{"nrhp_refnum":"80003564","name":"Comerford Theater","other_names":["Paramount Theatre"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"71 Public Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wilkes-Barre","county":"Luzerne County","state":"PA","lat":41.24492281800008,"lon":-75.88158393499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-12-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A movie palace in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, built in 1937 as the Comerford Theatre, now known as the Paramount. It is a Depression Moderne building with a stylized ziggurat composition faced in glazed terra cotta tile.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the theatre is the largest, best equipped and most modern pre-World War II movie theater in Wilkes-Barre and the only one of its era to survive the rise of television and the razing or conversion of nearly a dozen other theaters. It is described as Wilkes-Barre's best and only surviving theater from that period and as the major Depression-era architectural legacy of the city, tied to its anthracite-based economy.","narrative":"Built in 1937 as the Comerford Theatre in Wilkes-Barre, this Depression Moderne movie palace is a stylized ziggurat of four bays faced in glazed terra cotta tile, with green marble at street level, a cantilevered steel marquee and lavender corrugated steel fluted reeds. Its interior includes an octagonal foyer encircled by a bronze railing, walnut paneling, blue felt wall decoration and an auditorium with translucent marble panels and ornamental plaster. The theatre was regarded as the largest, best equipped and most modern movie house of the pre-World War II era in Wilkes-Barre. It is significant as the only one of the city's showpiece cinemas to survive the rise of television, when nearly a dozen other theatres were razed, altered or converted. Its architecture is also tied to the Wyoming Valley's Depression-era economy, shaped by the anthracite industry. Alterations after the 1972 Hurricane Agnes flood and later changes to the stage and foyer are documented.","period_of_significance":"1900-1936","architect_builder":"Penn - York Utilities, Inc, Scranton","architectural_style":"Depression Moderne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Basement spaces were used for storage after 1972 and a concession stand was placed in the central foyer after 1972; the stage was enlarged to cover the orchestra pit c. 1978.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.171717-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003564.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003564/c1f864ace5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003564/c1f864ace5-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kirby_Theater_71_PS_WB_PA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kirby_Theater_71_PS_WB_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998722","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._M._Kirby_Center","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5151534"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/luzerne-county/comerford-theater-80003564/"}