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Gone with the Wind was re-released in U.S. theaters in 1971, and major historic downtown movie houses like the Rialto Theater in Peoria, Illinois routinely screened these major studio re-releases.

At the time, the Rialto Theater—originally opened in 1913 as the Hippodrome before being renamed in 1931—was operated by Kerasotes Theatres, a prominent regional chain that handled major studio distribution in the Peoria area.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) put Gone with the Wind back into nationwide theatrical rotation in 1971 following the massive success of its 1967 70mm anniversary campaign.

The historic 1,525-seat venue continued serving as one of Peoria’s central movie palaces until it officially closed in January 1979 and was demolished to clear space for the construction of the Peoria Civic Center.

Contributed by Greg Lynch -