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Downtown landmark: The Paramount’s marquee has been a familiar sight on Columbia Street for years, but the future of the gentleman’s club isn’t certain. The historic building has recently been sold, and its new owner says ‘time will tell’ what will become of the club after its current six-year lease runs out. Jason Lang/ THE RECORD
Paramount sold: Is lap dancing leaving? New owner says tenants are ‘good people’ and he will ‘let nature take its course’
BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
The new owner of the Paramount Theatre and the Dupont Block is committed to maintaining the heritage properties but isn’t making any commitments about the use inside the former Edison Theatre. David Sarraf was intending to buy the Dupont Block at 642 Columbia St., when its owner suggested he also buy the Paramount Theatre that he also owned next door. Sarraf took possession of one building at the end of May and the other building 10 days later. “I love the building. I love the archi-
tecture there, I love that it’s old. It was Columbia. Today, the Dupont is home to weddingbuilt in 1898,” he said about the Dupont. “Everybody tries to make all the new related retail businesses and some vacant buildings and the new places look old. It office space. Once home to vaudeville entertainment and then a cinis fake old. This is naturally ema, the Paramount has been old.” home to a gentleman’s club for The Dupont Block, which many years. dates from 1898 to 1913, is “I love the “The Paramount inside, considered to have significant it’s beautiful,” Sarraf said. heritage value. Designed by building. I love “Gorgeous. You can’t imagine George W. Grant, the buildthe architecture it. It’s like going back in your ing replaced one that had been destroyed in the Great Fire of there. I love that life. It’s unbelievable.” Other than cleaning up 1898. it’s old.” and maintaining the buildThe Paramount Theatre ings, Sarraf isn’t in a hurry at 652 Columbia St. origito make too many changes to nally operated as the Edison DAVID SARRAF his new properties. He said Theatre, which opened in the New owner the Paramount’s owners have western half of the Dupont a six-year lease on the buildBlock in 1910. A statement of significance states that it is the oldest sur- ing, so there isn’t any point discussing its viving motion picture theatre in British future at this time.
“I would love to see the building that is something for the community,” he said. “Time will tell.” When a lap-dancing establishment opened at the Paramount Theatre, some community members expressed concern about its presence on Columbia Street even though it conforms to city bylaws. “It’s clean, it’s really nice,” Sarraf said about the business. “They are very good people. I am happy with them.” Sarraf said he’d never been in a lapdancing establishment before taking ownership of the building. “I am very conservative in a way,” he said. “It’s a clean operation. Before I bought the building I checked – they never had any bad things happen there, the police there.” Sarraf said he can’t predict future uses
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