Rialto Theatre

710 freeway:
Original Plan, Right Down Meridian, taking out the Library, and the High School as well as other interesting places.
Westerly Route, Go West, Through El Sereno, and the Monterey Hills. LA blocked it, and then many luxury homes were built in the hills. NO change of that route after that.
Latest Idea I have heard is to tunnel… Which might just make sense.

South Pasadena has fought this off for more years than I have been alive, and I am 45. Moved out of my first home to get away from the freeway, house is still standing. LOL

The 710 extension (if it would ever go thru) would go more to the west. At least one of the proposed plans. ::cough::build it::cough::

I think a new screen was installed not too long ago, or maybe it was just new digital sound. The last time I was there was back 1998 for Life is Beautiful. The movie is of course 1.85:1 and used all of the screen, so yeah, it was top down and probably is now. I’d say around 40ft wide.

It was added to The National Register of Historic Places in 1978; so at the very least, I would think it holds historical landmark status to the point where it could not be torn down. But how much would that still allow for it to be altered?

Best case scenario would be for it to enjoy a complete restoration, and subsequently used as a live production theater (making ideal use of its stage, orchestra pit and dressing room areas) in addition to a movie house. It could feasibly be both (among other things) and still turn a profit.

Here’s hoping The City Of South Pasadena steps in and comes to its rescue.

I wonder how much Landmark would want for it?

Jamba juice.

So what to do with the building if no movies?

It’s a surprise that it lasted this long in that market. It’s hard to keep a single screen theatre running now.

It appears Landmark has decided to close the Rialto in South Pasadena. FilmRadar has received confirmation from the circuit on the decision. Here is a link to the information:

View link

I saw “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” here.

Here is a 1977 article from the Pasadena Star-News about the possible demolition of the Rialto:

SoPas citizens write to the rescue of Rialto Theater

South Pasadenans are beginning to rumble about the imminent plans to
demolish the Rialto Theater, a 1925 Moorish landmark that has seen the rise and fall of vaudeville, Saturday serials and cinema verite.
About 100 petitions are being circulated by a grass-roots organization which calls itself the Rescue the Rialto Committee.
Residents are riding on a groundswell following a county surveyor’s report found that the Rialto met the criteria necessary for possible
inclusion on the national register.

Tom Sitton, a surveyor employed by the county to examine structures
for a statewide inventory, said that he found that the Rialto met the
criteria necessary for possible inclusion on the national register.
Sitton said that qualifying as “potential material” would afford the edifice the same protection as a structure, already on the register.
This resulted from an executive document issued in 1972 which said
that since surveying historic sites was a time-consuming operation,
those that met the criteria should be treated like those already on the register, until the drawnout application procedure can be completed.

The structure is among other buildings on a four-square block area
in the downtown section that has been slated for a shopping center.
The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on that project, which was
adopted in July, 1975, reported that there were no state or federally
registered historic structures in the project area. John Bernardi, the city’s director of building and planning, said that the citizenry had 80 days to challenge an EIR. That time is past, but hearings will be held for the parking district, which is another part of the downtown development, Bernardi said. During those hearings, residents may bring up the Rialto issue.

My first visit to the Rialto was in 1972, when it was still being operated by Mann’s as a first run house. I don’t recall if this was before or after the fire which destroyed the left organ chamber. I do remember the building being a bit down at the heels, though. It must have been only shortly after this that the Rialto was taken over by Landmark, because I remember that on my next visit to the theatre it had become a revival house with an admission price of one dollar.

Over the next several years I went to the Rialto more often than to any other theatre. Though by 1986, the last time I was there, the price had been upped to three dollars, it remained one of the best entertainment bargains around. The program would change twice a week, and there were often triple features, with the fare running from classic American and foreign movies all the way to “X” rated films such as the science fiction parody “Flesh Gordon”. I also attended one of the midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with its lively audience participation.

In all that time I don’t think the theatre received any more maintenance than was absolutely necessary to keep it from collapsing into a pile of rubble or being shut down as hazardous by either the city or the board of health. The balcony was always closed, as that was where they had moved all the big, leather-upholstered loges from the main floor, because the place almost had been shut down by the fire department due to the loge seats not being fire resistant. It was cheaper for the theatre’s operators to change them out for the balcony’s regular seats than to have them rebuilt with modern, fire-resistant stuffing.

Somewhere in a box in my garage I still have a couple of the monthly calendars published by the Rialto during the Landmark years, listing all the programs to be presented for the month. If I ever get a decent scanner, I’ll scan one of them, post it somewhere and link to it from this page.

Boy, the Rialto looks pretty wore in that shot.