First of all, in the main text, the reference to the Walnut Park neighborhood “started to change” is a polite way of saying it became a God-forsaken, crime-ridden ghetto. Not just the older population moved to the suburbs, but mainly the younger population also because the neighborhood wasn’t safe any longer to raise their kids in.
Lombardo’s bought the Rio, yes, but did NOT tear it down for a parking lot. It stood for several years and Lombardo’s rented it out as a warehouse for a vending machine company. When it was eventually, some years later in the 1970’s, torn down, it never became a parking lot.
Jimmy the usher that MikeO refers to, was commonly known as “Shorty”, a flashlight wielding usher who took his job VERY seriously! He later moved to the Lewis and Clark Cinema after the Rio closed.
One of the best parts of the Rio in the 1960’s was the Wednesday matinees for kids out of school – 25 cents admission for a movie, tons of cartoon,s previews, a full day in air-conditioning (which not all homes had back then yet.)
The Rio was a gem of a theater – the epitome of the neighborhood movie theater in its heyday.
First of all, in the main text, the reference to the Walnut Park neighborhood “started to change” is a polite way of saying it became a God-forsaken, crime-ridden ghetto. Not just the older population moved to the suburbs, but mainly the younger population also because the neighborhood wasn’t safe any longer to raise their kids in.
Lombardo’s bought the Rio, yes, but did NOT tear it down for a parking lot. It stood for several years and Lombardo’s rented it out as a warehouse for a vending machine company. When it was eventually, some years later in the 1970’s, torn down, it never became a parking lot.
Jimmy the usher that MikeO refers to, was commonly known as “Shorty”, a flashlight wielding usher who took his job VERY seriously! He later moved to the Lewis and Clark Cinema after the Rio closed.
One of the best parts of the Rio in the 1960’s was the Wednesday matinees for kids out of school – 25 cents admission for a movie, tons of cartoon,s previews, a full day in air-conditioning (which not all homes had back then yet.)
The Rio was a gem of a theater – the epitome of the neighborhood movie theater in its heyday.