The Brooklyn Paramount is a live music venue inside a lavishly restored 1928 movie palace at 385 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn. Designed by the Chicago architecture firm Rapp and Rapp for Paramount Pictures, the rococo-style theater originally sat over 4,000 guests and hosted jazz legends like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis, along with 1950s rock and roll pioneers such as Chuck Berry and Fats Domino.
After closing as a theater in 1962, the building spent more than four decades as Long Island University’s Schwartz Athletic Center, hosting the LIU Blackbirds basketball program. Live Nation led a roughly $50 million restoration to return the space to live entertainment, and the venue reopened as the Brooklyn Paramount on March 27, 2024, with a debut performance by Damian and Stephen Marley.
Quick Answer
The Brooklyn Paramount holds about 2,700 people. That figure covers the venue’s modern concert configuration, which mixes general-admission standing room on the main floor and second-floor landing with reserved balcony and box seating above.
Brooklyn Paramount Capacity, Explained
Capacity isn’t a single fixed number at most theater-style venues, and the Brooklyn Paramount is no exception — it flexes depending on the show. For general-admission concerts, Live Nation opens the orchestra floor and the second-floor standing area to GA ticket holders, with the venue’s total capacity landing at around 2,700 guests across both levels.
For shows with reserved seating, the balcony and VIP box sections come into play, trimming the overall head count somewhat since fixed seats take up more room per person than standing space. Either way, 2,700 is the number you’ll see cited as the Brooklyn Paramount’s top-line capacity, and it’s the figure Live Nation itself uses when describing the room.
For context, that puts the Brooklyn Paramount above club-sized NYC rooms like Irving Plaza and Warsaw (both around 1,100-1,200 capacity) but well below larger rooms like Kings Theatre (about 3,000) or arena-scale venues such as Barclays Center. It fills a mid-sized gap in Brooklyn’s live music scene that didn’t really exist before 2024.
From Movie Palace to College Gym
When it opened in November 1928, the Brooklyn Paramount was billed as one of the first theaters built specifically for sound film, wrapped in an ornate rococo interior with a cloud-painted ceiling, a 60-foot stage curtain embroidered with satin pheasants, and a lobby fountain stocked with goldfish. The original house sat more than 4,000 guests, a far larger footprint than today’s concert configuration.
Beyond films, its stage became a stop for touring jazz and early rock acts through the 1950s, including a run of influential rock and roll shows hosted by DJ Alan Freed. Long Island University acquired the building and, after the theater closed in 1962, converted the auditorium into a basketball arena — the Schwartz Athletic Center — that served LIU’s athletic teams for more than 40 years, with much of the original decor hidden behind gym infrastructure.
A Live Nation Restoration
Plans to revive the theater as a performance venue took shape starting in 2017, with Live Nation signing a 25-year lease in 2023 and overseeing an extensive, multi-year restoration that preserved much of the original architectural detail — including the venue’s historic Wurlitzer organ — while adding modern concert infrastructure like updated sound, rigging, and bar service.
The venue reopened in March 2024 with roughly 2,700 capacity, giving Brooklyn a mid-sized concert hall between club-sized rooms and the borough’s larger arenas. Since reopening, the Brooklyn Paramount has hosted a steady lineup of touring artists across genres, from hip-hop and R&B to rock and electronic acts.
Seeing the Venue: Photos and What’s Inside
Photos of the Brooklyn Paramount typically highlight two sides of the building: the restored rococo auditorium with its ornate plasterwork and cloud ceiling, and the marquee-lit Flatbush Avenue facade that anchors the corner. Live Nation’s own site and venue press photos show the renovated lobby, the main floor and balcony sightlines, and close-ups of restored architectural details like the proscenium arch.
If you want to see the space before a show, Live Nation’s official venue page and the Brooklyn Paramount’s social channels post photos from recent concerts, and several historic-theater photography archives have documented both the original 1928 interior and the restoration.
Planning Your Visit
Tickets for Brooklyn Paramount shows are sold through Ticketmaster, linked directly from each event listing on the venue’s own site; pricing varies by show and seating tier (GA floor, GA balcony, or reserved VIP boxes), so check the specific event page rather than relying on a flat number. The venue doesn’t operate its own dedicated parking lot, but it partners with nearby garages through ParkWhiz, and it sits directly across from the DeKalb Avenue subway station (B, Q, R trains), with the Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center hub a short walk away — transit is genuinely the easiest way in.
Doors typically open roughly an hour or two before showtime, and bag policies follow standard NYC venue security rules (small bags only, no professional cameras with detachable lenses). Because exact hours, prices, and entry rules can change by event, always confirm current details on the official Brooklyn Paramount website before you go.
Photos
Charges fast enough to top up your phone between the opener and the headliner.
Many venues let empty soft flasks through security. Refill inside and roll it up when it's empty.
See the stage from the lawn seats — small enough for most venue bag rules.
Brooklyn Paramount capacity and venue guide FAQs
What is the capacity of the Brooklyn Paramount?
The venue holds about 2,700 people in its standard concert configuration, combining general-admission floor and second-floor standing space with balcony and VIP box seating.
How many people does the Brooklyn Paramount hold compared to other Brooklyn venues?
At roughly 2,700 capacity, it’s larger than club venues like Warsaw or Irving Plaza (around 1,100-1,200) but smaller than Kings Theatre (about 3,000) and far smaller than Barclays Center.
When did the Brooklyn Paramount open?
The theater originally opened in November 1928 as a movie palace built by Paramount Pictures; it reopened as a live music venue on March 27, 2024, after a Live Nation-led restoration.
Was the Brooklyn Paramount ever used for something other than concerts?
Yes. After closing as a theater in 1962, the building served as Long Island University’s basketball arena, known as the Schwartz Athletic Center, for more than four decades before its restoration.
Where can I see photos of the Brooklyn Paramount?
The venue’s official website and Live Nation’s press materials feature photos of the restored rococo auditorium and the Flatbush Avenue marquee; historic theater photography archives also document the original 1928 interior.
Where is the Brooklyn Paramount located and how do I get there?
It’s at 385 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn, directly across from the DeKalb Avenue subway station served by the B, Q, and R trains, making transit the easiest way to arrive.
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