THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE

The Paramount in its former life was notorious on the touring circuit as being extremely difficult to load in to, since the stage is eight feet below street level and there was no off–street loading space. WDG recommended to the Owner that they buy a portion of the vacant land behind the theatre, which was owned by the State of Washington as part the right-of-way of I–5. By efficiently utilizing this extra land, WDG was able to expand the stage, put in two off–street truck bays for 53–foot semi-trailers, combined with a large (15 by 25 foot) freight lift, and build a new dressing room complex above.

The Paramount Theatre, originally built in 1928 as a motion picture and vaudeville theatre, was inadequate to meet the needs of today's large touring musicals. The goal of its new owners was to upgrade the facility to make it economically self–supporting, so all design decisions were made with an eye to maximizing cash flow from the facility. On a tight urban site, WDG developed a structural method to greatly enlarge the stage with minimal demolition and new construction, and were able to provide dressing rooms, loading dock, and other support spaces to bring the facility to current standards. New lighting and rigging systems also help make the facility attractive to a variety of today's large users. The auditorium was cleaned and restored and fitted with new chairs, with the seating layout designed for maximum seat count to maximize revenue potential.