elk311
Railto Theater 1918
Rialto Theater
The Rialto TheaterHailed as "the ultimate photoplay house," the Beaux-Arts style Rialto Theater opened September 7, 1918. Tacoma's Rialto was part of a national movie house chain and as such, the stage space, orchestra pit and dressing rooms were at a bare minimum. The lobby was also considerably smaller than what is present today.
These vaudeville-era theater architects concentrated on the auditorium, seeking acoustically successful theaters and concert halls as models for the ones they designed. The Rialto resembles Vienna's 1916 Redoutensaal, the first "shoe box" shaped orchestral hall. The original ornate plaster decorations include replicas of cupids and patriotic eagles, which remain in good shape today.
By the 1990s, when Tacoma and the Broadway Theater District took on the task of restoring the Rialto, it had become a run-down, second-run discount movie house. Today, it is once again an active player in the prosperity of downtown Tacoma.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway_Center_for_the_Performing_...
Railto Theater 1918
Rialto Theater
The Rialto TheaterHailed as "the ultimate photoplay house," the Beaux-Arts style Rialto Theater opened September 7, 1918. Tacoma's Rialto was part of a national movie house chain and as such, the stage space, orchestra pit and dressing rooms were at a bare minimum. The lobby was also considerably smaller than what is present today.
These vaudeville-era theater architects concentrated on the auditorium, seeking acoustically successful theaters and concert halls as models for the ones they designed. The Rialto resembles Vienna's 1916 Redoutensaal, the first "shoe box" shaped orchestral hall. The original ornate plaster decorations include replicas of cupids and patriotic eagles, which remain in good shape today.
By the 1990s, when Tacoma and the Broadway Theater District took on the task of restoring the Rialto, it had become a run-down, second-run discount movie house. Today, it is once again an active player in the prosperity of downtown Tacoma.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway_Center_for_the_Performing_...