Emerson College's Paramount Center

[AmericanFolkLegend]

Re: BRA approves Emerson College's Paramount Center

I went to a presentation in the theater a couple months ago and I don't recall any of the walls being red. Seems like the type of thing I would have noticed . . .

 

[tobyjug]

Re: BRA approves Emerson College's Paramount Center

Stage version of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"?

 

[statler]

Re: BRA approves Emerson College's Paramount Center

^^ That's a musical, right?

 

[Ron Newman]

Re: BRA approves Emerson College's Paramount Center

The Paramount has a large number of public events, some free and some ticketed, for Opening Weekend, September 23-26.

The Screening Room will show Shanghai Express, which was the Paramount's opening film in 1932, as well as When the City Sleeps, En Attendant Godard, The Sound of Music, and a program of Warner Brothers Vitaphone shorts.

 

[briv]

Re: BRA approves Emerson College's Paramount Center

I stopped by the open house today. Great to finally see this place back to life again.

The main theater:

2nd Floor Black Box Theate/Foyerr:

This is the wall of the Opera House

4th Floor Screening Room/Foyer:

The windows in the foyer of the screening room and the black box theater have these shades that are dark when you stand directly in front of them, but let light in at an angle. Pretty Cool.

The open house is running through the weekend. If you're in the area, I highly recommend stopping in.

 

[Ron Newman]

The mural map showing all the old theatres unfortunately has the Shubert where the Wilbur belongs, and vice versa. I don't know if they plan to fix this.

I second the recommendation. If you didn't go yesterday or today, visit tomorrow! (Not Sunday -- there are no free public events that day.) Take the time to look at all the wall exhibits, too.

 

[Ron Newman]

Re: BRA approves Emerson College's Paramount Center

I went to a presentation in the [black box] theater a couple months ago and I don't recall any of the walls being red. Seems like the type of thing I would have noticed . . .

Nor did I see anything red in there yesterday afternoon. Not the wall, and not the chairs either. Unless you count the exposed red-brick wall, but that's a very dull red, not bright like the picture shown here earlier.

 

[Ron Newman]

Seating capacity, from some literature I picked up yesterday:

Mainstage: 590 seats -- 326 at orchestra level, 264 in balcony. Orchestra pit accommodates 41 musicians
Black Box - 150 seats
Bright Family Screening Room (movies) - 170 seats

 

[JohnAKeith]

The theater looks simply amazing.

Someone, somewhere, sometime needs to write a long article about how cities were helped being saved by hospitals and universities, not upper class condo buyers and preservationists.

(Well, I guess without preservationists we probably wouldn't have the Paramount any more, but you get my point ...)

 

[Ron Newman]

And I have to give Mayor Menino some credit here. He insisted that the Three Theatres (Paramount, Opera House, Modern) be saved even when there appeared to be little hope for any of them.

We should all thank appropriate deities that Emerson at the last minute decided not to move to Lawrence in 1989.

 

[Arborway]

Jackie Liebergott has done wonders for the school. I have my quibbles with some individual decisions.

(E.x: The Paramount Center's film studio is well-outfitted, but very small. The administration has never really shown much interest in this matter, and quite a lot of people are unhappy. It's a showpiece for tours, but not a very functional space.)

However she has shown remarkable leadership. Her vision of an urban, "vertical campus" is fantastic. Every Emerson building that can physically facilitate street-level interaction has something to offer to the general public. Even if The Gypsy Bar falls into that category...

It's a campus that recognizes and appreciates the fact that it's in the middle of a vibrant city. It doesn't try to be an island unto itself. The idea is you can pass through Emerson's campus and not feel like you're in the middle of a college campus. Not to knock either school, but walking around Bolyston and Tremont doesn't feel like going through even the periphery of BC or BU - and that's really the whole point.

Mark my words though, her successor Dr. Pelton had better not squeeze Sweetwater out of its digs now that the school owns the building. That would likely trigger a campus uprising.

 

[TomOfBoston]

I remember hearing about Emerson's plans to relocate to Lawrence in the late 1980's. I thought it was deserving of the Dumbass Idea of the Year award at the time. Fortunately, the plans never materialied.

 

[found5dollar]

Re: BRA approves Emerson College's Paramount Center

Ok my concerns about the orange in the theater apear to be unfounded after seeign these pics.

those walls look pretty red to me, but no where near as red as the renderings showed they would be.

I guess it all comes down to how they are uing the space.

i realy need to get over there and see for myself.

 

[Arborway]

Re: BRA approves Emerson College's Paramount Center

i realy need to get over there and see for myself.

You had better hurry. You won't be able to get anywhere near the classrooms after the 26th. Emerson keeps it locked down pretty tightly.

 

[Ron Newman]

The open house didn't include the classrooms - just the three performance spaces and their lobbies. All three performance spaces will have plenty of public events (though most if not all will require paid tickets).

 

[kz1000ps]

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Not that I think it would be wise to emulate Times Sq but it would certainly bring some life to that section of Washington St to have some buildings with large lighted ads on them if only for the purpose of making it seem more alive. From, say, Winter St south to Kneeland you could really do a lot to change the area from some backwater into the central entertainment spine it sued to be. Obviously the parking lot at Hayward Pl needs to go but with that there should be some sort of zoning which allows for large lighted ads. It isn't like there are too many people living there... yet (by this I mean you could only do such a thing before people move there).

 

[TomOfBoston]

Is the building to the right of the Opera House being renovated? the top floor windows look boarded up.

 

[briv]

Not that I think it would be wise to emulate Times Sq but it would certainly bring some life to that section of Washington St to have some buildings with large lighted ads on them if only for the purpose of making it seem more alive. From, say, Winter St south to Kneeland you could really do a lot to change the area from some backwater into the central entertainment spine it sued to be. Obviously the parking lot at Hayward Pl needs to go but with that there should be some sort of zoning which allows for large lighted ads. It isn't like there are too many people living there... yet (by this I mean you could only do such a thing before people move there).

You mean something like this?

 

[Suffolk 83]

That place looks like fun where is it?