The last show had an attendance of 131. I stayed until the marquee was turned off and lingered in the parking lot with other now ex-employees until early this morning. It was a sad, sad day.
Sorry, my last post was riddled with typographic errors.
I meant to say that the theatre has always been available for rentals but that over a year ago we began advertising that fact on our marquee.
I also was attempting to say that our showing mainstream movies was not something that was viable for us because we could not keep up with the mainstream theatres like AMC and Edwards. Instead, we would have been able to continue to compete with the Laemmle by showing arthouse films.
The theatre has never had a sign saying it was available for sub-lease it has said for over a year that it was available for rentals. That is that is is available for screenings, parties, events, etc.
The sound was updated when we showed the Lost City, Andy Garcia’s directorial debut last year and it is now very good.
Sadly, as of late we have been given mainstream movies to show because they all go to the Laemmle rather than to us. We may have had a chance against the Laemmle but we can’t compete with the AMCs and Edwards Theatres.
What south pasadena is trying to do is keep their little town as just that. They are attempting to maintain the old fashioned anytown, america, small-town feel for which they are well-known. That is why there is so much filming done in the city when they want it to look like they are in middle america in a town that time forgot. That is precisly the reason why they want to keep the Rialto as just what it is.
NO multiplexing is not a good idea beacause when the theatre was built it was designed to be a single screen which means the throw of the projector is perfectly measured. The theatre is very well planned as anyone who has been there can see. All the original elements of the theatre are incredibly resourceful and efficent. The theatre has so many rooms for storage and has everything thought out perfectly. The detail that can be seen both in decorative aspects and functional are inummerable.
From a business perspective, Landmark should have put money into the Rialto a long time ago, especially when the new Laemmle opened on E. Colorado. It was that theatre and the competition is created that worked to close the Rialto down more than anything. When the Playhouse 7 first opened in 1999, the Rialto was still selling out shows! That is unheard of and has been for several years. The last movie to consistently sell out the Rialto was Bowling for Columbine. The Rialto ran that film for nearly six months and in its fourth month it was still selling at least half of the downstairs on a weekend, which by the way has a total of 670 seats.
Landmark made it impossible for the Rialto to be competitive with the 7 screen Laemmle. In fact, Landmark repeatedly refused money from the city to fix up the facade. There was and still is a long standing offer from a regular patron of the Rialto to paint the entire building FOR FREE with them merely covering the cost of supplies. Landmark of course has refused. I don' buy that it is not financially viable, that is to say that it wasn’t. Had they gotten on the ball and done something about the condition of the building prior to today they might have managed to keep it in better condition.
All of that being said I must stress that aside from the cosmetic failings of the Rialto’s front and interior, things work extremely well. I know because I work there and have done for 5 years. It is a beautiful building and it is a shame that it is being closed. There is so much detail that the average patron does not see because of the dim auditorium lights or their inattention.
So many people have come in since hearing the news and they say how sorry they are and how sad they are that it is closing. That is very much appreciated by all the staff but really, where have they all been? Many of the people who say what a shame it is that it is closing all relate that it is their first time attending the theatre despite living across the street or down the street. The Rialto is certainly worn but it is no worse for wear. It is not dirty. It may be dusty but it is kept in the best shape that it can be kept in. We work very hard to keep up the theatre as best we can, often doing things that we are not paid for. Several employees past and present have done the frightful task of changing the light bulbs in the gargoyles eyes and it is quite a dangerous task. Changing the marquee and washing walls are some other tasks that are tedious and back-breaking but we did it because we love the place.
I’m sorry to all the people who truly do love the place. I hope you will be there on the Rialto’s last night, not to pay Landmark for watching the awful Simpson’s movie, but rather to pay your respects to a theatre who has been around faithfully for over 8 decades. Through thick and thin, rain and shine the Rialto has stood for whomever needed to pass some time.
The seats and carpet may be shabby and there might not be modern air-conditioning but that is something that should and can easily be overlooked in favor of experiencing a treasure.
-Brandi
current Chief of Staff and Part-time Projectionist of the Rialto Theatre
The last show had an attendance of 131. I stayed until the marquee was turned off and lingered in the parking lot with other now ex-employees until early this morning. It was a sad, sad day.
Sorry, my last post was riddled with typographic errors.
I meant to say that the theatre has always been available for rentals but that over a year ago we began advertising that fact on our marquee.
I also was attempting to say that our showing mainstream movies was not something that was viable for us because we could not keep up with the mainstream theatres like AMC and Edwards. Instead, we would have been able to continue to compete with the Laemmle by showing arthouse films.
-Brandi
The theatre has never had a sign saying it was available for sub-lease it has said for over a year that it was available for rentals. That is that is is available for screenings, parties, events, etc.
The sound was updated when we showed the Lost City, Andy Garcia’s directorial debut last year and it is now very good.
Sadly, as of late we have been given mainstream movies to show because they all go to the Laemmle rather than to us. We may have had a chance against the Laemmle but we can’t compete with the AMCs and Edwards Theatres.
-Brandi
What south pasadena is trying to do is keep their little town as just that. They are attempting to maintain the old fashioned anytown, america, small-town feel for which they are well-known. That is why there is so much filming done in the city when they want it to look like they are in middle america in a town that time forgot. That is precisly the reason why they want to keep the Rialto as just what it is.
NO multiplexing is not a good idea beacause when the theatre was built it was designed to be a single screen which means the throw of the projector is perfectly measured. The theatre is very well planned as anyone who has been there can see. All the original elements of the theatre are incredibly resourceful and efficent. The theatre has so many rooms for storage and has everything thought out perfectly. The detail that can be seen both in decorative aspects and functional are inummerable.
From a business perspective, Landmark should have put money into the Rialto a long time ago, especially when the new Laemmle opened on E. Colorado. It was that theatre and the competition is created that worked to close the Rialto down more than anything. When the Playhouse 7 first opened in 1999, the Rialto was still selling out shows! That is unheard of and has been for several years. The last movie to consistently sell out the Rialto was Bowling for Columbine. The Rialto ran that film for nearly six months and in its fourth month it was still selling at least half of the downstairs on a weekend, which by the way has a total of 670 seats.
Landmark made it impossible for the Rialto to be competitive with the 7 screen Laemmle. In fact, Landmark repeatedly refused money from the city to fix up the facade. There was and still is a long standing offer from a regular patron of the Rialto to paint the entire building FOR FREE with them merely covering the cost of supplies. Landmark of course has refused. I don' buy that it is not financially viable, that is to say that it wasn’t. Had they gotten on the ball and done something about the condition of the building prior to today they might have managed to keep it in better condition.
All of that being said I must stress that aside from the cosmetic failings of the Rialto’s front and interior, things work extremely well. I know because I work there and have done for 5 years. It is a beautiful building and it is a shame that it is being closed. There is so much detail that the average patron does not see because of the dim auditorium lights or their inattention.
So many people have come in since hearing the news and they say how sorry they are and how sad they are that it is closing. That is very much appreciated by all the staff but really, where have they all been? Many of the people who say what a shame it is that it is closing all relate that it is their first time attending the theatre despite living across the street or down the street. The Rialto is certainly worn but it is no worse for wear. It is not dirty. It may be dusty but it is kept in the best shape that it can be kept in. We work very hard to keep up the theatre as best we can, often doing things that we are not paid for. Several employees past and present have done the frightful task of changing the light bulbs in the gargoyles eyes and it is quite a dangerous task. Changing the marquee and washing walls are some other tasks that are tedious and back-breaking but we did it because we love the place.
I’m sorry to all the people who truly do love the place. I hope you will be there on the Rialto’s last night, not to pay Landmark for watching the awful Simpson’s movie, but rather to pay your respects to a theatre who has been around faithfully for over 8 decades. Through thick and thin, rain and shine the Rialto has stood for whomever needed to pass some time.
The seats and carpet may be shabby and there might not be modern air-conditioning but that is something that should and can easily be overlooked in favor of experiencing a treasure.
-Brandi
current Chief of Staff and Part-time Projectionist of the Rialto Theatre