As writers, actors strike, we look back on a bit of old Hollywood established in Palm Beach

After the film industry established itself in the 1910s in Hollywood, California, its tentacles spread quickly across the country as the studios sought to add facilities for screening their products to the masses.

One early example can be found right in our backyard: The Paramount Theatre in Palm Beach, built in 1926 by noted architect Joseph Urban.

Urban, who also built Mar-a-Lago for Marjorie Merriweather Post, designed the site with New York's famed Radio City Music Hall in mind. In addition to the theater space, it included residences, a restaurant, shops and offices — making it a complete cultural center.

An imposing structure in Moorish Deco style — with an onion-shaped dome, multiple arches, stylized pelicans, theatrical masks, and linear chevrons — it offered the glitz and glamour that film fans craved, with appearances by some of the biggest movie stars of the day.

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According to the website cinematreasures.org: The grand opening on Jan. 9, 1927 featured Ronald Colman in “Beau Geste." There was a 16-piece orchestra to accompany the film, and Emil Velazco played the theater's Wurlitzer organ. Seating was provided for 1,236, with 1,080 in the orchestra and 156 balcony box seats.

Though cinema remained the main focus of the facility, it did make adjustments for the changing times. In 1928, it was equipped for sound films. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Paramount provided live entertainment to its audiences in addition to movies.

In 1948, it was remodeled by the architectural firm Kemp, Bunch & Jackson of Jacksonville. In 1974, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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But by the late 1970s, the theater was struggling. Its last screening was May 21, 1980 with Sissy Spacek in “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

In 1985, the interior was converted into two levels of office suites. Paramount Church later moved into the building, occupying the former stage, screen area and orchestra pit of the former theater. In 2001, they began screening old classic movies on the first Thursday of the month during season.

The lobby remained a tribute to the theater's grand past, with a photo exhibit of Hollywood stars, visiting royalty and celebrities.

The church thrived on the site until March 2021, when it closed permanently. The Rev. Dwight Stevens, its pastor, told the Palm Beach Daily News that “health reasons” prevented him from keeping the church open.

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That same month, the Woerner family of Palm Beach bought the Paramount Building, at 139 N. County Road, for $14 million.

According to Woerner family spokeswoman Carey O’Donnell, the family is committed to keeping the presence of a ministry in the building. They are in the process of working with the Landmarks Preservation Commission on structural improvements at the property.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: History of Paramount Theatre Old Hollywood in Palm Beach Florida