Main Street Matters, November 2014 Page: 8
14 p. : col. ill.View a full description of this periodical.
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2. Review potential companies'
project portfolios to determine
what kind of work they have
done in the past
3. Talk with the company's past
clients and get their opinion on
the company's capabilities
4. Discuss the process with the
sign company and obtain a full
understanding of how they will
go about restoring the sign.
Several Texas Main Streets
have undertaken a marquee
restoration with brilliant results.
The following case study from
Amarillo highlights their
process and funding campaign.
CASE STUDY:
RESTORATION
PARAMOUNT
THEATER, AMARILLO
Article written by Beth Duke, Executive
Director, Center City of Amarillo, a
Texas Main Street Program
Question: How do you
resurrect a 33-and-a-half-foot
historic neon sign?
Answer: One bulb at a time
even if the sign contains 847light bulbs.
Throughout the history of
downtown Amarillo, the
Paramount Theater located at
Ninth Avenue and Polk Street
was a gateway to a thriving
downtown entertainment and
retail area. The Paramount
Theater was just one of the
pre-World War II theaters that
drew crowds to downtown
with sometimes lavish movie
premieres and always-coolRestored Paramount sign (left), painting the sign (top right), and moving the sign
(bottom right). Source: Ralph Duke, photographer.air conditioning. Noted theater
architect W. Scott Dunne of Dallas
designed the Paramount Theater,
which was built by Charles S.
Lambie in 1932.
The building's terra cotta-clad
exterior remains one of the shining
examples of what has been called
"Pueblo Deco" architecture. This
unique architectural style combines
striking silhouettes of the Art Deco
movement with a Southwestern flair.
The Paramount building has
survived, but the Paramount Theater
did not. In the 1970s, the theater
closed. During the renovation to
transform the space into modern
offices, crews uncovered a backstage
area complete with small dressing
rooms and curtain riggings that
dated back to the theater's vaudeville
days. Evidence of the theater wasscattered and sold as downtown
made way for the 1970s' version of
progress.
The Paramount Theater sign found
life in yet another trend disco.
Club owner Lowell Stapf installed
the sign at his Paramount Club at
Third Avenue and Osage Street. The
Paramount Club, with its trademark
two-story jukebox, was just another
chapter in the saga of the sign.
Fast forward to 2006. Wes Reeves,
president of the Amarillo Historical
Preservation Foundation had a
dream to bring the Paramount sign
back to Polk Street. Reeves was also
a corporate spokesman for Xcel
Energy Co. and a board member for
Center City of Amarillo, our Main
Street organization. He recalled
an old annual report from Xcel's
predecessor company, Southwestern
Public Service Company. The report8 TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Texas Main Street Program
ANI A
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35 `1www.thc.state.tx.us
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Texas Historical Commission. Main Street Matters, November 2014, periodical, November 2014; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1551313/m1/8/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.