Rio Theatre
1205 Soquel Avenue,
Santa Cruz,
CA
1205 Soquel Avenue,
Santa Cruz,
CA
3 people
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The Rio Theatre, which was built in 1949, has now reopened as a performing arts center. The Rio was purchased from United Artists before the giant theater chain filed for bankruptcy.
Contributed by
Ross Melnick
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
A recent close-up of the Rio marquee can be seen here.
The above link no longer works so try this one instead.
I first attended the Rio in 1975, for a revival of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” paired with the European animated science fiction fantasy, “Fantastic Planet.” At this time the Rio’s auditorium was draped in crimson soundfold, and this is the look I knew during all the years I went to shows there. However, a longtime resident of the Santa Cruz area said that before the soundfold was applied to the walls, there were murals depicting women being attended by nymphs or putti or somesuch. I’m wondering if anyone will ever confirm the existence of these murals. I remember the tiered lotus wall fixtures with lighting in red and blue that I mentioned in an earlier post, and there was originally a blue-lit neon clock to the right of the screen. Also, during my earliest visits there, overstuffed couches still remained in the lobby, and there was at least one framed painting on the wall, which was clearly of 1940s vintage, depicting a vase and a bowl of fruit. Also, there was a mirror mounted in the front of the concession stand, which had a silkscreened image of a smiling woman, advertising a soft drink, probably Coca-Cola. The mirror was suffering from some oxydation of the silver and paint on its back.
Here is a 2008 photo of the Rio.
The Rio can also be seen in this photo.
February 2009 photo
Here are two 1984 photos:
Photo1
Photo2
If one looks closely at the first of the two photos linked to Lost Memory’s April 27 post, a hand painted poster in the display case can be seen, inviting Mothers to make use of the Rio’s Cry Room. I remember this poster, which was hand painted. I have no idea how old it was. Usually it was displayed in a freestanding poster case in the lobby, just inside the entrance doors to the left as you walked in.
Couple more photos of the Rio Theatre.
View link
View link
According to the history page on this theater’s official website, this theater was specifically built to house a “Cycloramic” screen and opened as the Rio Cycloramic Theatre. The screen was supposed to create the illusion of depth. It sounds a great deal like Cinerama. Does anyone know anything about these Cycloramic screens?