Welcome Patrons!

Welcome to the heart and soul of the Paramount Theatre! Would you like to see St. Cecilia brought to life to fully enrich your next visit? Then, pull up a seat. You’re about to take a trip on the Houdini Express in to history. We’re going to turn back the clock, for you, with this digital and brand new Paramount History Website at www.Paramounthistory.org. The site was conceived and produced as a gift to the Paramount organization, the citizens of Austin and the world by former creator and co-founder, John Bernardoni.

You’ll have access to historical first person accounts, covering the seminal decade of 1975-1985 when the Paramount was saved, restored and rejuvenated to become one of the nation’s most prolific and sought after performance venues in America. There are over 35 delightful, funny and colorful stories chronicling this trailblazing and beloved project which began on a wing and a prayer.

Go back stage to join Vaudevillians, Katherine Hepburn, Orson Welles, Helen Hayes, Joseph Cotton, Houdini, Ethel Barrymore, Lunt and Fontaine, Cab Calloway and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Throw in hundreds of photos and images of major concert touring stars, dozens of Broadway plays, sumptuous ballet, provocative modern dance, avant garde theatre by Robert Wilson, Shakespeare, comedy, television documentaries, a one of a kind video interview with Paramount benefactor, Roberta Reed Crenshaw, the Dave Brubeck inaugural concert tapes not heard since the live performances broadcast by KUT on February 2, 1975, the original prospectus from 1974, dozens of Hollywood classic movie posters and many other golden nuggets of theatre lore.