Rialto Theater

Main Street,
High Bridge, NJ 08829

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Additional Info

Previous Names: Rialto Hall

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“The Rialto Theater was located on Main Street on the site of the Riverside Liquors parking lot. Originally used for live performances, it was later changed to a movie theater with two merchant shops on the ground floor facing the street. Most indoor community events, including the fledgling government in 1898, held their meetings in its large auditorium. Regrettably, this important building was demolished in the 1980’s by the then First Fidelity Bank next door to make way for a drive-up window and parking area. Before making their planned improvements, the bank moved out of the borough”.

From “A Pictural History of High Bridge N.J.”, presented by the High Bridge Historical Society, page 92.

Page 168 photo caption: “The cast of ‘Sixty Miles an Hour’ at the Rialto Hall on September 29th and 30th, 1930”.

Page 169 photo caption: “The stage curtain at the Rialto Hall, with advertisements of local merchants. With the advent of moving pictures, the Hall was also used as a movie theater.”

The 1944 Film Daily Yearbook lists a Highbridge Theater with 400 seats as closed (the 1945 FDY shows it again being open). A town of this size most likely only had one theater.

Any additional information on this theater would be greatly appreciated.

Contributed by tc

Recent comments (view all 2 comments)

SolitudeHouse
SolitudeHouse on October 20, 2008 at 1:20 am

The last two theatre seats of the Rialto Theatre are on display at the Solitude House Museum, managed by the Union Forge Heritage Association. They are located at 7 River Road, High Bridge NJ.

William Honachefsky Jr
Union Forge Heritage Association
Solitude House Museum

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on April 23, 2010 at 2:09 am

A High Bridge Theater was also listed in the 1947 IMPA. As the introduction notes, this was most likely an aka as opposed to a separate theater.

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