Paramount Theatre
505-507 Cherry Street,
Helena,
AR
72342
505-507 Cherry Street,
Helena,
AR
72342
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Joe,
Thank you for this info. I have seen photos of the Paramount and the Pastime Theatres and wondered where they once stood. I uploaded the photo of the Paramount and have one of the Pastime. These photos were taken from a local Helena historical photo book.
For some reason, your photo of the building that was once the Paramount vanished when I uploaded this photo. I will take a photo of the building as it now exists and upload it.
Do you know the address where the Pastime once stood?
The Paramount has not been demolished. It was in the building with the beige brick front and a bit of Spanish Colonial Revival detailing, next to the grassy lot on the corner of Righter Street. It is occupied by a facility of Arkansas Rehabilitation Services.
A pamphlet with information about historic buildings in Helena (PDF here) says that the Paramount Theatre opened ca. 1920 as the Jewell Theatre and was originally operated by Saenger Amusements. The Jewel Theatre (with one “l”) was mentioned in the July 13, 1918, issue of Exhibitors Herald and Motography on a list of houses served by the United Picture Theatres of American booking syndicate.
The January 15, 1924, issue of The Film Daily reported that the Jewel Theatre in Helena was being remodeled. The name was changed to Paramount sometime between then and 1931, when the May 20 issue of The Film Daily reported that the Paramount Theatre in Helena, Arkansas, had been sold to Malco Theatre by Publix. An earlier issue had said that Publix was selling both the Paramount and the Pastime Theatres in Helena.