Ritz Theatre

The Ritz Theatre was a movie theatre in the sound-era that operated from 1930 to 1968 on N. 24th Street and Patrick Avenue in Omaha. The business district was part of Omaha’s “street of dreams” catering to an African-American clientele. Harry A. and Nora E. Taylor had operated the aging and silent Alhambra Theatre at 1814 N. 24th Street and replaced it with the new-build venue designed by architect Harvey Peterson and built by Nelson Construction.

Prior to World War I, the 24th Street Business District was Omaha’s most diverse commercial district, and its vibrancy was second only to downtown Omaha. Following the lynching of Will Brown in 1919 and systematic redlining that made insurance and loans in the district challenging, the area became almost exclusively an African-American neighborhood with pockets of Jewish and Italian residents staying put from the 1920’s into the Depression. The Taylors realized that retrofitting the decade’s old Alhambra Theatre as a sound theatre was not worth reupping the venue’s lease and built the Ritz Theatre.

The building was damaged in 1930 leading to a lawsuit and delay in its launch which took place in 1931. The theatre tried to combine Hollywood fare and sporadic Yiddish films at its launch. However, the theatre quickly jettisoned the Yiddish films. The theatre was for integrated audiences although drew mostly African-American patrons. Impassioned advertorials in the newspapers implored local residents to boycott discriminatory policies by downtown theatres and to support the Ritz Theatre.

The theatre was updated in 1939 to a Streamlined Moderne style design which included a new marquee. It was updated again in 1946 with another new marquee and different color palette stressing turquoise and shell green. It was upgraded to widescreen projection in 1955 to accommodate CinemaScope titles. In 1968, the Taylors promised one final upgrade to the Ritz Theatre that never came. The final showings were on June 30, 1968 with Gig Young in “The Shuttered Room” and Terrence Stamp in “Blue".

The entire block housing the Ritz Theatre and its neighboring blocks were all demolished in the 1970’s as part of an urban renewal project that ended the “street of dreams” and dispersed the African-American business district. But the Ritz Theatre had an impressive 35 plus year run serving an important role in the fabric of the 24th Street Business District. Meanwhile, the Taylors would continue to operate the Music Box Theatre in Omaha until 1980. Harry Taylor would pass away in 1984 with Nora Taylor passing in 1993.

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