Rialto Theater
219 N. Harbor Boulevard,
Fullerton,
CA
92834
219 N. Harbor Boulevard,
Fullerton,
CA
92834
1 person
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The Rialto Theater never made it beyond the age of silent movies. According to a local history book, the building was used as a movie theater from 1917 to 1927, although another source lists the building as being built in 1905.
In 1925, its manager left to become the first manager of the Alician Court Theater (now the shuttered Fox Theater), which became the place to go in town. Newspaper movie listings show that the Rialto Theater hung around at least until the middle of 1928, charging reduced admissions for films like those starring Flash the wonder dog, MGM’s answer to Rin Tin Tin. By this time the Alician Court Theater, with its name changed to the Mission Court Theater, was playing the latest Douglas Fairbanks swashbuckler and preparing to become Orange County’s first sound-equipped theater.
In 1930, the Rialto Theater was converted to a bank with its exterior remodeled to zig-zag moderne, completely unrecognizable from its vintage photographs. Having been used in recent years for retail uses, it is now called the Rialto Building and can be seen in downtown Fullerton today.
Contributed by
Ron Pierce
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
The owner of this theatre is Ed Lewis and he is insane.
Nice talk coming from an upstanding LDS member.
The 1930 remodel, in to the First National Trust Bank, was designed by the Walker and Eisen firm.
Here is a photo, circa 1920s:
http://tinyurl.com/22lllw
The Blind Adventure with Betty Howe was released in January of 1918.
This might be the other source mentioned in the description above that claims the Rialto was built in 1905.
photo of the rialto Block.
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