Rio Theatre
435 W. Milam Street,
Wharton,
TX
77488
435 W. Milam Street,
Wharton,
TX
77488
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The last movie to show at the Rio before it closed was “Los Hombres No Lloran” with Jorge Rivero and Lorena Velazquez. That was on June 15, 1975.
Judging from the photo of the facade that CWalczak linked to above, this 1950 theater was not Spanish Renneissance in style, but thoroughly modern. Maybe it was the original Rio that was Spanish.
Are there any surviving photos of the Rio’s interior? There were bas-reliefs in the lobby and auditorium when the Rio was new. Did these survive a 1967 interior remodel? Does anyone know?
The Rio opened at 6:00 p.m. on August 13, 1950. The premier feature was, fittingly enough, “Nancy Goes to Rio” with Ann Sothern and Jane Powell. The Rio’s general contractor was James Kershaw, and C. Russell Lewis of Dallas, Texas supervised the artistic decorations.
Picture of the Rio when “To Kill a Mockingbird” was playing there: View link
Bob, the track used in “Two Boys” crossed N. Alabama Rd. The tracks ran along side Santa Fe Street. The view was to the north and the train was moving eastward. I don’t know if the train was a Santa Fe. BTW, I worked for Mae Jensen at the Rio back in ‘69-'70 for a while.
Thanks, Ken, for the information. This is slightly off-topic, but was the passing train in “Two Boys” a Southern Pacific train? Back in the day, there was an SP railroad crossing down the street from the Rio (It’s now a Kansas City Southern track). I wonder if that’s where the train scene was filmed.
A television pilot was filmed in Wharton in 1970. The Rio was closed to the public for three days while filming was done inside. Sadly, this footage was left on the cutting room floor. I saw the pilot when it aired. It began with a passing train. As the last car went by there was a city limit sign, “Wharton Wisconsin”. The only information I have ever found on this pilot is linked below.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455821/
1984 Photo
Wharton is still the home of horton foote and the the premier of “Baby the Rain Must Fall” was held there.Mr.Footes eternal query.Can one ever go home?,still resonates in my mind. Years of living made me realize that the answer is not subjective.One can never truly go home except in their memory for home in this sense is forever relegated to a specific place in time.