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Landmarks
1501 Broadway, Paramount Building, application for the installation of two marquees with LED lighting, a secondary Marquee, and new windows on the 9th floor on 43rd Street
At the scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, December 13, 2012, the Board passed the following resolution by a vote of 36 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, The Paramount Building, located at 1501 Broadway in Times Square and granted landmark status in 1985, was built in 1926-27, and made a significant contribution to the development of the Broadway theater district; and
WHEREAS, The building was designed by the firm of Rapp & Rapp, who were among the best-known and most prolific designers of elaborate movie theaters in the 1920s; and
WHEREAS, The Paramount Building first served as the Eastern headquarters for the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, the forerunner of Paramount Pictures; and
WHEREAS, The building's distinctive massing is exemplary of the innovative setback skyscraper type of the 1920s; and
WHEREAS, 1501 Broadway is a thirty-three story building with a clock tower and was the tallest structure on Broadway north of the Woolworth Building at the time of its completion; and
WHEREAS, The changes in use over time resulted in the closing of the original Paramount Theater entrance on 43rd Street and the removal of the marquee on that street and additional alterations to that facade; and
WHEREAS, The application is for the construction of a Marquee on 43rd Street that follows the same details, materials and design as was present in the original Marquee and which matches the current restored Marquee facing Broadway; and
WHEREAS, The application also requests the creation of a secondary Marquee on 43rd Street which is rectangular in design and uses the same finishes and materials as on the renovated Marquee facing Broadway; and
WHEREAS, The application further requests the installation of new windows on the 9th floor facing 43rd Street where the original Paramount Theater was located and with these windows to match the existing windows on 43rd Street; and
WHEREAS, The proposed work utilizes historical information and reflects a careful consideration of the original building and restores the 43rd Street design in a manner that has not been present since the closing of the original Paramount Theater in 1964 and the conversion of its space to office use in 1966-1969; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the proposed Marquee and window installations on the 43rd Street side of 1501 Broadway.