Rialto Theater

To see a 1972 view (LAPL Collection) of the Rialto marquee click here:
http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015437.jpg

The marquee isn't entirely blank - the clinging letters remaining on one of its sides spell out a screening of Esther Williams' "Million Dollar Mermaid" (1952).

The Rialto is one of those rare old theaters that features stadium-style seating at the back of the house, with an ordinary raked floor section at the front. Access to the auditorium is via two tunnel-like aisles that slope up to a cross aisle which bisects the house about midway, at the bottom of the stadium section. Given the current popularity of stadium seating in new multiplex theaters, the Rialto was some three quarters of a century ahead of its time.

What a beautiful old marquee, what kind of condition is it in?

The marquee is still in good shape, after all these years. It is the longest marquee after the Paramount Downtown Theatre was razed in the early 60's.

The old letters in the above picture are so much nicer then most of the ones of the times. I remember most of them were not so three dimensional.

This theater and the Tower are only 2 doors apart, with the Tower at the corner of Broadway & 8th St.

A more recent view of the Rialto's exterior can be viewed here.

Another photo:
http://www.gmrnet.com/graphics/theatr1e.jpg

A large color photo of the Rialto Theatre.
http://you-are-here.com/theatre/rialto.html

Here is a photo of Quinn's Rialto in 1921, courtesy of the LA Library:

http://jpg2.lapl.org/theater2/00015439.jpg

A different modern view of the Rialto Theater marquee can be seen here.

I've been told on a few occasions that the Million Dollar Mermaid on the marquee is from when the exterior was used for a set on a movie called The Mambo Kings. The movie people never removed the letters, apparently. I don't have any proof of this. Has anyone seen The Mambo Kings?

I don't know if this ever came to fruition, but it's hilarious and Quinn sounds like he might have been a little nutty:

(May 11, 1917)
SKYSCRAPER TOPS MAY BE USED FOR CROPS
The roofs of downtown office buildings, department stores and theaters may be used for home gardens and the sky line of Los Angeles may resemble a well-cultivated farm if business men and owners of property in the downtown district take up the movement started yesterday by J.A. Quinn, who plans to place boxes all over the roof of his new Rialto Theater Building on Broadway, fill these with dirt, and have them planted with onions, potatoes and other vegetables.
Mr. Quinn said last night, he believed the output of vegetables for Los Angeles could be materially increased by this means, and he intends to father a movement of this kind in the business district.
Luther Brown, chairman of the Home Gardens Committee, indorses the project. He also favors the postponement of the home garden benefit from May 14 to May 21, believing that it will give more time to auction off the seats at prices far in advance of the regular admission fees.
Mr. Brown plans to hold several auctions, and have a corps of pretty girls sell the tickets, so that several thousand dollars will be raised for the home gardens funds from the "Garden of Allah" performances on May 21, the gross receipts of which have been donated in the entirety by Mr. Quinn.
In keeping with the home gardens idea, Mr. Quinn plans to have the ushers at the benefit garbed in shapely overalls, and instead of the usual cylindrical flashlights to show patrons their seats the lights will be concealed in miniature shovels, spades and hoes.

That's funny. Re the Garden of Allah performances, see the 1921 picture posted above.

Mr. Quinn's interest in gardens was probably motivated by an event in April of 1917; the United States declared war on Germany. As in the second part of the world war, in the 1940's, Americans in 1917 became concerned about the effect of farmers being drafted into the army, and there was a movement to encourage ordinary citizens to plant gardens in order to alleviate potential food shortages. As silly as Quinn's notion of rooftop gardens downtown was (especially given the fact that Los Angeles was already a highly suburbanized city with plenty of huge back yards far more suitable for gardening), it isn't particularly surprising. People have always come up with a lot of silly and impractical ideas when they are caught up in the giddiness which typically accompanies the onset of wars.

I understand the war was on but what I found funny was 'shapely overalls'and flashlights 'concealed in miniature shovels, spades and hoes'. Plus, you have to admit its a little funny to go on top of a beautiful theater and pick an onion.

Here is a 1946 photo of the Rialto, with the Music Hall a bit north:
http://jpg3.lapl.org/pics18/00028847.jpg

ken mc: I don't recall ever having seen a picture with the Music Hall sign on the Tower.

Looking at that picture, I suddenly realized that almost all the buildings in it were then less than thirty years old. Everything looks so shiny! A lot of the buildings in the Bunker Hill project are now older than most of the buildings on that stretch of Broadway were in 1946. I wish I had a clearer memory of seeing downtown at that time, but I was only a rug rat, and about the only thing I remember clearly from the late 1940's is those old two-color traffic signals with the "stop" and "go" arms that would pop up, accompanied by the ringing of a bell.

I doubt if anyone will wax nostalgic when the Wells Fargo building on Bunker Hill is razed fifty or sixty years from now. "That was a great skyscraper, wasn't it?"

An early 1920's photo of the interior of the Rialto, as it looked following William Woollett's 1921 remodeling for Sid Grauman.

Here is an exterior photo, circa 1920s:
http://tinyurl.com/nvpww

Here is a recent photo of the Rialto Theater.

The Million Dollar Mermaid marquee was for Mambo Kings, set in the early 50's.

Recent pics:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k79/hollywood90038/dwntwnRialtoMar22200701.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k79/hollywood90038/dwntwnRialtoMar22200702.jpg

Here is a 'then & now' I put together that shows the Rialto from 1928 and now.

http://lahtc.blogspot.com/2007/05/broadway-then-now.html

Thats a great idea. You should do more side by side comparison photos for other theaters.

Thanks Lost Memory, I've put a bunch together of Main street here:

http://lahtc.blogspot.com/search/label/All%20%27then%20and%20now%27

There's one that shows the Burbank and another that shows the Rosslyn.

True crime in February 1922, from the LA Times:

BANDITS ROB ON BROADWAY
Twelve Hundred Dollars Taken From Messengers in Theater Crowd at Eighth Street

As they were about to drive away from the crowded corner of Eighth street and Broadway shortly after 10 o'clock last night with $1200 in cash and 6000 theater tickets, R.W. Neily and F.W. Peters, messengers for the Grauman Rialto Theater, were held up and robbed by three men in a large automobile.

You can see the marquees of theatres Rialto and Tower in the film "Let's Do It Again". Also in the shot is the Orpheum, but much smaller.

The Rialto was showing x-rated films in November 1969, per an ad in the LA Times.

Here are some July 2007 photos. I think the Esther Williams film was part of the Conservancy program a few years ago:
http://tinyurl.com/ynldrh
http://tinyurl.com/yr64bl

I hope you're joking about Esther Williams....if not, rent The Mambo Kings....

I thought the shop in the theatre was selling Esther Williams brand swim wear, as displayed by that rather disturbing collection of mannequin torsos suspended from the underside of the marquee.

Yeah Joe, its almost as bad in there as the Westlake.....TRASH!

This was one of those theatres where they would hand you a little bingo card with your ticket , I believe they called the game Keno, and they called the numbers during intermission. Many of the theatres downtown played this game, I suppose to bolster the number of dwindling cutomers. I remember my dad won once, but he had to share the pot with about 15 other winners, and I still remember to this day his cut....$6. The Tower had Keno, and I think the California did as well.

I've been to every downtown theatre at least once, and most, many times starting around 1962. My dad ususally picked the flicks, and I really hated his taste in movies, so I would go exploring every nook and cranny, even making it on the roof , crawl spaces, backstages, underground, even a few times the cat walks, with the theatre dark and everybody watching the screen, nobody noticed a little skinny Mexican kid wandering about. The only time I actually watched the films is when I got to pick the film, usually "Godzilla vs.Mothra" or "300 Spartans", then and only then would I sit quietly. You know what was great about alot of these theatres? The restrooms. Those things were palaces by themselves. Fancy tiles. Mahogany wood. Thick carpet. Giant jardinieres and sand jars for decoration. I felt like the Sultan's kid taking a leak in those places.

Hey Vokoban...I remember going to the Westlake back in the early 70s. My friend's mom would drop us off for a double-feature and then split. Ahhh, parenting in the 70s....no wonder we turned out this way. Anyway, I think the last thing we saw there was "Guide for the Married Man" and a Rock Hudson movie. I remember seeing rats running up the aisle every now and then.

What I'd give to be able to see one of those rats you saw and still have the theater intact.....You're lucky you didn't run into the Reverend Jim Jones there in the 70's....I think I put a comment about it on the Westlake Theater page.

Glovedude...I've been in the Palace bathrooms which is a strange experience...you are under the sidewalk with those purple glass tiles above you with people walking over you as you go.

I know what you mean about the tiles. Alot of those buildings on Broadway, Hill, Olive and Spring have those glass tiles, most of them
are over basement storage areas. When I was little kid, I snuk into the Bullock's or May Company's basement once, and there was one tile with a crack in it, and being the budding pervert that I was, climbed up some boxes and spent a mesmerised hour looking up women's skirts on the sidewalk. Those things were a cool way to illuminate a basement.

A Robert-Morton theater organ was installed in Quinn's Rialto Theater in 1917. Note: California Organ Co. nameplate.

Any info on the owner? Its a goodlooking house, not opulent but noting to dismiss...Maybe a comedy club or a revival house. Its a shame to see that mammoth marquee going to waste to advertise Womens clothing! How about..... LIVE FROM THE RIALTO - WHOOPI GOLDBERG
(or incert your favorite comedian) imagine a shot of the Restored marquee as the opening for a weekly comedy show on some network like HBO? Crazy, maybe, but what if!!??

Take a look at the interior photos of the State I posted a few months ago. That could be quite a venue.

Here ia an LA Times ad from 7/4/25:
http://tinyurl.com/28zmmp

From yesterday:
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff204/hollywood90038/RialtoFeb16200806.jpg

An updated link for the photo Ken posted in October 2006. The caption dates it as circa 1920-29, but the Tower Theatre clearly puts it as 1927 or later, and I believe you can see the neon vertical of the Los Angeles Theatre (1931) over on the left. Does anyone know their '30s cars? (Or Conrad Nagel features?)

Well, he made a movie that was released on Nov. 1, 1930 called TODAY. I think that's what it says in the the upper right hand corner of the front of the marquee. It might also say 'today' as something that was going on that actual day...I can't see it that well.

The double feature is "Today" (Majestic Pictures-Nov.1, 1930) with Conrad Nagel and "Liliom" (Fox-Oct.5,1930) with Charles Farrell and Estelle Taylor.

I posted a diptych of the Tower and the Rialto on my Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/achangeinscenerymovies/2713631159/in/photostream/

The Rialto Theatre on July 27, 2008:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/achangeinscenerymovies/2745073799/

Here are two photos taken yesterday:
http://tinyurl.com/4ptvyf
http://tinyurl.com/4ljnx6

Here is a January 1947 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/3jn246

While going to college, I got a job at the Rialto in 1961, after about a month they made you assistant mgr. what a great job, hiring the usherettes and candy girls..They outfitted us with brand new tuxedoes and blck patent leather shoes for the evening shift. afterwards we would head up to hollywood and play the role..
I remember it as agreat job..not much money, but lots of benefits. Downtown L.A. in the earl 60's was still very cosmopolitan, and an exciting place to be..15 years later I brought my wife and 4 kids to L.A. to show them where I worked .we were scared to death walking thru that part of town..but I still loved the old movie houses of Broadway.

Bob Ferguson

From the LAHTF's email flyer:

Contact: Hillsman Wright - 310 403-0865
hillsmanwright@hotmail.com
For immediate release – 4/7/09

The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation www.lahtf.org
Invites You & Your Friends to Attend
All About the Tower/Rialto/Olympic (Bard’s 8th St.)
Saturday, April 18, 10:30 am – Doors open at 10:00 am
Tower Theatre * 802 S. Broadway * Downtown Los Angeles
Special thanks to the Delijani family
FREE ADMISSION

The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation (LAHTF) takes its popular All About… series to three theatres near the intersection of Broadway and 8th Street, the Tower (1927), Rialto (1917), and Olympic (Bard’s Eighth Street Theatre, 1927) on Saturday, April 18, 10:30 am. The public is invited to attend.

Show & Tell
Theatre historian Ed Kelsey will present a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation on the storied past of these three very different theatres and relate fascinating tales about the out-sized impresarios – Gumbiner, Quinn, Bard, Grauman, Corwin – who built and operated them.

Tours
Tours will explore the far reaches of the theatres’ public areas, support spaces, and stages to provide attendees with an insider’s, behind-the-scenes look at three of Broadway’s smaller theatres.

Engage
LAHTF volunteers will explain how you can get hands-on experience saving, restoring and programming great theatres in Los Angeles by becoming actively involved with the LAHTF. There will be announcements of a series of exciting events coming to historic theatres on Broadway soon.

Make it a day Downtown.
Join us at Clifton’s Cafeteria immediately following the event to continue the discussion.
Shop for bargains in the nearby Garment District, Broadway’s shops and Grand Central Market.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: Save the Dates: May 16, June 13 & 20.

Many people are fascinated by the architecture of fantasy so beautifully on display in Southern California’s great historic theatres. People are also curious about how the theatres work. What does it look like backstage? What do the performers see when they look out across the footlights? Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation's "All About" series gives the public an insider's look at these wonderful theatres and share parts of their histories - good and bad - as a way to encourage people to become actively involved in protecting and ensuring their futures.

The LAHTF is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, restoring and supporting the operation of Southern California’s historic theatres. For more information visit www.lahtf.org

Here are photos from 1980 and 1983:
http://tinyurl.com/d57zth
http://tinyurl.com/ckuahx

Somebody got inside the Rialto's auditorium with a camera. I can't quite tell if the original ceiling has been destroyed because the photos are so dark. To my eye it looks like a drop ceiling was installed, and that is what was ripped out:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79761301@N00/3498540605/in/pool-72675154@N00

There are about ten photos here. Use the index to view the rest.

1980 Photo

1983 Day Photo

After the untimely death of Michael Jackson last week, I have to ask: Is this the Rialto Theater in Los Angeles where part of the Thriller video was shot?

Here are some photos taken today:
http://tinyurl.com/pac3sl
http://tinyurl.com/qnmams
http://tinyurl.com/r2cusx

Here is a 1983 night photo that shows the Tower, Rialto and Orpheum:
http://tinyurl.com/qp2c7r

Life's too short: Probably asbestos abatement is why the ceiling is missing.

aarfeld: The Thriller video shows the Palace Theater, not this one.