Rialto Theatre
National Register of Historic Places

Rialto Theatre

El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas
Listed
August 20, 1986
Type
Building
Period
Pre Contact
Ref No.
86001888

About this property

The Rialto Theatre is a historic performing venue at 117 East Cedar Street in downtown El Dorado, Arkansas. Built in 1929 during El Dorado's oil boom years, the theater is one of the best local examples of Classical Revival architecture, and is one of the largest and most elaborately decorated performing spaces in southern Arkansas. It was designed by the local firm of Kolben, Hunter and Boyd, and seats 1400. Its main entrance has Egyptian Revival details, and is flanked by storefronts. The brick of the front facade is laid in a basketweave pattern, and is topped by a stone frieze, cornice, and parapet. The interior of the theater is elaborately decorated. The theater was owned for many years by the McWilliams family. It was closed from 1980 to 1987 and then reopened as a three-screen movie theater that operated until 2006. The main lobby and concessions area operated briefly as a bar called Marilyn's. In 2012, it was purchased by the Murphy Arts District, who announced plans to restore it in phase two of its plans for revitalizing downtown El Dorado. The theater, which will have floor seating for 850 in addition to a full balcony, will host a variety of musical acts, plays, comedy shows, and movies.

Location

117 E. Cedar St.
El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas
33.21079, -92.66323

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

McWilliams, J.H., House
Industrial
0 mi
Griffin Auto Company Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
El Dorado Confederate Monument
Civil War
0.1 mi
Union County Courthouse
Industrial
0.1 mi
Municipal Building
Industrial
0.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Rialto Theatre listed on the National Register?

Rialto Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 1986.

What type of historic resource is Rialto Theatre?

Rialto Theatre is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Rialto Theatre?

The period of significance for Rialto Theatre is recorded as the pre_contact era, specifically around 1400.

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