Rivoli Theatre
1755 Park Street,
Hartford,
CT
06106
1755 Park Street,
Hartford,
CT
06106
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By the 1970’s it was playing X-rated movies like “THE MINX” playing March 24,1970.
Conversion of this theatre from sub-run to an art house policy, as reported in Boxoffice magazine, October 14, 1963:
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Item in Boxoffice magazine, August 14, 1961:
OLDTIME PRICES REVIVED
The Rivoli in Hartford. Conn., turned back the hands of time to the days of the 15-cent admission. The gimmick was used for four consecutive matinees of “The Golden Age of Comedy” and “Gorgo.” The 800-seat house charged 15 cents for children and 25 cents for adults and sold popcorn for only five cents."
I enjoyed this theater and first saw “King of Hearts”, 3 nights running, when it premiered in Hartford in the late 60’s. “KoH” is one of my all time favorites.
An Austin organ Opus 1433 Size 3/8 was installed in the Rivoli Theater in 1926 at a cost of $10,000.
I only went there a couple of times in 1965…once to see Ingmar Bergman’s then-new ALL THESE WOMEN on a double bill with TWO-WAY STRETCH. At the time the theatre seemed very dingy. I returned for a revival program of CYRANO DE BERGERAC with OPEN CITY. Strange combo! OPEN CITY was projected as though it were a wide screen film…heads cut off or part of the subtitles. For a wannabee rep house, they clearly didn’t grasp the concept of aspect ratio.
The Rivoli was part of a chain that included the Webster Theatre in Hartford (now a live music venue) and the Plaza Theatre in Windsor (abandoned since 1997 and sitting there empty).
The Rivoli first opened around 1926 and had 949 seats. It was demolished in 1975 to make way for the Parkville Community School.