 | |
 Interactive map of Rialto Theatre | |
| Address | 1019-1023 Fair Oaks Ave. South Pasadena, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°06′50″N118°09′03″W / 34.1140°N 118.1508°W /34.1140; -118.1508 |
| Owner | Izek Shomof |
| Capacity | 1200 |
| Construction | |
| Architect | Lewis Arthur Smith |
| General contractor | William G. Reed |
Rialto Theatre | |
| Built | 1925; 100 years ago (1925) |
| Architectural style | Moorish Revival[2] |
| NRHP reference No. | 78000700[1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 24, 1978 |
TheRialto Theatre is a 1,200-seat theater inSouth Pasadena, California. Located onFair Oaks Avenue, it is considered one of the last single-screen theaters inSouthern California and is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[3]
The Rialto was designed in 1925 byLewis Arthur Smith, who designed theVista Theater.[4] The Rialto's architectural style was described inThe Los Angeles Times as "an odd mashup of Spanish Baroque and Egyptian kitsch."[3] The theater has an orchestra pit and its original design featured balcony seating along both sides of a deep stage.[5] It also featured a theater organ to provide music for silent films, and weekend shows were sometimes preceded by vaudeville acts.[6] The interior has several original murals and a drinking fountain made ofBatchelder tile.[3]
The Rialto was operated byLandmark Theatres until it closed in 2007.The Simpsons Movie was the last film shown in the theater, and 200 people attended the final screening. The building was closed to the public in 2010, after part of the facade fell onto the sidewalk.[3] There have been two fires in the building, and it survived an attempt in 1977 to turn it into a parking lot.[5]
Izek Shomof, a developer of older buildings indowntown Los Angeles, purchased the Rialto in December 2014. Shomof indicated he will turn the property into an entertainment venue that will include a bar and possibly a theater to screen old movies.[3]
Since 2017, the theater has served as one of six campuses forMosaic, a non-denominational multi-site church based inLos Angeles.[7]
In 1983'sMichael Jackson's Thriller, the scene where Michael and Ola Ray watch a film was shot there.[8] In 2016 the Rialto was featured as a location in key scenes of the hit movie musicalLa La Land.[9] It was also used as a filming location inThe Rocketeer (1991),The Player (1992) andScream 2 (1997).
It featured a theater organ to accompany silent films, and the movies were preceded by vaudeville acts on weekends.
| Topics | |
|---|---|
| Lists by state |
|
| Lists by insular areas | |
| Lists by associated state | |
| Other areas | |
| Lists of specific structure types | |
| Related | |
