Paramount dorms open for tours
Kelly Smith & Kimya Kavehkar
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The newly unlocked glass doors of the Paramount Center are ready to be smeared with the greedy handprints of Emerson students come next semester's housing selection process. Just in case getting your dream dorm room wasn't already a gamble, 260 lucky Lions will have the chance to sleep by Marquee-light.
The Paramount Center, after extensive renovation over the past 2 years, mimics the building's original charm, circa 1932. After the space took down its Art Deco paintings and shut its doors in 1976, the historic building fell into disrepair, its seats filled with the ghosts of audience members past. Today, after working with the Boston Landmarks Commission and the Boston Preservation Alliance, the original layered brick wall remains as the barrier between the Theater space and the rest of the center.In addition to the time-preserved theater and the Performance Development Center, which includes a black box theater, rehearsal suites up the wazoo and a screening room-meets-sound-stage space, the Paramount will house students on floors six through nine. Why was floor six afraid of seven? Probably because the hallways of the new living space are reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. They are so long and so straight you might expect Jack Nicholson to be waiting at the end. But rest assured, no crazies will be rendezvousing through the dorms-the design of the stairwells only permit dwellers to exit from the dormitory floors. There is a grated door that separates the residence floors from the rest of the Paramount Center, and the doors lock from inside the stairwell to prevent between-floor traveling.
The Laundry and Mail Rooms
The sixth floor is the mecca of all things convenient-the building's only laundry facility and mailroom wait expectantly by the elevator doors. Each student will have key access to his or her own mailbox and a package room to prevent the hernia you may aquire after carting Mom's massive care package from the Colonial Building three blocks away. The laundry room is a little cramped, with six dryers and six washers in a room with a low ceiling. Plan ahead on Sunday nights when everyone is rushing to get their wash done for the week.
The Common Rooms
Picture a giant tennis ball. This is the color of the common room walls on each residence hall floor. The effect on your retinas may be the rough equivalent of being hit in the face with a winning serve from Andre Agassi. But, once your ocular nerves recover from the bombardment of fluorescent yellow-green, the view of Downtown from the many-angled windows give the room a light and life of its own.
To the left is a kitchen area for those occasional spaghetti dinners. The three stovetops are shiny (for now) and ready to hold college delicacies like grilled cheese or scrambled eggs. On the opposite counter are two large sinks that will no doubt pile up with caked and crusty dishes. These basins are so deep, they seem more appropriate for washing babies than plates. Next to the sinks are two built-in microwaves that are begging to have their insides singed by popcorn-popping amateurs. Bon appetit!
Beyond the kitchen area is the typical common room set up you would expect to see in Piano Row, The Colonial or Little Buildings. The window showcases a wide view of the roof, where a few tempted daredevils may wish to explore. No worries, the window opens, but not enough to fit a few people through for an impromptu party out on the roof.
The Suites
The suites are divided between three-room suites or doubles. Each has all the amenities of a normal suite: rooms, a private bathroom and shower, etc. But strangely missing is the common room and kitchen, which takes away a lot of the social aspect of living in that kind of environment. Besides these two factors, it is identical to the Piano Row suites.
Claustrophobic? Be weary of the windows-prison-like and teeny-tiny, they may raise questions as to whether or not the architects intended students to see anything.
The disability suites have all of the typical additions, the hearing-impaired doorbells and full showers. A tip to the wise: for the most spectacular view of Washington Street and the Paramount sign, seek the rooms at the front of the building. Those twinkling lights on the marquee may lull you sweetly to sleep.
The Paramount Cafe
If it looks like a diner and smells like a diner, you just might find yourself at the Paramount Café. Walk downstairs and enter hamburger heaven-retro and modern in a '50s sense. With its open grill and pristine surfaces, what may be considered the basement of the Paramount Center becomes a pastel-painted, local hot spot for sweet potatoes and curly fries. Like Piano Row's Max Mutchnick Campus Center Café's selections a la carte or the Little Building's C-Store, there are the typical "to go" options (i.e. Naked Juices, Odwalla Bars, yogurt parfaits, etc.) but these options have nothing on the Paramount's Philly cheese steak, a meaty affair to be reckoned with.
Freshman Zach Buckner said this grilled delicacy from the Keystone State is the best option.
"They've got the only cheese steak I know in Boston that you can get with Cheese Wiz," the film major said.
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