Introduction to Paramount, California
Paramount is a city in California's Los Angeles County, located about 17 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Surrounded by four major freeways (Interstates I-105, I-605, I-710 and California State Highway 91), the city is within easy driving distance from Los Angeles International Airport and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Nearby communities include Lynwood (to the north), Compton (to the west), Lakewood (to the south) and Bellflower (to the east).
Presumably named after the Paramount Pictures movie studio, Paramount began as an area formed by two small dairy communities named Clearwater and Hynes. During the 1930s, Hynes became the world leader in the marketing of hay and the place where a daily price for the world market would be established and announced. In 1940, Frank Zamboni opened an ice skating rink which would later become a world class training ground for professional skaters. The owner's name also became world famous when he invented the Zamboni Ice-Resurfacing machine, a device used in ice rinks around the world. The machines are today still manufactured exclusively in Paramount. In 1948, Hynes and Clearwater merged to form the town of Paramount, which became incorporated as a city in 1957.
Paramount Places of Interest
Interesting works of art can be found at major intersections, in parks, in front of businesses, and throughout town as part of Paramount's "Outdoor Art Museum." Recreational sites abound in the city, which contains nine parks, two public swimming pools, and a number of other recreational venues. A noted city landmark is Paramount Iceland, a full-service indoor ice skating facility offering recreational skating as well as hockey and figure skating programs. Iceland has served since 1940 as a premiere practice facility for many well-known skaters including Sonja Henie, Richard Dwyer and Peggy Fleming. The facility also has what may be the only pipe organ currently playing regularly in any ice skating arena in the nation. The Wurlitzer organ, first installed in 1941, is believed to date back to the 1920s. Paramount is also very close to some of Southern California's top tourist and recreational attractions, owing to its prime location adjacent to Los Angeles and Orange County.
