The Paramount, designed in Art Deco style by the architect S. J. Young (楊錫鏐 Yáng Xíliù, 1899-1978) was completed in 1933,[1] by a group of Chinese bankers. It lay just off Bubbling Well Road (now Nanjing West Road), a major entertainment thoroughfare and was a meeting place for the wealthy elite of Shanghai society. The Ballroom lasted under its original owners before going bankrupt in 1936. In 1937, it was converted into a taxi dance hall featuring Chinese dance hostesses, which it remained until 1949.[2]
In 1956, following the Chinese Communist Revolution, the Paramount was closed and it later reopened as the Red Capitol Cinema showing Maoist propaganda films.[3] As a result of the Cultural Revolution, the building became defunct and obscure. On a rainy day in 1990, part of the structure's façade collapsed and killed a passerby on a sidewalk.[4]
The Paramount Theatre photographed in July 1994.
In 2001, Taiwanese investors spent $3-million to refurbish the venue and reopened it as a ballroom in its original style, with red-and-gold décor.[5]
In December 2006, the Paramount's Taiwanese owners announced the ballroom was losing revenue, so they decided to convert the second and third floors into a disco. Only the fourth-floor ballroom will remain in the old style, and preservationists have expressed concerns that the structure could be damaged by the reverberations of the disco.[citation needed]
In July 2012, Tangobang chose this venue for the Shanghai Tango Festival. In March 2017, the Paramount reopened as a nightclub after it was renovated.[6]
