Rialto Theater

131 W. Sheridan Avenue,
Oklahoma City, OK 73102

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rivest266
rivest266 on August 23, 2018 at 7:12 pm

This opened on April 15th, 1921. Grand opening ad posed.

Cactus_Jack
Cactus_Jack on March 24, 2012 at 2:44 pm

Shown on this page is a 1930 Rialto Theatre newspaper ad for “HELL’S ANGELS”, starring Jean Harlow.
http://okc-history.org/fun_stuff.html

raybradley
raybradley on March 30, 2011 at 11:27 pm

View link
If you want to see interior and exterior shots go to above link and type in “oklahoma city rialto”

raybradley
raybradley on March 25, 2011 at 3:54 pm

“THE PACE THAT KILLS” was showing when this c1930 shot of the RKO Rialto Theatre was snapped. This “adult” feature probably promised lots of forbidden thrills, but actually delivered nothing. Photo from dougdawg site,
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Rodney
Rodney on April 29, 2008 at 1:17 pm

A vintage image can be seen on this fine site;
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raybradley
raybradley on May 26, 2007 at 9:47 am

Submitted here for your inspection is a 1920s photograph of the Railto Theatre. Rising above the Rialto can be seen the back side of the Criterion stage house, which was located one block North on Main St. A few doors right of the Rialto sat the Folly and Colonial. Around the corner (left) were the State and Liberty. Directly across the street was the Novelty.
This shot was taken before RKO bought control. During the short period when RKO operated this tiny house (above mentioned), a mamoth “42nd Street” style box marquee was installed that dominated the Railto facade, but the towering Coca-Cola sign still distracted attention.
To view image, in search field type in work ‘theatre’, then enter
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xxx
xxx on July 19, 2006 at 4:13 pm

Opened 1920 by Keith/Albee to present silent film/vaude combo, OKC’s downtown Rialto Theatre was built inside the shell of a former telegraph building. A one isle shooting gallery type auditorium had little in way of decoration, but did have a small stage and seven piece orchestra to accomodate vaudeville acts.
When converted to talking pictures in 1928 vaude was discontinued and the name changed (for a short while) to RKO Rialto.
While some theatre “experts” insist on calling that massive roofsign which once crowned Tulsa’s late Majestic Theatre the largest “marquee” (I’d call it a roof sign) ever installed in the state, the Rialto had a gigantic box style marquee that covered the entire second story of the structure, and was perhaps the largest ever- – – in Oklahoma City anyway. The Rialto also sported a roof sign, but it was a towering Coca-Cola red neon sign that drawfed the theatre building it sat atop.
Railto was torn down in 1971 to make way for a Sheridan Hotel.