Paramount project nears the finish line as it looks to August goal

Jul. 15—With just over a month until the Austin ArtWorks Festival, work on the Historic Paramount Theatre’s renovation and expansion project is zeroing in on completion with organizers optimistic it will hit its completion goal.

During a tour of the project on Thursday, July 10, Project Committee Co-chair Belita Schindler said that aside from minor work, the major construction should be completed by the time the festival kicks off on Aug. 23.

“We had a building committee meeting and they are still on target for the ArtWorks Festival, which is that third weekend in August,” Schindler said. “There will be some little things, but carpets on track, furniture is on track … Right now they are spraying soundproofing material on the ceiling.”

Work is progressing on the expansion area where the dressing rooms, storage and new lobby area is being added as well as work on the renovation side, which will bring the building up to speed with a modern feel.

A good sized focus of the project was centered on improving the sound experience, which includes a new sound system as well as an acoustical treatment of the facility.

“We spent a whole bunch of bucks on sound including a wire in the floor so that people like me can pick up sound on their hearing aids,” Schindler said.

Fundraising for the project is also on track as the campaign nears its goal of just over $4 million.

“Fundraising is good,” Schindler said. “We’re a 100 and some thousand short and that’s all on $4.3 million so we’re doing well.”

Overall, Schindler said that the project is meeting expectations of what was hoped for in the very beginning and even a little more.

Five chairs have been discovered from when the Paramount first opened and will be displayed in the lobby area. A poster from 1937 for a Charlie Chaplain movie was also found and will be framed and displayed somewhere within the building.

“It’s going to be everything we want it to be,” Schindler said of the scale of the project. “I think we’re all pleased with how it’s coming out. It gives us what we needed. Not fancy, not over the top, but we needed bathrooms, we needed a loading dock, we needed dressing rooms. Bigger lobby space.”