Rialto Theater
220 E. Grand Avenue,
Tonkawa,
OK
74653
220 E. Grand Avenue,
Tonkawa,
OK
74653
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The 900-seat Rialto Theater was opened on October 7, 1926 with Gloria Swanson in “Fine Matters”. It was operated by the Thompson Theatres Circuit into 1950’s. It was still open in 1952, but had closed by 1955 and was demolished in March 1960. McArthur Museum now stands on the site.
Contributed by
Lauren Grubb
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
1935 & 1940 exterior shots of the Spanish Colonial styled Rialto can be seen by typing in word “rialto”,
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…above 1985 picture is actually that of the former Ray Theatre in Tonkawa.
This is the spot where the Rialto Theatre was located on 220 E. Grand Ave. The McCarter Museum now occupies this space.
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Wonderful color pix on this link, http://www.roadsideoklahoma.com/node/667
HUGE mistake!!! Not Rialto pix. roadsideoklahoma made an error, above pictures are those of the Ray.
In its last days the Rialto looked more like an expensive Hollywood backlot set than a movie house.
Now razed, listing should be changed to demolished.
“Another show place has been torn down to make way for a parking lot. The Rialto, which was built in Tonkawa in the late 1930s, has been sold to a real estate company. The theatre has been closed for several years.” — Boxoffice, April 4, 1960
Launched as a silent theatre on September, 1926, operators added vitaphone and Movietone sysyrms for talkies in May of 1929,
The Rialto actually first had a soft launch on October 7, 1926 with Gloria Swanson in “Fine Matters”, but officially launched two days later on October 9, 1926 with Milton Sills in “Paradise” (unknown if extras added in both attractions). The theater building measures 20x132ft and originally housed 900 seats when it opened. It was first managed by Tom Blair.