Towne Theatre
210 N. 6th Street,
St. Louis,
MO
63101
210 N. 6th Street,
St. Louis,
MO
63101
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: AMC Theatres, Universal Chain Theatrical Enterprises Inc.
Architects: Charles K. Ramsey
Previous Names: Ritz Theatre, Royal Theatre, Rivoli Theatre
Nearby Theaters
This small, ornate building at 210 N. 6th Street was built in 1896 as Caesar’s Café. Designed by Charles K. Ramsey, the structure provided lunch for St. Louisans for two decades before becoming the Ritz Theatre for a few years. It became the Royal Theatre in 1915 when a beautiful new façade was added and other improvements were made. These changes would make the theatre a landmark in St. Louis and famous in the Midwest for its architecture.
In August 1922 the Royal Theatre’s lease was purchased by the Universal Pictures chain, and they closed the theatre to carry out a $25,000 upgrade. It reopened as the Rivoli Theatre on November 19, 1922 and was operated by Universal Pictures until September 1926.
Designed by architect Charles K. Ramsey in the Louis Sullivan tradition, five panels with sgraffito on them were placed vertically along the upper front above the marquee, and a panel bearing the name ‘Rivoli’ stood horizontally above the marquee. These panels made the theatre a distinctive building.
Sgraffito is a process unique to twentieth-crentury St. Louis. ‘Sgrafitto’ means scratched, but that’s not actually how the process works. Two forms of colored plaster are placed over each other; the colors usually contrast. The upper layer is cut into a pattern so that the bottom layer shows through.
The Rivoli’s sgrafitto had intricate patterns cut by skilled craftsmen. When the building was torn down, salvagers saved the sgrafitto panels first.
The Rivoli’s name changed to the Towne Theatre around 1970. As the Towne Theatre it started showing first run movies and then X-rated films in its later years.
Despite pleas from the theatre’s owners to save this historic building which had been granted Landmark status, the theatre was razed in 1983 to make way for the Metropolitan Square building.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
Photo at this link:
http://www.builtstlouis.net/opos/frames.html
http://www.builtstlouis.net/opos/towne_theater.jpg
direct link to photo that I posted above.
Here is TC’s photo as his link has failed:
http://www.builtstlouis.net/opos/townetheater.html
Condensing the name changes over the years:
December 1915 – Opens as a theatre, known as RITZ.
May 1916 – Renamed ROYAL.
November 1922 – Renamed RIVOLI.
March 1968 – Renamed TOWNE.
An article in The Moving Picture World of January 1, 1916, said that the St. Louis Amusement Company had opened the Ritz theater at 208-210 N. 6th Street as an all-picture house on December 11, 1915. The Ritz operated from eleven o'clock each morning until eleven o'clock at night, with the admission price being ten cents at all times.
November 19th, 1922 grand opening ad as Rivoli in photo section.
Here is an item from the May 27, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World about the new owner of the Ritz Theatre and his plans for the house. The house had reopened as the Royal on May 7.
Three circa 1979 photos added via Emir Tutundzic.