I’m a little late on this contribution, but better late than never. I grew up in this neighborhood in the mid to late 50’s. I knew this theater well. I was about 10-12 years of age at this time…yeah…I’m an old guy for sure. Maybe I can help fill in some of the gaps for those who may be interested. While I don’t have any photos to share of this gem of a movie house, I have lots of memories of attending it’s regular Saturday matinees. Every Saturday there was a different episode, to keep you funneling money back into their coffers. It had a balcony, which was really surprising for such a small theater. I know this because the older kids would sit up there and toss/throw candy down at the younger kids, when they weren’t “necking” with the girlfriends. It had a small lobby with candy/popcorn snackbar. As I recall, it was open on weekends and perhaps one, or two weeknights. Admission was only 10 cents. Popcorn 5 cents, candy 5 cents, and soda 5 cents. Once a month, on a Saturday, my dad would give me 50 cents on a Saturday to go get a haircut at Abe’s barbershop, adjacent to The Rialto. The haircut cost 25 cents. Afterwards, a quick dart to the right and you were in front of the ticket booth. It had a little marquee area, beyond the ticket booth, with windows showing the “Coming Attractions”. After entering into the lobby, you could either go upstairs to the balcony, or straight ahead into the main theater. It had a very small stage in front of the movie screen. I never saw, or heard of anyone staging a play there, but I could imagine it would have been possible. There were “exit doors” opening onto Harris Street, which the kids that were not able to pay would use to enter the theater after “pooling” their money together to send in one patron. After the lights went down, the doors would be opened by some “unknown” patron, and the bad element would come in. You didn’t squeal on those kids, because they would beat your _ss after the show, if they got kicked out. So, I’m pretty certain this impacted The Rialto’s revenue, long before the rioting, aforementioned. This was a gritty part of the city, and it was predominantly caucasian. Our family moved out of the area by 1961, so I can’t provide any further information about the demise of The Rialto theater. Thanks for allowing me to share some very fond memories.
I’m a little late on this contribution, but better late than never. I grew up in this neighborhood in the mid to late 50’s. I knew this theater well. I was about 10-12 years of age at this time…yeah…I’m an old guy for sure. Maybe I can help fill in some of the gaps for those who may be interested. While I don’t have any photos to share of this gem of a movie house, I have lots of memories of attending it’s regular Saturday matinees. Every Saturday there was a different episode, to keep you funneling money back into their coffers. It had a balcony, which was really surprising for such a small theater. I know this because the older kids would sit up there and toss/throw candy down at the younger kids, when they weren’t “necking” with the girlfriends. It had a small lobby with candy/popcorn snackbar. As I recall, it was open on weekends and perhaps one, or two weeknights. Admission was only 10 cents. Popcorn 5 cents, candy 5 cents, and soda 5 cents. Once a month, on a Saturday, my dad would give me 50 cents on a Saturday to go get a haircut at Abe’s barbershop, adjacent to The Rialto. The haircut cost 25 cents. Afterwards, a quick dart to the right and you were in front of the ticket booth. It had a little marquee area, beyond the ticket booth, with windows showing the “Coming Attractions”. After entering into the lobby, you could either go upstairs to the balcony, or straight ahead into the main theater. It had a very small stage in front of the movie screen. I never saw, or heard of anyone staging a play there, but I could imagine it would have been possible. There were “exit doors” opening onto Harris Street, which the kids that were not able to pay would use to enter the theater after “pooling” their money together to send in one patron. After the lights went down, the doors would be opened by some “unknown” patron, and the bad element would come in. You didn’t squeal on those kids, because they would beat your _ss after the show, if they got kicked out. So, I’m pretty certain this impacted The Rialto’s revenue, long before the rioting, aforementioned. This was a gritty part of the city, and it was predominantly caucasian. Our family moved out of the area by 1961, so I can’t provide any further information about the demise of The Rialto theater. Thanks for allowing me to share some very fond memories.