Blue Ridge Country

The Paramount came up among our reader’s favorites for best restored theater, but the votes were enigmatic. Some specified town names,

but others didn’t, and we discovered that “the Paramount” could mean Bristol, Tenn.Va. – or it could mean Charlottesville, Va. – or it could mean Ashland, Ky. All have the same name, and all go back to the same year: 1931. All three relics of the Great Depression today remain popular places to catch almost any kind of show.

"When people come in the door, they say ‘Paramount,’” says Merle Dickert, executive director of the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol. “But I like ‘The Paramount Center for the Arts’ because we serve so many arts."

Likewise, so do the Paramounts of Charlottesville and Ashland. In fact, the Ashland outlet nearly bears the same name as Bristol’s: It’s called the Paramount Arts Center. And it claims fame as the oldest “talkie” movie theater in the Ohio Valley, says executive director Kathy Timmons Setterman.

For fame, you must also count a pop-culture factor: Billy Ray Cyrus – the father of Miley (a.k.a. “Hannah Montana”) Cyrus – filmed his “Achy Breaky Heart” video here.

Still, while all these Paramounts were once movie houses, flicks take a back-row seat to what’s usually at center stage. At Bristol, for one, that would likely be a Broadway-style show, ballet recital or bluegrass concert. —Joe Tennis

Charlottesville: Paramount Theater
Location: 215 E. Main St., Charlottesville, Va.
Info: 434-979-1333
First Movie Shown: “Touchdown”
Movie Status: Shows holiday classics such as “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
Architectural details: Octagonal auditorium chamber, neoclassical grandeur
Claims to Fame: Onstage performers have included Tony Bennett

Bristol: Paramount Center for the Arts
Location: 518 State Street, Bristol, Tenn.
Info: 423-274-8920
First Movie Shown: “It Pays to Advertise”
Movie Status: Occasional showings
Architectural details: Art deco interior
Claims to Fame: Onstage performers have included John Amos, Bob Newhart, Bill Monroe and Vicki Lawrence

Ashland: Paramount Arts Center
Location: 1300 Winchester Ave., Ashland, Ky.
Info: 606-324-3175
First Movie Shown: “Silence”
Movie Status: Occasional showings
Architectural details: Art deco interior; Egyptian designs
Claims to Fame: Wall signed by Miley “Hannah Montana” Cyrus in 2005; Billy Ray Cyrus video “Achy Breaky Heart” shot at theater in 1992.