Paramount Arts Center

The Paramount opened in 1931, planned as a lavish movie and vaudeville house by the Paramount-Publix chain even as the country sank into the Great Depression. Its architecture is full-throated art deco, with rich ornamentation, gilded surfaces, and the dramatic geometry of the style, meant to give ordinary people a taste of luxury for the price of a ticket.

In its heyday it was a showplace, drawing crowds downtown for films and stage acts. As the decades passed and moviegoing changed, grand single-screen theaters like it became expensive and hard to fill, and many were torn down. The Paramount reached the same crossroads, its future in doubt as downtowns emptied and multiplexes rose.

Rather than lose the theater, the Ashland community rallied to rescue it, and it reopened as a nonprofit performing arts center. Careful restoration brought back the deco detailing and the sense of occasion, so audiences today step into an interior close to the one that dazzled patrons in the 1930s.

The rescue is part of what makes the Paramount special: a small industrial city chose to preserve a piece of its shared past rather than let it fall. The building now earns its keep as a venue, but it also stands as a monument to civic pride, an ornate survivor from an age of grand cinemas that mostly no longer exist.

The Paramount carries a notable thread of country music history. Billy Ray Cyrus, who grew up in the Ashland area, filmed the music video for his breakout hit at the theater in the early 1990s, and the venue is closely associated with his rise. The nearby region also produced the mother-and-daughter act the Judds, tying this corner of Kentucky to a rich vein of country and Americana talent.

For a mid-sized theater, that heritage gives the Paramount an outsized cultural footprint. Music remains central to its programming, and the connection to homegrown stars is a point of local pride, a reminder that eastern Kentucky's hills and river towns have sent a steady stream of voices into American music.

Ashland grew as an industrial city on the Ohio River, its economy long built on steel, oil, and rail in the tri-state corner where Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia meet. The downtown reflects that history in its brick commercial blocks and civic buildings, of which the Paramount is a jewel.

The walkable center around the theater holds shops, restaurants, and the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center, which tells the region's story. For a traveler passing through the Big Sandy country of eastern Kentucky, the Paramount offers both a beautiful building to admire and, on the right night, a show in a setting almost a century old.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Paramount Arts Center, in Ashland in eastern Kentucky, is a beautifully restored historic theater and performing arts venue, a treasured Art Deco movie palace from the golden age of cinema. Built in the early twentieth century as an opulent movie theater, the Paramount dazzles with its ornate Art Deco design, and after restoration it serves as a beloved center for the performing arts, hosting concerts, plays, films, and events. Its grand historic interior and lively programming make it a cultural centerpiece of the region and a stop connected to eastern Kentucky's musical heritage. With its historic theater and performances, the Paramount Arts Center offers a fascinating destination in Kentucky.

You can attend concerts, plays, films, and events in the beautifully restored historic theater, admire its ornate Art Deco architecture and grand interior, and experience a piece of the region's cultural and musical heritage. The stunning historic Art Deco theater, the live performances and events, and the sense of stepping into a golden-age movie palace are the draws, making it a memorable cultural destination. Its programming brings the historic venue to life. With its historic theater and performances, the Paramount Arts Center offers a rewarding experience in Ashland, Kentucky.

The Paramount Arts Center is best experienced by attending a performance or event, which run on a schedule throughout the year, so checking the current calendar and reserving tickets ahead before you go is important. As an indoor venue, it is enjoyable in any season and weather. Its holiday and special events are especially popular. For the fullest experience, time a visit to a performance or event, checking the current schedule, at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Kentucky.

The Paramount Arts Center is historically significant as a beautifully preserved example of an ornate Art Deco movie palace from the early twentieth-century golden age of cinema, a grand and lavishly decorated theater of a kind that has largely vanished. Saved and restored rather than demolished, it survives as both an architectural treasure and a working performing-arts venue, and it is connected to the rich musical heritage of eastern Kentucky and the region. Its preservation keeps a piece of history alive. This heritage makes the Paramount Arts Center a treasured landmark in Kentucky.

The Paramount Arts Center is in Ashland in eastern Kentucky, on the Ohio River, within reach of the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center, the Big Sandy region, the eastern Kentucky Appalachian country, and the routes toward Pikeville and Breaks Interstate Park. That makes the Paramount Arts Center a fascinating stop to combine with the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center and the other attractions of eastern Kentucky on a visit to the state.