Rio Theatre
5566 Riverview Boulevard,
St. Louis,
MO
63120
5566 Riverview Boulevard,
St. Louis,
MO
63120
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The Rio Theatre opened in 1939, designed by architect William Schlesinger. It was part of the Arthur Theatre Chain. (Franchon & Marco) this was one of two theatres in the St. Louis area built in the Quonset Hut style. Single floor theatre with a large lobby. A lot of neon adorned the front of the building and the marquee.
Located just off the main boulevard of West Florissant on Riverview the theatre was located in the Walnut Park area of the northwest section of the city. Densley populated with an old German clientele.The Rio stayed around until 1973 when the neighborhood started to change and the older population moved to the suburbs. Lombardo’s restaurant finally bought the property and demolished the theatre for a parking lot.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
Rio opened November 22, 1939. Architect was William Schlesinger.
Theatre owned by Rio Theatre Corporation, Nat Koplar, president.
info from my friend Richard Rogers-
This is the theatre where, as a kid, I saw all of my movies. For most of my childhood we lived in north St. Louis, so regardless of where we moved, the Rio continued to be convenient. I seem to recall that the Rio exterior was faced with glazed terra cotta. About the only thing else I remember was that before the movies they always played the SAME scratchy recording of some popular music tune with the melody played by a trumpet. It became such an anoyance, that to this day when I hear that song I cringe.
James Grebe
I worked at the Rio Show when I was a kid, and don’t recall the quonses style. I remember vertical brick walls on the exterior, and a touch manager named Mr. DiCarlo.
I was an usher in the early 1960’s, when I had to fill the frozen ice crema vending machine.
“The Sound of Music” played the Rio, and the music is still in my head, aftere watching it for about 20 times.
The marquee was round, and one job I had was to change the show on Tuesday nights, ‘cause Wednesday is when the new show started.
The letters were metal…probably lead, and I’m sure toxic.
There was also a guy who worked there with me, Jimmy was his name…nad he was in today’s lexicon, a little person, but we called him a midget. He was much older than the rest of us, maybe in his 30’s. I wonder what happened to him.
MikeO
As a theatre, closed in April 1970.
I spent many a Saturday at the Rio. One flick in particular that I remember was “Rodan”.
First of all, in the main text, the reference to the Walnut Park neighborhood “started to change” is a polite way of saying it became a God-forsaken, crime-ridden ghetto. Not just the older population moved to the suburbs, but mainly the younger population also because the neighborhood wasn’t safe any longer to raise their kids in.
Lombardo’s bought the Rio, yes, but did NOT tear it down for a parking lot. It stood for several years and Lombardo’s rented it out as a warehouse for a vending machine company. When it was eventually, some years later in the 1970’s, torn down, it never became a parking lot.
Jimmy the usher that MikeO refers to, was commonly known as “Shorty”, a flashlight wielding usher who took his job VERY seriously! He later moved to the Lewis and Clark Cinema after the Rio closed.
One of the best parts of the Rio in the 1960’s was the Wednesday matinees for kids out of school – 25 cents admission for a movie, tons of cartoon,s previews, a full day in air-conditioning (which not all homes had back then yet.)
The Rio was a gem of a theater – the epitome of the neighborhood movie theater in its heyday.
The Rio was my favorite theatre in the mid-50’s and early 60’s. Remember having to take my birth certificate to prove I qualified for the 35 cent admission (1958) when I was 11 but was 5'11" tall. !2 and older had to pay 60 cents. Remember seeing Creature of the Black Lagoon, The Birds, and Auntie Mame (yeah, I know, interesting mix) others as well, usually at the Sunday matinees.