During the roaring twenties, particularly before the first "talkies" were invented in 1927, vaudeville and silent movies were the dominant form of national and local entertainment. Hollywood-based Paramount Pictures constructed a grand movie palace that opened on March 1, 1928. The grand opening was a huge success, garnering in an era of silent films, ‘talkies’, and even surviving The Great Depression to entertain all of Seattle.
Fast-forward to today and Seattle’s Paramount Theatre is a thriving landmark theatre undergoing many transformations over the decades, from opulent silent movie palace to vaudevillian performance hall, Cinerama format movie house, live theatre performances, and rock, soul, and jazz concerts. An annual season of Broadway at The Paramount performances accompanies a series of dance, jazz, live concerts, speakers, comedy, special events, and family shows nightly.