Category:Rialto Theater, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Object location	40° 36′ 03″ N, 75° 28′ 38″ W	View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap	40.600833; -75.477222

Rialto Theatre 

former movie theater in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
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Instance of	movie theater destroyed building or structure
Location	Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Street address	943 W. Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA 18101
40° 36′ 03.94″ N, 75° 28′ 38.9″ W
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The Rialto Theater at 947 Hamilton Street was a first-run stage and cinema, it's origins dating to the Nickelodeon era in 1911. It was one of the grand theaters of the silent era, with a massive 2,500 seat auditorium. The auditorium had two balconies and main floor seating for cinema films.

The theater was first opened as the Noflaw Theater in 1911 on the site of a skating rink. The Noflaw was located at 943-947 Hamilton and when built, was projected to hold between 2,500 and 3,000 people. At the time, it was to be the largest theater in the United States. The Noflaw opened on November 28 1911 with a choir, the Allentown Band and an organ recital. In addition, four Vaudeville acts were presented and five one-reel silent films.

In August 1912, the Noflaw Corporation, which operated the theater, fell into financial hardship and ownership of the theater was transferred to a group of investors based in New York City. The new owners renamed the theater as the Lyceum and hired a reportorial group for it's own stage productions, along with the Vaudeville and silent films. By all accounts the Lyceum was a successful theater.

On the night of 15 May 1916, after a day and evening of a six-reel feature and two serial films, a massive fire broke out and destroyed the theater, consuming the property. The Lyceum Theater was a total loss.With the loss of the theater, plans were drawn up for a replacement. In addition, the lot was sold to the Wilmer and Vincent chain, who also owned the Orpheum (later State) Theater at Sixth and Linden Streets in Allentown. The plans for the New Lyceum Theater was to have a single front on Hamilton Street, at 947, selling off the double lot at 943-945, and constructing a new auditorium on the lot bordered by Tenth Street and Church Street, an alley north of Hamilton in an "L" shape. In addition, a series of retail shops were to be built on the 949-955 lots, all in a three-story front along Hamilton Street. Wilmer and Vincent renamed the replacement theater as the "Rialto", with an opening planned for 1918. The double lot at 943-945 Hamilton was replaced by a five-story building, which opened in July 1918 as Penn House Furniture.

However, World War I caused a shortage of building materials. So the theater auditorium, a separate structure, was not built until 1920-21, The Rialto Theater opened on April 1, 1921, was hailed as a major community event. More than 2,500 people showed up that night. "Gorgeous and spectacular to the eye, the crowds almost held their breath as the glories of the magnificent temple of the motion picture art were revealed to them," were the glowing words from The Morning Call. A symphony orchestra and grand organ were among the refinements for the moviegoers of the silent picture era. The first film shown, "The Devil," featured British stage star George Arliss in his first motion picture role. In April 1929, an RCA sound system was installed so the theater could show sound films.

During the 1930s and early-to-mid 1940s, the Rialto, along with the Colonial on the other side of the Allentown Buisness District, showed the films of its day, with Wilmer and Vincent supplying them with a steady stream of hit films due to its distribution network. It a film was being shown in New York or Philadelphia, a print of it was also being shown at the Rialto or the Colonial. Along with the shorts such as Three Stooges and Warner Brothers Looney Toons. Audiences filled the seats, and the balcony also was heavily used.

On April 10th, 1946, the musical "Cinderella Jones" was to open. Watching stars Robert Alda and Joan Leslie -- "Those rapturous two from `Rhapsody in Blue' " -- dance and sing would be enough to make the audience forget wartime shortages of everything from nylons to housing which still existed nearly nine months after Japan surrendered. But it wasn't the movie that drew crowds that day. A general alarm had been issued and city firemen were quickly responding.

The fire at the Rialto began in the basement of one of the retail stores next to the building, and spread to include the theater lobby section on Hamilton Street. The fire began to spread into the upper floors of the structure, along with several other buildings attached to the theater. The fire broke through the roof and it was not until the late evening that it was contained, and firemen stood by the structure throughout the night until it was finally declared extinguished. The theater lobby, along with the rest of the structure that was built in 1918 however, was a total loss and was eventually torn down. But questions remained. An investigation of the Rialto building by the state fire marshal and the Pennsylvania Arson Squad concluded that it had started in the paint and shellac storage room underneath Hugo's Restaurant, an eating establishment next door to the theater. "That much we know. How it started we don't know," said Allentown Fire Chief Marcks. The cause was never determined.

Fortunately, the theater auditorium section suffered only slight smoke and water damage re-opened with a new two-story front lobby section on Jan. 28, 1947. The shops to the west of the theater were also rebuilt, all of which remain today. The Rialto theater survived the fire and for many rears was a popular first-run theater on Hamilton Street.

In 1949, the theater was sold by Wilmer and Vincent to private local interests, known as the Rialto Theater Corporation. The theater was successful for many years despite the introduction of television which closed several other theaters in the Allentown Bushiness District, showing a wide variety of first-run films, although ownership changed hands, the theater was leased back to the Fabian Chain, who took over ownership of Wilmer and Vincent The Rialto became home to many Film Noirs, Walt Disney films, Musicals and other major films that weren't supplied though film distribution chains. Major presentations, however, still were shown in its large ornate auditorium.

It's location however, outside of the general shopping area between 9th and 5th led to a gradual decline in attendance. Its balcony seating was generally closed in the early 1960s as the orchestra floor seating was generally more than adequate for theatergoers. In 1969, the lease it had with the Fabian chain ended and was not renewed. The last general audience film. "Sam Whiskey" opened on 12 April 1969, and although another ("Play Dirty", with Michael Caine) was scheduled to open on 15 April, it never was shown as the theater temporary closed on that date.

The Rialto re-opened on 28 May 1969 under new management as a porno house, showing X-rated features. The films shown were not the "X-Rated" MPAA films which were being made at the time, but unrated films, primarily produced in Europe that had an "X" rating on them. With the change of format, it joined the Jeanette and Towne theaters as Allentown's porn houses, with only adults over 18 being admitted. The Hamilton Mall project in the early 1970s had a negative effect on the theater; it's marquee being removed in 1971 and the 900 block of Hamilton being turned into a construction zone. Advertising for the theater ended in December 1972 when Call-Chronicale newspapers stopped running X-Rated cinema ads.

One of the problems it faced as a porno cinema, ironically was its size. The theater auditorium being built in the 1920s for large audiences with two balconies plus a large main floor simply incurred significant costs to operate. The balconies were permanently closed and only a fraction of its main floor seating could be filled. Economically, the expenses running a large cinema meant it ran at a break-even or minimal profit. With the advent of home video and its availability on video tape, In December 1978, enough was enough and the Rialto Theater Corporation closed the theater and put it up for sale.

After the theater closed, there was speculation about turning the grand theater into a concert hall, given its acoustics from being built in the 1920s. When the theater was inspected, it was found that it needed extensive repairs to its projection system, as the only real controls in the projection booth was a 16mm projector and the theater lighting controls. It's audio system had been stripped out during its years as a porno theater with simple speakers behind the stage being the only sound system remaining; it's cinema sound system likely being sold to keep the venue running. The building however, was still structurally sound and little repair was needed to the interior or the seating. Also as the theater was originally built for films, and not for Vaudeville, there was no stage nor facilities for one.

In 1980 the vacant Rialto was leased by PP&L and the auditorium floor seats were removed, becoming a storage warehouse for the Utility. After several years of discussion with various preservation groups and with the City, in December 1983 the theater was sold to a Quakertown group. In March 1994, plans were announced to tear down the auditorium and replace it with a parking deck, the lobby was to be renovated into office space. In September 1986 the demolition of the auditorium was begun. The Office building opened in 1987 along with the parking deck.