The Rialto closed in late 1972 or 73, although the building was there and boarded up until 1976 I believe. The side front windows where they put the posters were smashed and I cut my hand on a piece of glass one afternoon in 1976, so I date it at that era. A few of my friends crawled in and said that there were spools of film thrown around the seats. It got torched and finally got ripped down, and that would have been around the same time as Parke-Snow’s fire and the lowest point for Roslindale Sq. I went there often before it closed, and it had great .75 and later $1 matinees for kids on Sat and Sun. There was one weekend when they had Godzilla’s Revenge, which showed up that same evening on Channel 56’s Creature Feature with the title Minya Son of Godzilla. I did see Diamonds Are Forever there, as well as Garden of The Finzi Contini’s and Walkabout, which were pretty complicated for a grade school kid. But they weren’t about to turn away a buck.
The bathrooms were tiled and in the basement. There was an orchestra pit with big brass rails and the instruments from the silent days and live stuff were still in there and covered with canvas in 1972. It had a balcony up back and the opera seats up on either side of the stage that were locked up. The seats were red stuffed cloth covered affairs that punk kids cut open and destroyed.
Next door was was Santoro’s Pizza and they made the BEST pizza in Rossi Sq. Some people prefered the place up by Dianes. Boschetto’s bakery and Ashmont hardware were up the block, JFK TV was down. After it closed there wasn’t a lot for a kid to do movie-wise. Some people went over to Cleary Sq to the Pixie (also known as the NU-PIXIE and worthy of a review or two here as the building was still there a few years ago) to fill the void, or to the Village in Hancock (Westbrook) Village, but they both couldn’t hold a candle to the Rialto. Similar in old-time vibe and size to the Dedham Community, but more ornate. Not anywhere as big as The Village or The Norwood Center place. The late 60s and early 70s crime and drugs, and to a large degree the busing flight made walking to Rossie Sq to see a movie at night a real unpleasant experience. The exact opposite of what is going on there now. Add the Dedham Drive-in converting to the mega-cinema in 1973 and the writing was on the wall. Along with the accelerants and the zippo.
If they invent a time machine, I think a matinee there is in order, with Santoro’s and a couple of comic books at the Spa after.
The Rialto closed in late 1972 or 73, although the building was there and boarded up until 1976 I believe. The side front windows where they put the posters were smashed and I cut my hand on a piece of glass one afternoon in 1976, so I date it at that era. A few of my friends crawled in and said that there were spools of film thrown around the seats. It got torched and finally got ripped down, and that would have been around the same time as Parke-Snow’s fire and the lowest point for Roslindale Sq. I went there often before it closed, and it had great .75 and later $1 matinees for kids on Sat and Sun. There was one weekend when they had Godzilla’s Revenge, which showed up that same evening on Channel 56’s Creature Feature with the title Minya Son of Godzilla. I did see Diamonds Are Forever there, as well as Garden of The Finzi Contini’s and Walkabout, which were pretty complicated for a grade school kid. But they weren’t about to turn away a buck.
The bathrooms were tiled and in the basement. There was an orchestra pit with big brass rails and the instruments from the silent days and live stuff were still in there and covered with canvas in 1972. It had a balcony up back and the opera seats up on either side of the stage that were locked up. The seats were red stuffed cloth covered affairs that punk kids cut open and destroyed.
Next door was was Santoro’s Pizza and they made the BEST pizza in Rossi Sq. Some people prefered the place up by Dianes. Boschetto’s bakery and Ashmont hardware were up the block, JFK TV was down. After it closed there wasn’t a lot for a kid to do movie-wise. Some people went over to Cleary Sq to the Pixie (also known as the NU-PIXIE and worthy of a review or two here as the building was still there a few years ago) to fill the void, or to the Village in Hancock (Westbrook) Village, but they both couldn’t hold a candle to the Rialto. Similar in old-time vibe and size to the Dedham Community, but more ornate. Not anywhere as big as The Village or The Norwood Center place. The late 60s and early 70s crime and drugs, and to a large degree the busing flight made walking to Rossie Sq to see a movie at night a real unpleasant experience. The exact opposite of what is going on there now. Add the Dedham Drive-in converting to the mega-cinema in 1973 and the writing was on the wall. Along with the accelerants and the zippo.
If they invent a time machine, I think a matinee there is in order, with Santoro’s and a couple of comic books at the Spa after.