Rialto Theater
13 Pennington Avenue,
Trenton,
NJ
08618
13 Pennington Avenue,
Trenton,
NJ
08618
2 people
favorited this theater
Showing 9 comments
The Park opened on June 9, 1911 by John W. Westell as an open air venue operating for two seasons. Charles Hildinger took on the Five Points venue building a permanent structure to the plans of William B. Thines. Hildinger Theatre Enterprises Circuit also operated the city’s second Bijou Theatre, the Berkley, the Victory, the Royal, the Majestic, the Jefferson, and the Strand - all in Trenton. The “new” Park Theatre opened on October 1, 1912 with “The Inter-State Fair.” This was Trenton’s first new-build neighborhood venue specifically designed for motion pictures and Hildinger would claim it as the entire City’s first new-build venue designed for the art of exhibiting movies.
The Park was totally refreshed including the installation of a Kimball Orchestral Pipe Organ in 1917. Hildinger changed names on December 24, 1917 from the Park to the Rialto with “Heir to the Ages” and “Gloria’s Romance.” The venue converted to sound to remain viable. In 1955, it upgraded to widescreen projection to present CinemaScope titles. The theatre closed in 1960 and became home to the Trenton Evangelistic Center in 1961 likely to substantially reduce the building’s tax liability.
I suspect the owner of the Rialto also had an interest in the American located on Princeton Avenue just North of Ingham Avenue. It later became a 5 and 10 cent store. You could see the booth in the 5 and 10 cent store that was used as an office. A Bicyclist ran the films from the Rialto to the American. This according to my father and other North Trenton residents.
The 1975 photo is misidentified. The street sign in the picture reads North Clinton Avenue and Meade Street, making that building the Princess Theater.
My best friend’s grandfather, who we called Popouli, ran a hot dog concession that was part of the Rialto. The concession had a counter that opened out on Pennington Ave. So, you could buy hot dogs without going into the theater. I can’t remember whether the stand was accessible from inside the theater, too. Maybe MikeH remembers or someone else can clear that up.
Could have been known as the Majestic. There is a listing for this theater name in the 1917 Trenton City Directory, page 126, under “Moving Pictures” at 15 Pennington av. No listing for the Rialto.
In 1923, the Rialto is listed with no address.
The Rialto is listed in the 1925 Trenton City Directory at 13 Pennington Av. In 1936, the Rialto is listed at 15 Pennington av.
According to my father, the projection booth was accessed via an iron latter. This neighborhood movie house was located in the Battle Monument area of Trenton.
Listed in the 1920 Trenton directory as the “Park Theatre, moving pictures, 13 Pennington av”
View link
The Rialto was razed in the late 1980s.
According to a nostalgia columnist in the Trenton Times, in the 1930s neighborhood residents nicknamed this theater “The Ranch” because it played mostly Westerns.