 Circa-1973 exterior photo of the Riviera TheatrePhoto courtesy of Mike Geater
It was entirely rebuilt, by architect Thomas Farr Ellerbee, and renamed the Riviera. It was opened in late 1928, done in a Moorish-Oriental style, with live palm trees in the lobby, ultra-plush women's lounges and Middle Eastern decor in the auditorium.
Its vertical marquee, which soared above Wabasha Street, was the first neon-lit sign in the Northwest.
The Governor of Minnesota as well as over 3000 visitors attended the opening-night festivities which included fireworks and a parade.
By the end of the 30s, the Riviera had began a program of double features, but by the mid-40s, it had returned to first-run films. In 1945, Minnesota Amusement Company, which ran the theater from the early 30s onwards, gave the Riviera a complete remodeling, which, despite the chain's best-intentions, removed a great deal of its exotic original decor. The 1928 marquees were taken down and replaced with a far more simpler one.
Starting in the early 50s, the Riviera became known as the place to see event films. Even as late as the early 70s, films like "Patton" and "Papillon" drew large crowds, the latter film being the Riviera's highest-grossing presentation in its history.
However, the theater was showing its age, and as in so many other big-city downtowns, the Riviera began to play to smaller and smaller audiences. In 1976, the theater was closed, despite promises that it would reopen after a remodeling--which never came. Not long afterward, it was torn down.
Contributed by Bryan Krefft
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