Rialto Theater
131 W. Sheridan Avenue,
Oklahoma City,
OK
73102
131 W. Sheridan Avenue,
Oklahoma City,
OK
73102
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Griffith Amusement Company, Keith-Albee, RKO
Previous Names: RKO Rialto Theater
Nearby Theaters
The Rialto Theatre was opened April 15, 1921 with Roy Stewart in “The U.P. Trail”.
Contributed by
Jack Hunter
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Opened 1920 by Keith/Albee to present silent film/vaude combo, OKC’s downtown Rialto Theatre was built inside the shell of a former telegraph building. A one isle shooting gallery type auditorium had little in way of decoration, but did have a small stage and seven piece orchestra to accomodate vaudeville acts.
When converted to talking pictures in 1928 vaude was discontinued and the name changed (for a short while) to RKO Rialto.
While some theatre “experts” insist on calling that massive roofsign which once crowned Tulsa’s late Majestic Theatre the largest “marquee” (I’d call it a roof sign) ever installed in the state, the Rialto had a gigantic box style marquee that covered the entire second story of the structure, and was perhaps the largest ever- – – in Oklahoma City anyway. The Rialto also sported a roof sign, but it was a towering Coca-Cola red neon sign that drawfed the theatre building it sat atop.
Railto was torn down in 1971 to make way for a Sheridan Hotel.
Submitted here for your inspection is a 1920s photograph of the Railto Theatre. Rising above the Rialto can be seen the back side of the Criterion stage house, which was located one block North on Main St. A few doors right of the Rialto sat the Folly and Colonial. Around the corner (left) were the State and Liberty. Directly across the street was the Novelty.
This shot was taken before RKO bought control. During the short period when RKO operated this tiny house (above mentioned), a mamoth “42nd Street” style box marquee was installed that dominated the Railto facade, but the towering Coca-Cola sign still distracted attention.
To view image, in search field type in work ‘theatre’, then enter
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A vintage image can be seen on this fine site;
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“THE PACE THAT KILLS” was showing when this c1930 shot of the RKO Rialto Theatre was snapped. This “adult” feature probably promised lots of forbidden thrills, but actually delivered nothing. Photo from dougdawg site,
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If you want to see interior and exterior shots go to above link and type in “oklahoma city rialto”
Shown on this page is a 1930 Rialto Theatre newspaper ad for “HELL’S ANGELS”, starring Jean Harlow.
http://okc-history.org/fun_stuff.html
This opened on April 15th, 1921. Grand opening ad posed.