The Paramount Theatre closed down for $65 million worth of renovations yesterday. The project, which includes replacing the seats, restoring the paint, modernizing the tech, and more, is expected to take 11 months.

Figi here — I was able to take a private tour with Erin Waelder, the Paramount's Director of Donor Communications, to check out the nooks and crannies of the theater that most visitors don't get to see. I learned a lot, so I wanted to share some of my favorite facts about the Paramount Theater.

General History

When the Paramount first opened in 1915, tickets to Vaudeville cost 25 cents.
The Paramount was originally called The Majestic Theatre. It was renamed to the Paramount in 1930 after its new owner, Paramount-Publix. The Paramount's sister theater in San Antonio is still named The Majestic.
Harry Houdini performed at the Paramount the year after it opened and he enjoyed the Austin audience so much, he added double the shows and all of them sold out.
You've probably seen photos from the iconic "Batman: The Movie" world premiere in front of the Paramount Theatre, but there's a deeper reason the premiere landed in the Capital City. The Batboat was made by Austin-based company Glastron, who insisted the world premiere was held in the Bat City to coincide with Austin Aqua Festival.
The declining Downtown scene in the 1970s threw the Paramount into disrepair, and the Paramount was slated to become a Holiday Inn until 1973, when John Bernardoni, Charles Eckerman, and Stephen Scott raised money to restore the theater and get it made a historical marker.

See if you can't spot the Houdini Hole next time you're inside the Paramount. | Photo by ATXtoday

The Outside of the Paramount

The Paramount's famous blade sign went missing in the 1960s after it was taken down for restoration — the one visitors see today is a replica of the original that was never found.
Speaking of the blade, it contains 1,488 lightbulbs, and that doesn't include the marquee.
The land the Paramount sits on has been home to many other buildings, including the Austin American-Statesman offices and the Office of the War Department for the Republic of Texas.
If you look way above the marquee, you can see three inscriptions: "1885," the year the land was purchased; "Joseph Nalle," the mayor at the time and father to the owner, Ernest; and "1915," the year the theater opened.
Joseph Nalle was the mayor, but he also reportedly killed the city alderman, Thomas J. Markley, in front of a crowd in 1878.

Fans of "The Princess Bride" and "Napoleon Dynamite" would love to see these signatures. | Photo by ATXtoday

Inside the Theater

The Paramount Lobby used to feature entrances to neighboring storefronts. You can still see the doors today, but those spaces are now used for offices.
When Houdini performed, he left a permanent souvenir: a hole in the ceiling from his setup of a suspended levitation trick. The Houdini Hole can still be seen today.
The inside of the theater has been largely untouched since 1973, so a good amount of the restoration is to correct smoke damage and grime that have accumulated in 53 years.
There's still an orchestra pit at The Paramount, which you can identify where the floor changes at the first few rows of seats. It's closed now and used for storage.
The halls that lead to the Paramount's dressing rooms are filled with hundreds of signatures from visitors, which include but are not limited to Angela Davis, Glen Powell, Cary Elwes, Chris Isaak, Holland Taylor, Anthony Bourdain, and the cast of "Napoleon Dynamite."

Still hungry for more Paramount history? Check out this timeline.