Many names, many memories at Paramount

The Massasoit House opened in 1843, taking advantage of its location near a new railway line.

In its lifetime, the hotel's guests included four American presidents. The adjoining Paramount theater opened in 1929 outfitted to show silent movies. Its organ made train sound when damsels were lashed to the tracks.

It was built by Famous Players-Lasky Corp ., which later became Paramount Pictures. That's where the name came from.

The Paramount hosted live shows, too. Abbott and Costello and the Three Stooges appeared there.

In later years, acts like Chuck Berry, Jerry Seinfeld and 50 Cent drew crowds. The block is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Paramount operated under various names and business models, with different owners over the years. At one point it was named for a Springfield native, Broadway actress Julia Sanderson.

The last time it was open with any regularity was as a nightclub, the Hippodrome, which closed about 15 years ago after its owners – Michael J. Barrasso and Steven C. Stein – couldn't keep the sprinklers up to code.

The club's bold red-and-white sign still hangs on the building's facade and towers over Main Street.

Yolanda Cancel, now on the city's Community Preservation Committee, worked there as a manager. That panel is backing a $300,000 investment in the property under a new owner.

"It was amazing. It was beautiful, the sound," she said of the old theater. "It just needed to be maintained."

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