Rialto Theatre
767 Broad Street,
Augusta,
GA
30901
767 Broad Street,
Augusta,
GA
30901
1 person
favorited this theater
The Rialto Theatre was located a stone’s throw between the Imperial Theatre and Modjeska Theatre in Augusta. It was opened September 18, 1918.
Was it ever known for Grade A product like the Imperial Theatre and Miller Theatre? Sadly, very few Academy Award movies played on that screen in a theatre much smaller than the Imperial Theatre or Modjeska Theatre.
On March 7, 1953 the Rialto Theatre was playing its usual fare, "My Pal Trigger" with Roy Rogers and Trigger, the smartest horse in the movies. Of course Gabby Hayes co-starred. The Rialto Theatre almost always had a second feature. That day it also played "The Toughest Man in Arizona".
Most often the drive-in ads in the paper were larger and better than the ads for the Rialto Theatre. So even in those days advertising was not the main source. From what I was told since I was way too young to remember, many kids would spend Saturdays watching double bills, and then hop the city bus back home.
The inside of the theatre from pictures I’ve seen was very plain. It closed in the late-1950’s.
Contributed by
Mike Rogers
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Recent comments (view all 27 comments)
I got your EMAIL.TLSloews.
Hot August day in 1947 and the RIALTO is playing “SIX GUN SERENADE”
The Rialto was the bottom end of downtown theater venues…a long shooting gallery style of house with no balcony. It showed third run films and re-issues witha b-western and serial format on weekends. It was located between the Modjeska which played a similar format and the Imperial, a first run house. Admission was nine cents for kids in the late forties and I saw lots of films there. I believe it closed in the late fifties.
Thanks for adding to our theatres,hope you have many stories.
September 15th, 1918 grand opening ad has been posted here.
thanks so much,rivest266.
Could this be the theater where I saw the “Grapes of Wrath” in the summer of 1965? I also saw “Halleujah Trail” at one of the larger theaters.
RonP, Mike Rogers said the Rialto closed in the late-1950’s.
Ron P the only first run theatres play A pictures Downtown were the IMPERIAL and The Miller.The Rialto was closed in the 50’s,The Modjeska would sometimes run a A picture ,but most of the time they played B pictures.I wanna say it played at the IMPERIAL because they got alot of MGM product.
Miller sat close to 1500, while the IMPERIAL sat 881 in my days there.