Rialto Theatre

lostmemory on August 31, 2007 at 6:44 pm

A Pilcher theater organ opus 1058 size 2/18 was installed in the Old Mill Theater in 1920 at a cost of $9,600.

DonLewis on March 9, 2009 at 9:57 pm

Vintage postcard views of the Rialto Theatre here and here.

lostmemory on July 7, 2009 at 7:03 pm

Here is an article about the Old Mill Theater from The Moving Picture World July 1915:

“THE OLD MILL theater, Dallas, Texas, was erected by Dalton Brothers and Bible during the fall of 1913, and was opened October 15 of the same year. The idea of naming it the "Old Mill” was originated by the architect, I. A. Walker, on account of two large exhaust fans used in the front, giving it an “Old Dutch” appearance. The house seats 890 on the main floor, with additional 48 chairs in the boxes on the main floor; the balcony seats 936 and two tiers of boxes on the sides, brings the total seating capacity to 1924. The chairs used on the main floor have what is sometimes called an “air cushion” seat, the trade-name being “squab-spring” seat, which is very comfortable. It is said these chairs cost over $8.00 each installed. When the house was first opened, a light musical comedy was used for some six or eight weeks, being succeeded by Pantages vaudeville. This circuit’s acts brought very good business to the house until the Garden, Majestic and Orpheum put on vaudeville, and the city could not support so much vaudeville.

During last fall, motion pictures were installed in the Old Mill, and some few weeks after making it a picture house. Dalton Bros. & Bible leased the house to E. H. Hulsey, then owner of the Queen theaters at Dallas, Galveston and Houston. The same day this announcement was made, another deal was consummated whereby the Feature theater, formerly the Orpheum, under complete remodeling, was sold by Dalton Bros. & Bible to the Jorgenson Brothers.

As soon as Mr. Hulsey took over the house, a complete change of the program being used was made. Then Mr. Hulsey started making improvements, the first being an expenditure of several hundred dollars for artistic scenery on the stage, and an electrical fountain. One of the latest improvements is the Wurlitzer Hope-Jones Unit orchestra, said to have cost $15,000. The Old Mill is now running Paramount. V-L-S-E, Griffith features, and features of the General Film Company.

Mr. Hulsey, the lessee of the Old Mill, has just recently added to his string of houses, the Newport, a small house next door to his Queen theater in Dallas, both of which are in the same block with the Old Mill. He also operates the Hippodrome at Waco, in addition to the Queen at Houston and Queen at Galveston. Mr. Hulsey has introduced many novel advertising methods in Dallas for the Queen and Old Mill. One of his recent “stunts” advertising Kleine’s “Woman Who Dared” at the Old Mill was an open carriage, driven by a uniformed driver, with a beautiful woman in the back seat, who had her eyes covered with a domino mask, parading the principal streets of the city".

kencmcintyre on January 2, 2010 at 5:06 pm

The Old Mill is discussed in this 1915 edition of Moving Picture World:
http://tinyurl.com/yb4mex6