For more than 40 years, the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre has been used as an athletic gymnasium for Long Island University. Thousands of seats were removed in 1962 to make room for basketball games, which were, oddly enough, accompanied by the original Wurlitzer organ, one of the world’s finest, according to this web site. Now the university has announced that a theater will once again grace the premises since it has built a new athletic facility elsewhere. Apparently the grand lobby, now the student cafeteria, and the original ceiling remain, giving movie theater buffs hope that the building can be restored to its 1928 appearance. More on the theater, with a 1960s-era photo of the gym conversion can be found here.