Rialto Theatre
113 S. Main Street,
Hope,
AR
71801
113 S. Main Street,
Hope,
AR
71801
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The Rialto Theatre was located on S. Main Street was operating prior to 1941. In the 1940’s it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary M.A. Lightman. It was still in operation in 1950.
In reading through the article in the Arkansas Historical Society I noticed that it stated that the Rialto Theatre, after closing in the late-1950’s became a Western Auto Store. The address for the Wetern Auto Store was 113 S. Main St. thus the correct address.
Contributed by
Lost Memory, Chuck
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
The April 17, 1937, issue of Boxoffice announced that the Rialto Theatre at Hope had opened the previous Thursday. It was located in the rebuilt New Grand Theatre building. I’ve found the New Grand mentioned in issues of The Reel Journal going back as far as 1925, but don’t know how long it was closed before being rebuilt as the Rialto.
The Rialto opened with 450 seats, including those in its segregated balcony. It was originally operated by Malco Theatres.
The Grand Theater is listed in 1930 with 500 seats. In 1935 the only theater listed for Hope is the Saenger Theater. I guess that the Grand was closed by 1935.
That means that the New Theatre probably wasn’t operating before 1935 either. The earliest mention I’ve found of it is in 1937. Hope apparently had two movie houses opened in the mid 1930s.
The November 9, 1957, issue of Boxoffice carried a list of theaters in Arkansas that had recently been closed by the United Theatres circuit, and the Rialto was among them. The Hope Drive-In was closed at the same time.
Joe….In 1940 there are three theaters listed for Hope, Arkansas. The New Theater, the Saenger Theater and the Rialto Theater. By 1950, four theaters are listed for Hope. The New Theater, the Saenger Theater, the Rialto Theater and the Palace Theater. I would assume that the New Theater opened between 1935 and 1940. 1937 sounds like one possibility for the opening year.
Not that it helps any but the Palace was located at 217 S. Main St.