This Christmas Eve – Friday, December 24th, the Paramount will open its doors to the public (and last-minute holiday shoppers) for cake, coffee and punch to mark the exact day of the theatre’s 100th birthday.

On Saturday, December 24, 1921, the 1700-seat Sherman Theatre opened to the public, showing  D.W. Griffith’s silent film, “Way Down East,” accompanied by a 10-member orchestra. At its opening, the St. Cloud Daily Times called the theatre “a playhouse beautiful,” one that would place “this city of 18,000 in the class with metropolises of many times St. Cloud’s population.” In August 1930, the theatre went through a $30,000 restoration and changed its name from the Sherman to the Paramount, after the famous New York City Paramount Theatre. During the Depression and World War II, the theatre became the epicenter for entertainment in Central Minnesota. After nearly being lost to fire in 1985, a group called the Paramount Preservationists saved the building and restoration plans were completed in 1998. Prior to the pandemic, the Paramount Center for the Arts welcomed over 100,000 people each year to participate in performances, art classes, community outreach and gallery exhibitions. New virtual offerings have taken the place of live performances and classes, as the Paramount’s doors have been closed to the public since March 14, 2020. For more information about the 100 years at the Paramount visit: https://paramountarts.org/100years/