Generally I’m against facadism, but this is one of those rare cases where I’d love to see it happen, if only to save one of our most important pieces of post-war Modernism. Despite all the grand ideas thrown out there in the past, the old Paramount is basically unusable in its current form for anything other than a movie theatre. It was built between 1950-53, long past the heyday of vaudeville, so it has no stage or dressing rooms, meaning it can’t easily be converted into any kind of live performance venue. I’d also doubt it'd survive as a single screen theatre if it was to reopen regardless. And really, at this point only the facade and marquee’s worth saving, given a massive renovation in the ‘80s that stripped it of most of its original charm. I do think saving it nowadays is a slight possibility, given that unlike the A.G.T. Tower on the Leg Grounds, the Paramount doesn't just hold a special place in the hearts of nerds like me, it holds a special place for a lot of Edmontonians. I think it's fair to say there would be quite a bit of uproar over its complete destruction.
I know the CRU map is probably
completely preliminary — and to be honest, I’m trying not to get mine, or anyone elses, hopes up here — but if you look at it you may notice that on the northeast side units six thru nine jut out weirdly. These four directly front the property line, while the centre and northwestern portion sits back slightly. Correctly resize and lay the CRU map over a satellite map, and which building does those units size directly correspond with...
View attachment 273556
