Rialto Theatre
Stonewall Street,
Greenville,
TX
75401
Stonewall Street,
Greenville,
TX
75401
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The Rialto Theatre was one of the two larger theatres in downtown Greenville. Seating was listed at 645. It was open in 1930 being operated by Dent Theatres.
Later in the 1930’s by the Lily Circuit until the mid-1940’s when Jefferson Amusemnt Co. (Paramount) took over and operated it until its closing in 1951.
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Contributed by
Chuck
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From the Victoria Advocate, January 8, 1941:
Four Buildings in Greenville Razed by Hungry Flames.
Greenville, Tex., Jan. 8â€"Hungry flames that ate through four buildings in downtown Greenville were brought under control in a five-hour fight early today after causing an estimated $75,000 damage.
Cause of the fire, which originated in the Southern Café about midnight, was not known, but several café patrons were knocked to the floor by an explosion in the rear of the two-story building, giving first warning of the blaze.
Spreading swiftly despite efforts of the Greenville fire department, the fire destroyed the first floor café and second story, and then licked through an adjoining dress shop, across an empty building and into the Rialto Theatre before weary firemen finally gained the upper hand.
The theater suffered heavy water and smoke damage while the two buildings between it and the café were burned badly.
For a time fire department officials considered calling for reinforcements from Sulphur Springs and Wolfe City, but the Greenville firemen were able to control the fire by themselves.
A contretemps in Greenville reported in the October 17, 1934, issue of Motion Picture Daily:
Jefferson Amusement/East Texas Theatres, Paramount affiliates, operated the Texan and Rita Theatres in Greenville. The grievance board found in favor of Greenville Amusement, and Jefferson appealed, which occasioned this longer article from the October 22 issue of MPD:I was unable to find anything about the outcome of the appeal in later issues of the magazine. In any case, Jefferson Amusement did eventually take over Jack Lilly’s Greenville theaters.