MA Casino Developments

It's is disturbing that the blade sign is identical. It would would be nice to think the Boston one was a one of a kind. Alas...
 
Google Street View shows the vertical sign as saying 'HIPPODROME' (the theatre's most recent name, apparently) and looking pretty different from Boston's.

However, Google's photos are from September 2009. The sign may have changed since then, as there is an ongoing restoration project.

HIPPODROME has one more letter than PARAMOUNT, so I wonder how they shoehorned that in.
 
So it's possibly a photoshop by the render artist?
 
The entire image is rendered. None of that scene is a photograph. The render artist photoshopped the DTX sign on the building. A major agenda of renderings is to make areas look nicer than they actually are by incorporating familiar elements that we (as a society) like and can recognize.
 
statler said:
So it's possibly a photoshop by the render artist?
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It's not. Found this on Flickr from 1971.

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A poster in the comment section said it was converted to HIPPODROME in 1991 but will be converted back to PARAMOUNT.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63vwdriver/4230655785/
 
Ah, so they used the Boston sign as a stand in. Makes sense.
 
Here's the news article on the possible conversion

Paramount Theater block in Springfield proposed for $36 million makeover
Published: Saturday, August 04, 2012, 11:20 PM
Updated: Sunday, August 05, 2012, 12:47 AM
By Peter Goonan, The Republican

SPRINGFIELD – The owner of the Paramount Theater block on Main Street has proposed an estimated $36 million historic renovation project aimed at luring big stage shows, and promoting downtown revitalization and jobs.

The New England Farm Workers Council, which bought the Paramount building, known as the Massasoit Block in March 2011 for $1.7 million, plans to restore the theater, including the return of 2,300 seats and an expanded stage, said Heriberto Flores, executive director of the Farm Workers Council.

The block is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Besides the theater portion, built in 1929, the majority of the building comprises the 1843 Massasoit House, Springfield’s premiere hotel in the 19th century and a stop on the Underground Railroad.

The council will primarily rely on private financing for the project, and will apply for state and federal historic tax credits, new market tax credits, and federal loan funds, Flores said.
“I feel very positive about this project, and Springfield,” Flores said. “We want to bring the entire building up to 2012 standards, but still need to maintain the historic perspective and the facade.”

The private, nonprofit Farm Workers Council has purchased properties in that downtown block, as well as properties in the North End and in Holyoke, to serve its own needs and as part of its commitment to serve the community, and promote jobs and economic development, Flores said.

The goal is to begin the renovation project in the spring, Flores said. The Paramount, prior to being purchased by the Farm Workers Council, was operated as a nightclub known as the Hippodrome.

Two vacant restaurants on the first floor of the block will be leased including Sitar, set to return in September, Flores said. The upper floors will be part of the major renovation project, and are expected to include space leased to entertainment-related businesses, he said.

The Springfield Historical Commission voted unanimously last month to “enthusiastically support” the rehabilitation project and the pending application for historic tax credits, said Ralph Slate, commission chairman. The state application is due by Aug. 31.
“The project for the Paramount sounds very exciting,” Slate said. “The vision is to bring back the Paramount Theater, expanding the stage for better acts. It’s historic preservation.”

Oftentimes, a developer will buy an older building with the intent of tearing it down for parking or a new building, Slate said. With the Farm Workers Council, the aim is historic preservation of the Paramount and other buildings on that corridor, he said.

The Farm Workers Council has hired Gregory Farmer of Agricola Corp., of Chicopee, as a consultant with an expertise in historic preservation projects, Flores said.

The renovations at the Paramount include a new roof, new windows that preserve the historic design, new heating and air conditioning, improvements on handicapped accessibility, some new elevators and rest rooms, removal of some walls to expand the stage and add dressing rooms, a “top class” marquee, and facade improvements.

Under the tax credit programs, the tax credits can be sold to companies to provide funding for the rehabilitation project, which in turn gives those companies a reduction in their own tax liabilities over multiple years, officials said.

Flores said he has “no apologies for the work we do” regarding those who question or criticize the Farm Workers Council for its purchase of properties in Springfield and Holyoke. Those investments create jobs and economic development in poorer communities, he said.
“The Farm Workers Council is investing in this because it’s part of the future,” Flores said. “We have a very progressive board. It’s easy to stay in the corner and not do anything. That is not the right thing. Every project we have done has been productive to our community and the community at large.”

The Farm Works Council has purchased distressed properties for its own programs and to bring back positive uses for the properties, largely financed with loans, Flores said. The council continues its mission of serving the low income, including social services and job training programs, day care assistance, fuel assistance, housing programs, and youth programs, he said.

The Farm Workers Council also pays taxes on various properties, Flores said. The council’s annual tax bill on the Paramount building at 1676 Main St., is $30,412, and its annual bill on the Fort and Student Prince Restaurant property at 1610-1626 Main St., is $16,244.

The Fort property was purchased by the Farm Workers Council in October 2010 for $2 million.

Flores recently said investors affiliated with the Farm Workers Council have a purchase and sale agreement for the Stonewall Tavern business, adjacent to the Paramount, and will also respond to the city’s request for proposals to purchase and redevelop the vacant Asylum property, in the same block.

In recent years, it has purchased its current headquarters at 11-13 Hampden St., and purchased 32-34 Hampden St., rented to social service organizations and private tenants.

The council will work cooperatively with other entertainment venues in the city including CityStage and the MassMutual Center, and believes that bringing more people downtown will help, not hurt, those other venues, Flores said.

Brona Simon, executive director of the Massachusetts Historical Commission, stated in a letter last month that the proposed project “will have ‘no adverse effect’ on the properties,” which allows the application to advance to the review process, a spokesman said.

Some of the recent projects awarded state tax credits include plans to renovate a large vacant office building at 13-31 Elm St., and the adjacent Byers Block at 3-7 Elm St., both at Court Square.

In addition, tax credits were awarded to the Kenwyn Park Apartments at Kenwood Park and the Caring Health Center project on Main Street in the South End.

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http://blog.masslive.com/breakingnews/print.html?entry=/2012/08/paramount_theater_in_springfie.html
 
These are what I could find for the outside and the interiors.

This is a project we are working on, but I don't know a heckuva lot about it. The outside is handsome enough, and this inside looks like it has some real nice detail work, but some of it may be in rough shape at this point.

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So true.

Atlantic City Faces Long Recovery Before It Can Start Destroying Lives Again

November 2, 2012
Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ—In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Atlantic City officials warned Friday that it could take weeks or even months for the storm-ravaged gambling hub to fully repair its infrastructure and get back to utterly and completely ruining people’s lives.

“The floodwaters have receded, but the damage to our city is so severe that it will be quite some time before we’re back at full strength and ready to totally demolish the personal lives and finances of thousands of human beings,” said Mayor Lorenzo Langford, who urged cooperation with disaster relief personnel in working to restore the city’s ability to systematically bankrupt people and hurl them into a desperate spiral of misery and debt. “Atlantic City has always been a proud center for turning scores of innocent people into self-destructive alcoholics and gambling addicts, and hopefully, with hard work and targeted federal funding, we can return to doing what we do best.”

“Restoring electricity was a step in the right direction,” Langford added. “That allows casino owners to light up the signs they use to lure people through the doors and steal their money. But unfortunately, we still have quite a way to go before the city is once again a fully operational destroyer of marriages and savings accounts."

City officials confirmed that several roadways leading into the city—which are vital for funneling desperate schmucks from all over the country into Atlantic City so they can squander their retirement funds and children’s college savings plans on the transitory pleasures of legalized gambling—were also hit hard by the storm.

“It’s important to remember that the casinos are just one small part of a much larger life-obliterating network that is now struggling to recover from Sandy’s impact,” Langford said. “We need our casinos to wrench whole families and communities apart via bankruptcy, divorce, and even full-blown mental illnesses, yes, but we also need to make sure our roads, small businesses, and beaches are in top form so we can more easily attract poor, deluded gamblers here and keep them here.”

“Unfortunately, we’re a far cry from any of that, but I’m confident that if we keep our resolve, we’ll make it back,” he added.

At press time, Harrah’s casino was asking for donations in the form of anyone willing to throw it all away in a matter of hours at the establishment’s blackjack tables.
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Actually, obviously, from the Onion.
 
Suffolk Downs:

Talk to a couple of locals from Orient Heights last night. They claim the Casino deal is a done deal. They have gone to most of the meetings its a DISGRACE that our politicans have sold us out they said. Both E.Boston lifetime residents........Both are considering moving once everything is approved. Orient Heights is ruined he claim.

What the locals said to me.
#1 Traffic is a nightmare now (its a fact) now factor in a billion dollar 24 hour casino
#2 Unions want the jobs at all cost
#3 Voting rights will be for Revere and all of Boston. He doesn't understand why Roxbury, Hyde-Park have a vote?
#4 Revere is all for this............and every political hack is on the take for this one. This is going to make a lot of people RICH. Lots of taxpayers money will help enrich alot of people
#5 This will probably be a SPECIAL ELECTION. Special Election in January usually keeps everybody from actually voting.
#6 He claimed E.Boston had much more voting power back in the day but now their is just a bunch of illegal immigrants in the area so the Politicans could careless.
#7 Revere has big plans if the Casino is built......that include Revere Beach

It was interesting hearing his perspective. Thinks the Mayor has been in office way too long and has way too much power. He would give anything for CHANGE.

Claims the politicans & business associates aligned for the casino deal setup up Dimasi because he was against the Casino Deal.
It just shows these people truly eat their own. If you really believe these hacks have our best city interests your a moron.

I'm not against the casino deal personally but I really believe the people of Mass should have had a vote not just a bunch of scumbags determine the future of the city. Its sad
 
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... and in other local opposition chatter with no supporting evidence...
 
choo said:
... and in other local opposition chatter with no supporting evidence...
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Exactly. Spelling and grammar aside ("your a moron"), even the ploy of putting words into the mouth of "a couple of locals," I don't know how a special election prevents anyone from voting.
 
So here's the straight dope from me, a homeowner in Orient Heights with roots in this community for almost 80 years:

As it stands, a vote (potentially via special election) will be held in East Boston on whether or not to allow Suffolk Downs/Caesars Entertainment Group to proceed with their proposal. The gambling legislation requires that the election take place between 60 and 90 after the City of Boston signs a mitigation agreement with the casino proponents.

Throughout this process, the Boston City Council has shown reticence at tipping their hand on taking the vote citywide or keeping in ward-specific (i.e. in East Boston). In March, I met with Council President Stephen J. Murphy, and Councilors John Connolly and Sal LaMattina, along with other members of the organized opposition in East Boston, to discuss the spectrum of our concerns, among them, the lack of transparency in the process. Other members of our group have had discussions with Councilors Felix Arroyo and Tito Jackson; the issue of transparency was also addressed in those discussions.

In April, the Mayor empaneled the Host Community Advisory Committee; the Committee's charge isn't to determine if a casino is a good idea for Boston, but instead, how to extract the best "value" from the developers. I've attended most of their meetings; audience members ask questions, which are noted by the recording secretary, but not answered. Thus far, this process is as transparent as a brick window. Perhaps this contributes to the misguided perception that it's a done deal. Perhaps this is the true intended result of the process.

It should be obvious to anyone with even a casual knowledge of politics in the City of Boston that the real puppet-master here is the Mayor. Richard Fields (owner of Suffolk Downs) has spent a lot of money on PR in the community. He's also donated significant amounts to the Mayor's campaign and charitable foundation; similar donations have been made to State Senator Anthony Petruccelli. The perception is that it's likely easier to control the electoral result in a community with 40,000 residents than in a city with over 600,000 residents. However, if the Mayor begins to believe that he can't get his way with a ward-specific vote, he'll put a hand on the City Council to take the vote citywide.

Make no mistake, my friends: as long as I can sit up and take nourishment, this isn't a done deal by any measure.
 
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After seeing what the Democrats did in this state last night. Benton they might put a casino lobby in your house.

I agree with you that the casino is not a good choice for E.Boston/Revere but you better talk to John Keith about putting your house on the market because the casino is coming in full force.
 
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