About this property
The Rialto Theatre is a performance theater and concert venue located on Congress Street in downtown Tucson, Pima County, southern Arizona. The cinema−theater and surrounding Rialto Building commercial block were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. First conceived of in the early-to-mid-1910s, The Rialto Theatre was built by William Curlett & Son, jointly with the neighboring Hotel Congress across the street. Upon its opening in 1920, The Rialto Theatre was one of Tucson's first movie theaters, playing primarily silent films per the time period. In addition, the theater was host to Vaudeville shows, another popular form of entertainment at the time. The first full-length film to play on the Rialto's screen was 'The Toll Gate'. In 1929, the theater was bought out by Paramount-Publix, a theater-owning consortium that controlled a significant number of American movie theaters. By the 1930s, the Rialto was hosting talking pictures in addition to weekly Vaudeville shows and plays. During the Paramount-Publix period of ownership, the cinema was significantly revamped. This included buying new seating, new interior decorating, and the installation of evaporative cooling, a fixture which lasted in the theater until the early 21st century. Around 1947 the theater's name was changed to The Paramount, reflecting its corporate ownership. Though the studio-movie theater monopoly was broken up by the Paramount Decree of the Supreme Court in 1948, it took many more years for Paramount Pictures to comply. Hence, the ownership would remain the same for at least another decade. In 1963, while downtown Tucson suffered a recession, The Paramount was closed as a motion-picture house, citing lack of sales, first-rate films, and a general demographic move away from downtown Tucson. From 1963 to 1971, the vacant theater served as storage for a furniture store. In 1971, the Rialto suffered another name change, this time being re-christened El Cine Plaza. For a while, the theater was transformed into a strictly Spanish movie house, until 1973. In 1973 it was resold again and re-opened as an adult theater, initially showing Deep Throat. Though the city of Tucson attempted to block The Rialto in its capacity as a venue showing adult films, and Annie Sprinkle had to appear in court as a witness. They were initially unsuccessful, and it remained in this capacity for five years. During its run as an adult theater, there were several incidents of attempted arson, purportedly stemming from one offended local woman; she succeeded at one point in burning the balcony stairs in 1978, and was never caught.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
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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 September 11, 2003.
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 modern era.
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