link

Does anyone know what’s become of these two venues?

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on February 1, 2010 at 5:39 am

This Paramount Theatre was a 1950-51 rebuild of the former State Theatre. The former Paramount Theatre a few doors up the street was renamed the Malco Theatre shortly before the new Paramount opened.

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on May 6, 2011 at 2:12 pm

Nice shot of both theatres Kevin Dennis.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on May 6, 2011 at 3:51 pm

The marquee should have been used better.something that nice needs more than a title.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on May 6, 2011 at 5:31 pm

Aerial views show that this entire block is now a parking lot. The Paramount has been demolished, as comments above note.

The listed seating capacity of 2,600 for this house must be wrong. From the photos of the theater it’s clear that this building couldn’t have held that many seats— probably not even half that number.

The various photos showing the side wall of the Paramount reveal that the building was quite old. It dated from no later than the early 20th century. This genealogy page refers to “The Old Marlowe Theater, that is now the State Theater….” The Marlowe Theatre was listed in the the 1904-1905 edition of Julius Cahn’s guide as a 1,050-seat, ground-floor house. This photo of the Marlowe’s auditorium (dated 1934 by the New York Public Library) makes an interesting comparison with the Paramount’s remodeled auditorium (that’s the same photo Chuck linked to above.) The interior was obviously gutted, either when it was remodeled as the Paramount or earlier, when it was renamed the State.

ceciliaf
ceciliaf on April 22, 2017 at 8:27 pm

My heart aches to see the word demolished on this listing but it is, sadly, true. My great grandparents owned the theater but ended up renting it to a competitor under a 100 year lease. I went online tonight to look for photos in hopes that Google Images might have some I could use in my office. The only reference to the theater I found is this page.

I will do some digging and see if I can find anything of value to share here.

rivest266
rivest266 on May 6, 2017 at 12:55 pm

January 10th, 1951 grand reopening ad in the photo section.

Broan
Broan on August 25, 2021 at 5:46 am

The Marlowe Theatre opened May 1902. It was named for famed Shakespearean actress Julia Marlowe. One of many small town opera houses developed by George H. Johnston.

Updated NYPL link: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-52da-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

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