When the Paramount reopened in May 1933, manager Frank Burhans ran it like a Depression-era hospital: no orchestra, no stage shows, and light bulbs unscrewed throughout the building to cut energy costs. The strategy worked. Through the 1930s and 40s, audiences filled those seats for Dancing Lady with Joan Crawford, The Gay Divorcee with Astaire and Rogers, and during World War II, servicemen departing from the Port of Oakland used the spacious lounges as gathering places before shipping out to the Pacific.

Television nearly killed the Paramount. The final film before closure in 1970 was Let It Be with The Beatles, a documentary about another ending. Robert Redford used the empty theater to film The Candidate in 1971. Then the Oakland Symphony Orchestra Association bought the building for $1 million, half donated by the seller. Peter Botto managed the restoration: new wider seats, replica carpets, the original Art Deco luster returned. The Paramount reopened September 22, 1973, listed on the National Register of Historic Places just months later. But the Symphony still could not afford it. In 1975, they transferred ownership to the City of Oakland for one dollar in exchange for forty years of free rent.

Since the mid-1970s, the Paramount has hosted a who's who of American music. Bob Marley & The Wailers played July 8, 1975. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band took the stage October 2, 1976. Prince performed his One Nite Alone tour in 2002. James Brown returned multiple times, often with Tower of Power. The theater's 3,040 seats have welcomed Vladimir Horowitz, Bjork, B.B. King, Lauryn Hill, and Neil Young. In 1999, a young Britney Spears made fans squeal on July 29.

Jerry Seinfeld's four sold-out shows in 2004 drew 12,001 patrons, a record since the 1973 reopening, grossing $819,390. Chris Rock sold out three nights in 2003. George Carlin performed in 1974, Richard Pryor in 1975. Beyond entertainment, the Paramount serves Oakland's civic life: Ron Dellums was sworn in as the city's 48th mayor here in 2007 before 1,900 witnesses. Temple Sinai holds High Holy Day services filling the mezzanine and balcony since 2001. The Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame held Oscar Micheaux Award ceremonies honoring Hattie McDaniel and Danny Glover.

The original $20,000 Wurlitzer organ, a four-manual, twenty-rank Publix I model, survives. In 1987, it accompanied Buster Keaton's The General, returning the Paramount to its movie palace origins. Classic film nights continue: Casablanca launched a series in 1988, Dr. Strangelove played in 2002, and in 2012, Abel Gance's 5.5-hour Napoleon required three intermissions including a dinner break, with the 46-piece Oakland East Bay Symphony performing live. Walking into the main lobby today, with its gold ornamentation and glowing fixtures, remains what it was in 1931: a trip through Old Hollywood.