Act swiftly to produce project of Paramount importance

From its opening in February 1918 with “A Modern Musketeer” starring Douglas Fairbanks to its closing in February 1976 with “Let’s Do It Again” starring Bill Cosby, the Liberty-Paramount Theatre — later renamed The Paramount — stood tall among eight ornate movie palaces that graced downtown Youngstown in its heyday.

For more than the past three decades, however, the neoclassical 1,700-seat theater on the National Register of Historic Places has fallen into disrepair and has become one of the most prominent eyesores in an otherwise largely revitalized downtown Youngstown.

Soon, thanks to astute grantsmanship of city leaders and their dedication to advancing the aesthetic appeal of the central business district, the Paramount will fall but rise again.

Last year, the city of Youngstown purchased the property for about $80,000, a smart move considering a stream of potentially costly revitalization and restoration efforts over the years could not get past the planning stages. The Paramount became increasingly difficult to restore as each passing year brought higher levels of deterioration and danger.

Earlier this month, the Ohio Controlling Board released more than $800,000 in Clean Ohio Funds to demolish the structure but keep its distinctive Ecole des Beaux Arts fa ßade preserved. The city will administer the project and assist with an additional $269,553 for assessment, acquisition, remediation and demolition activities.

The value of that $1 million investment cannot be overstated.

CITY TAKES STRONG LEADING ROLE

Despite efforts in recent years to masquerade the theater’s blight and decay with murals depicting the glory years of The Paramount and the downtown, the rundown cinema’s interior and exterior have rotted and rusted so severely that all of those well intentioned full restoration projects fizzled fast due to prohibitive costs.

The choice for our city leaders was clear: Let the theater continue to disintegrate, posing safety hazards to the growing number of pedestrians traversing downtown’s main thoroughfare or devise a creative, cost-efficient plan to get rid of the eyesore without totally ridding the downtown of a historic gem.

Fortunately, the city chose the latter course for the promise of the Paramount project is multifold. According to the plans, the blighted parcel of prime downtown real estate will be replaced with parking for customers of the Youngstown Water Department, and a portion will be dedicated to public use, including as a farmer’s market and an outdoor amphitheater. Situated as it is on Hazel Street, the new downtown gateway to Youngstown State University’s southern edge, the development project holds promise as well to draw more youth and university employees to the core of the downtown entertainment district.

At the same time, one piece of the area’s glorious boom times will be preserved. Project leaders should seek out the expertise of local historic preservationists to ensure the integrity of the terra cotta ornamentation of the Paramount’s fa ßade will be restored with attention to detail and with respect to the artistic integrity of the original movie house.

As state Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Canfield put it, “Revitalizing the Liberty-Paramount Theatre is another key component to developing the central business and university districts. It’s critical that our state continues to support Youngstown’s efforts to create a business and family-friendly city.”

That’s why Youngstown leaders should act expeditiously but responsibly to complete this project of paramount importance.