Building Tour: Paramount Theater

Join the AIANY Interiors Committee for a tour of the restored Brooklyn Paramount Theater! We'll examine the transformation of a 1928 Baroque movie palace into a contemporary live performance venue, with particular attention to historical restoration, preservation, and adaptive reuse.

After closing as a theater in 1962, the building served Long Island University for more than 60 years, during which major interior spaces were altered for campus functions, including conversion of the lobby to a cafeteria and the theater’s use for athletics.

Attendees will get a brief history of the venue and an overview of its recent rehabilitation for live entertainment. They will visit key public and support spaces across three levels and learn how the design team restored significant historic elements while inserting new hospitality, artist, and performance functions.

The tour will highlight the restored Grand Foyer, the stage and music hall, the reworked second-floor lounge and VIP areas, cellar-level back-of-house spaces, crew areas, and artist amenities created within the former orchestra pit, including a gym and an arcade, concluding in Ella’s Lounge.

Particular focus will be given to the restoration process itself, including the uncovering and repair of original Scagliola columns, restoration of historic plaster and ornamental work, recreation of lost ironwork, and rehabilitation of the marquee. The project also demonstrates how contemporary interventions such as bars, lighting upgrades, projection mapping, technical systems, and an integrated LED display can be incorporated into a historic theater while maintaining its architectural identity and enhancing its function for current use.

Speakers:
Keith Wlosek, Associate Principal, Arcadis

About the Speakers:
Keith Wlosek brings over 15 years of experience in developing comprehensive projects. Notably, he served as the project manager and design leader for the Brooklyn Paramount restoration project in collaboration with Live Nation. His hands-on involvement with both the design and construction teams to troubleshoot the upgrades of a 1920s building showcase his ability to modernize structures while meeting contemporary building codes. Wlosek is a graduate of Temple University's Tyler School of Art & Architecture, a LEED Green Associate, and has been recognized as a Leader Under 40 by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).