Alto Theater
E. Oleander Avenue,
La Feria,
TX
78559
E. Oleander Avenue,
La Feria,
TX
78559
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Previous Names: Dukedun Theater, Bijou Theater, Rialto Theater
Nearby Theaters
The 600-seat Dukedun Theater was opened by 1929 and was closed by 1931. It had reopened by 1932 and in 1933 it was renamed Bijou Theater. By 1938 it had been renamed Rialto Theater with 475-seats, and was listed in the 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook as (Closed). However, it had actually re-opened by November 1940 as the Alto Theater, again with the same seating capacity. The Alto Theater continued until at least 1957 when it was listed with 600-seats.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
An article in the August 11, 1931 issue of Motion Picture Times said that E. F. Stein planned to open a newly remodeled theater at La Feria on September 10. The article said that the house was formerly known as the Dukedun Theatre and had been operated by Brady and Omhart. I thought perhaps the odd name Dukedun was a typo, especially since the magazine used a different spelling of La Feria (LeFeria) in the headline than in the article. But Google did fetch one other instance of the name, in the March 21, 1929 issue of The Brownsville Herald, which said that Mrs. Beulah Lee Nesmith was going to take over management of the Dukedun Theatre at La Feria from Ed Brady.
The Dukedun is listed in the 1929 FDY with 600 seats. La Feria isn’t in the 1930 FDY, but in 1931 the Dukedun is listed as closed. In 1932 it is open again, but in 1933 the house at La Feria is called the Bijou, though still with 600 seats. The 600-seat Bijou then remains listed through 1938. I don’t have the 1939 yearbook, but in 1940 the only house listed at La Feria is the Rialto, with 475 seats.
The Alto Theatre was being advertised in the Brownsville Herald by November, 1940, so the name Rialto didn’t last long, and the FDY was a bit behind the times for still listing the Rialto in 1941.