From rock concerts to dance performances, comedy to lectures and movies to Wurlitzer organ performances, the Historic Paramount Theatre remains a top choice in Denver's entertainment scene.When the Paramount Theater opened in the 1930’s, an estimated crowd of 20,000 gathered in the streets of Denver to celebrate the Grand Opening showing of "Let's Go Native", rivaling the attendance and excitement previously generated only by Hollywood premiers. Designed by Temple Buell, the Paramount Theatre has a glamorous atmosphere which is heightened by the original architectural and design elements. The façade, with pre-cast concrete blocks enhanced by glazed terra cotta moldings, offers a striking contrast to the rusticated stone of surrounding buildings. It also reflects a popular design device of the period: terra cotta decorative elements create the illusion of extra height for a three-story building. The ornate details above the windows and on the sills showcase a recurrent interior motif of rosettes, leaves, feathers and fiddle-head ferns. Green-tinged black marble at the street level and above each window give contrast and more drama to the exterior elements.The interior represents an excellent example of "Zig Zag Art Deco" design, the fanciful and ornamental architectural expression popularized in the Jazz Age. Exotic and flamboyant decoration - Aztec figures, fern, floral, and leaf motifs, sun rays and the ziggurat form - are consistent inside and outside the building, and are repeated in many minute details including stair railings and radiator grilles.Originally designed for the silent movies of the time, the Paramount houses a one of a kind Wurlitzer twin-console organ designed to produce varied sound effects in accompaniment with the picture show. More than 1600 pipes generate sounds of orchestral and percussion instruments as well as special effects such as train whistles, horses' hooves and pounding surf. Despite the fact that the introduction of sound pictures quickly eliminated the need for musical accompaniment, the organ remains as one of the largest to have ever been installed in the Rocky Mountain area and is joined by its sister in New York City's Radio City Music Hall as one of only two remaining in the United States.Photo Paramount Theater Denver by Paul Sableman is licensed under CC BY 2.0