Paramount Movie Theater Recording Studio Start Price USD 170,000.00 Current Price USD 170,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Monday, September 22, 2008 End Time Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Location Marshall, Texas See more about 'Paramount Movie Theater Recording Studio' Description You are viewing the historic Paramount Theater in downtown Marshall Texas.  It was constructed in the atmospheric style (see sculpture) sometimes found in better theaters of that era (built mid 30s).  With the balcony, it seated around 900.  The theater itself is 146 x 60 feet with ceilings to 35 feet.  The entrance to the theater (foyer) is an additional 60 x 20 and opens to one of Marshall's main streets as can be seen in one of the pictures along with the old court house to the far right.  The foyer floor slopes down into the theater but was temporarily built up for use as an office. Recently part of this covering was removed to reveal the ornate tile and marble floor as seen in one of the pictures.  Currently there are no seats but the theater's sloping floor has been tiered in three levels (dinner theater style) one of which is a hard wood dance floor in front of the stage.  The roof is barrel shaped with riveted steel trusses under wood.  Note the Bethlehem and Carnegie markings on them.   I purchased it with the intent of making it into one of the south's premier recording studios for recording larger groups.  If this is why you are here, I have much more to say further down.  I recently came close to selling it for use as a comedy club and a second party for live theatre.  Other suggestions have been a dinner theater, micro brewery, country showcase, and restoring it to the grand theater it originally was and showing movies such as "A Christmas Carol" and "It's a Wonderful Life" with the original carbon arc projectors when thousands of tourists visit Marshall's annual Wonderland of Lights.   Even though it is structurally sound, with water and electricity still connected, restoration is needed to bring it up to current building codes (it does have an elaborate sprinkler system).  The roof leaks and needs to be repaired and resurfaced as well as water damage to some of the walls and ceiling.  If you are financially capable of restoring an older building (probably more than the asking price), I will be glad to answer any questions and arrange to show it to you.  The city is very interested in seeing something done with the Paramount and I've been told there's grant money available but I haven't researched that.  My number is 903 845 2323 and email address is skysp@suddenlink.net   Now for the exciting stuff! Before I purchased the theater, I contracted an acoustical firm from Dallas to do some tests.  One of their findings was that it was under the maximum allowable noise requirement for a recording studio as it set!  Probably because of the 18 inch solid brick walls and very few windows.  Another test for RT60 revealed an ideal reverb time for choral music.  This brings us to the main reason I purchased a building of this size which was to record large (and small) church choirs.  In addition to recording, I planned to establish a choir competition which the studio would sponsor every 6 months, alternating between church choirs and church bands.   Music is a very important part of most church services but you may be wondering how many would be interested in recording or entering a competition.  I recently looked up all the cities within a 50 mile radius of Marshall Texas and entered "church" in an online yellow page search for each city.  After screening out the non church records, I found 3828 churches!  Marshall is in the heart of the Bible Belt which includes all or part of 16 southern states.  To address your concern as to what the client base might be ... well ... you do the math.   Part of my recording experience has been recording UIL concert and choir contests.  I planned to conduct this competition in a similar manner.  For an entry fee, a choir would send in a recording to be judged by 3 qualified judges and their comments/criticisms would be returned back to each entrant.  A choir director could enter just to get the judges comments to assist him with his choir.  The advertisements sent to churches would emphasize that the higher quality the recording, the better their chance is to win.  And what better way to make that recording than with one of our remote trucks (I'll get to that) or have their choir come in to the studio where an album project could also be done.   While listening to entry tapes, the judges will pick 5 finalists in each of 5 categories based on the church size and/or number of choir members.  These 25 finalists will then come to Marshall where they will compete in Marshall's excellent civic center.  Some of the choirs I've recorded have over 300 members.  Imagine how many members and visitors 25 choirs would bring to town.  Another reason for having the competition in Marshall is because of it's two Christian Colleges.  I'm sure they would be glad to have open house, as would the studio, during the competition.  I attended the Aspen Audio Recording Institute which was associated with the University of Colorado College of Music.  Something like this could possibly be set up for teaching recording and sound reinforcement techniques to some of their students as well as church music directors.   There are many ways to profit from this studio/competition enterprise and I will highlight a few here:   * Competition Entry Fees * Advertisements From Local Merchants in Flyers Sent Out To Prospective Entrants * Competition Ticket Sales at the Civic Center * CD's and DVD's of the Competition Sold to Attendees, Churches, and Nationally! * Classes On Sound and Recording Techniques * Rental of Booths in the Large Hall of the Civic Center for Church Related Vendors     as well as Churches That Want To Sell Their Own Items (Church Flee Market!) * Studio Recordings of Church Choirs and Bands Both Contestants and Non Contestants * Recording of Local Artists and Groups Including Videos on the Paramount's Stage     East Texas and N W Louisiana Have Many Talented Musicians * Remote Audio and Video Recordings of Concerts, Contestants, Video Projects, etc     which brings me to the remote trucks.   The smaller truck has a sound proof room constructed of 3 shiplapped layers of MDF, sound board, and MDF, all floated on felt.  The air conditioning is very quite due to the large duct silencers.  I've used this truck on many successful remote recordings.   The audio/video trailer I'm currently designing is a very special Military Data Center that is EMP hardened (see picture).  This means it will protect sensitive electronic equipment within from the ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) created by an atomic blast.  An EMP hardened enclosure is also referred to as a screen room or Faraday cage in the recording business - this one being mobile!!!   Faraday cages, found only in a few of the upper end studios, are used to prevent electromagnetic interference (radiated by industrial high current switching and radio transmitters) from effecting recording equipment as well as electronic musical instruments.  I've found in doing remote work for many years that occasionally there will be intermittent hisses and crackles even with my elaborate grounding system.  In rare cases a voice or music will accompany these noises and then I'll realize there's a high power transmitter nearby.  You never know just how close you may be to a transmitter, whether it's moving or stationary - legal or illegal, and that's why a Faraday cage is even more important in remote work.   I worked for several years as an engineer for a company that designed EMP hardened enclosures for the military.  It never ceased to amaze me when I tried to pick up any AM/FM radio stations in their screen room and found only silence.  It didn't take much of a door opening though to let the local stations come in loud and clear.  That's why all audio and video signals entering and leaving the van will be digital and via fiber optics to maintain the shielding from any type of outside interference.  This Data Center is constructed as a container van so it can be shipped any where in the world where recording is difficult due to intense electromagnetic radiation such as un-regulated "border blasters".   I purchased many quality items for the studio such as a Yamaha C7 grand piano, Hammond organs and Leslies, Neumann and AKG mics, many large roll around stands and Mogami mic cables and snakes, etc, etc.  I cannot however complete both the theater and van which is why I am regretfully selling the theater in hopes I can work closely with someone or group that has the resources to finish what I have started.  I know the city of Marshall is actively seeking ways to attract more tourism.  What better and more unique way to bring thousands of visitors into town twice a year than with the competition and hundreds more to the studio on a regular basis.   If you're as excited about this as I am but would prefer someone else to operate the studio, I am incorporated and would consider investors. Thanks for Your Interest, Sky Spencer Place a Bid!