Del Rio Theater
3300 Atchison Street,
Riverbank,
CA
95367
3300 Atchison Street,
Riverbank,
CA
95367
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Preservation attempts failed, and the theater was demolished in June 2023. It was said that they wanted to keep the marquee, but it was cost prohibitive.
Despite its condemnation in 2012, a Google street view dated May, 2018 shows Del Rio building still standing, with its vertical sign intact. It did look vacant at that time, and I’ve found no recent information about it on the Internet. The most recent mention is a March 23, 2016 article in The Modesto Bee. At that time the building had been sold to a Modesto businessman who intended to renovate it for use as an event center. The project had obviously not come to fruition by May this year.
A few 2011 photos can be seen here and here.
An April 9, 2012 article in the Modesto Bee says that the City of Riverbank has condemned the Del Rio Theatre building and it is now vacant. The redevelopment agency that was to have overseen the renovation of the house is near default and will probably be shut down. At this point, it seems unlikely that the Del Rio Theatre will be saved.
You’re a tough grader. Glad you weren’t at my school.
I give it a B-. It would have been a B+ but for the claim that Otto Deichmann was “…the foremost theater designer in the west at the time.”
I’ll work on it.
I thought that was pretty funny too. Even has photos.
Here is somebody’s term paper, subject Del Rio Theater:
http://tinyurl.com/nqmt5q
Here is a 5/25/09 story about possible demolition from the Modesto Bee:
http://tinyurl.com/p33hg4
That’s supposed to be O.A. Deichmann.
The June 21, 1947, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said the the new Del Rio Theatre had opened recently. The owner was William Peters, who also owned the El Rey Theatre in Manteca, the Rio Theatre in Ripon, and the Lyric Theatre in Escalon.
The Del Rio had 750 seats, 135 of them loges. The architect was O.E. Deichmann of San Francisco, who also designed the Park Theatre in Menlo Park.
More renovation news:
http://tinyurl.com/arc7jd
Plans are afoot to turn the Del Rio into a community arts center:
http://tinyurl.com/5arkwm
I went to the Del Rio in the early 70’s. I saw a double feature, John and Mary and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. The admission price was low but you could hear the nearby bowling alley during the movie.