The Paramount Theatre

Posted: 02.09.2021 | Updated: 03.06.2025

Built in 1915, the Paramount Theatre has been entertaining Austin residents for over 100 years. Initially intended for vaudeville acts, the theatre now hosts plays, musicians, comedians, and feature films.

Originally named The Majestic, the theatre once gave a platform to prominent vaudeville acts like the Marx Brothers, Katherine Hepburn, and Harry Houdini. The theatre later began showing films to compete with the growing number of movie houses, premiering movies like Batman in 1966.

Today, the Paramount is best known as one of the featured venues in South By Southwest. Like many theatres, the Paramount is haunted. Three confirmed ghosts live in the theatre.

Emily is the most well known, often seen floating across the theatre room, looking for her long lost husband. She was even recently captured in a photo floating above the mezzanine. Walter is the ghost of a projectionist who also haunts the theatre. He recently died during a showing of Casablanca.

Quite mischievous in the afterlife, he causes the theatre equipment to malfunction unless the staff bribes him with candy and soft drinks. There’s also the ghost of an old man who sits high above the crowd in the theatre box. He’s usually seen smoking a cigar before vanishing into thin air.

Learn more about haunted places in Austin, including theatres, restaurants, and alleways, on an Austin ghost tour!

Is the Paramount Theatre Haunted?

The staff and patrons who frequent the theatre claim to have seen multiple ghosts around the Paramount. Most notably is the ghost of a woman in a white dress, known as Emily. She appears in the main theatre room on the mezzanine and floats across the room towards the south wall, where she disappears.

Staff believe that she takes residence in the theatre because the War Department of the Republic of Texas once stood on the plot of land next to the Paramount. They say that she’s the wife of one of the soldiers who never returned from duty, having been killed on the battlefield.

The Majestic Theatre History

The Majestic opened its doors in 1915 as a venue for the trendy vaudeville acts of the day. At four stories tall, about 1,400 people can be seated in the theatre comfortably. The theatre was built to enhance Austin’s cultural footprint and attract more nightlife and entertainment.

The Majestic was designed by famed theatre architect John Eberson. Eberson designed hundreds of theatres and created the atmospheric style, which is meant to mimic different kinds of scenery. The Majestic was built to mimic the interior of a Catholic cathedral. Out of the over 500 theatres designed by Eberson, fewer than 30 remain, making the theatre a rare work of art.

The Majestic hosted vaudeville shows through the Roaring Twenties. Popular acts like Mae West, Katherine Hepburn, Harry Houdini, and the Marx Brothers were some of their all-star performers.

Bought out in 1930 by Karl Hoblitzelle, the theatre was renamed the Paramount Theatre and it’s place in Austin history was solidified.

The Paramount Theatre Austin

It was the Great Depression; vaudeville was out, and movies were in. Austin’s Paramount Theatre underwent significant redesigns to accommodate the change in genres. They added air conditioning, upholstered seats, and a state-of-the-art sound system.

The economic troubles of the Depression led to the proliferation of escapist fantasies as many wished to run away from their financial troubles. This led to movies like King Kong, Dracula, Frankenstein, Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, and The Wizard of Oz.

But, popularity of live acts faded during this time, and audiences demanded more movies. In 1948, the US declared the Paramount a monopoly. Paramount owned everything from the movie studios to the theatres, and the government forced them to restructure and split into two separate corporations.

The 1950s saw the beginning of the end for the Paramount Theatre in Austin. Families began moving out to the suburbs, and viewership steadily declined. Television became the dominant form of entertainment as theatres everywhere waned in popularity.

The Paramount changed its tune in the 60s by becoming a B-Movie house, which had moderate success. The B-Movie gamut brought independent filmmakers and weird and exciting movies.

Some even featured A-list actors such as Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese. It still wasn’t enough to pay the bills, though. The Paramount Theatre began to fall into disrepair.

By the mid-70s, urban decay and a downtown core plagued by gun violence turned the area around the Paramount into a ghost town. The owners of the theatre had already given up on any future. The Paramount was soon to be razed and replaced with a Holiday Inn.

The Grand Return of Austin’s Paramount Theatre

In 1974, three entrepreneurs sought to restore the Paramount to its former glory. John Bernardoni, Charles Eckerman, and Stephen Scott began screening classic films, bringing in just enough money to pay rent and maintain the theater. Their efforts began to get recognition from local Austin city leaders.

South By Southwest started to offer them bookings as well, raising the theatre’s profile. The real big news came when the Texas state government provided a $1.8 million grant to aid in restoration.

The efforts of the three men were a success. After working over 100 hours a week for little pay, restoration efforts were finally complete. The Paramount began to bring live theatre back to Austin, even fighting local obscenity laws to do so.

Touring shows like West Side Story and Antigone were making stops at the Paramount. By 1980, the theatre had made a comeback.

The Paramount began producing its own shows, most notably Greater Tuna, a show about a small town in Texas chock-full of unusual characters.

Today the Paramount Theatre is one of the premier venues in Austin, hosting big names during the SXSW music festival and bringing live music and theatre to the state capital.

\In the past ten years, the Paramount Theatre has hosted performances by Margaret Cho, Louis C.K., Joan Rivers, and even a speech by Barack Obama.

The Pianist and The Paramount Theatre Ghost

Recently, theatre pianist Chad Lawson took a last-minute photo of the theatre as he was on his way out of practice and caught what might be Paramount Theatre’s most famous ghost, Emily.

Chad took three pictures of the theatre room in quick succession, and the middle photo shows a woman in a white dress looming over the mezzanine hallway.

The first and third photos show nobody in that spot, indicating that Emily made a split-second appearance before vanishing into thin air. She seems too tall to be human. It almost seems as if she’s floating above the mezzanine staircase.

Theatre patrons may also encounter an elderly gentleman in the left side opera box, smoking either a cigar or cigarette. He doesn’t always appear to visitors, and staff say that he hasn’t been seen in his usual spot for over ten years. But, patrons do often smell the residue of cigar smoke while sitting in that particular opera box.

Both Emily and the elderly man have been seen around the theatre for well over 50 years.

But, the most recent ghost is that of beloved cinematographer Walter Norris, who died of a cardiac arrest at the Paramount in 2000. Walter was always eating candy and drinking a soft drink while operating the theatre equipment.

Walter’s ghost likes to mess with the projection room’s equipment, preventing anything from working correctly. This was especially true when the Paramount Theatre in Austin recently switched over to digital cinema software. Everything malfunctioned until one of the staff had the idea to bring in some sweet treats to appease Walter’s spirit.

Within three minutes, the digital software started working properly. Ever since, the Paramount staff have made it a tradition to bring candy bars and soft drinks into the equipment room.

Austin’s Haunted History

The city of Austin has a long and interesting history with a haunted tale seemingly waiting around every corner. From the story of Geronimo and his supernatural abilities to the Shoal Creek Indian Massacre to the ghosts of Buffalo Billiards. You can also read about these topics and much more on our blog!

Join us on a Austin ghost tour when you think you are ready to see the most haunted places in Austin for yourself!

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 Sources:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwslXZSaLd4&ab_channel=TheSpeakeasy
• http://www.paramountaustin.org/
• https://texashillcountry.com/paramount-theatre-austin-haunted/
• https://texastimetravel.com/directory/paramount-theater-austin/#:~:text=Opening%20its%20doors%20as%20the,on%20at%20the%20Paramount%20today.