Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Video: A Look at South Pasadena's Late, Great Rialto Theatre
South Pasadena High School student Miranda Gontz put together this great short documentary on the Rialto Theatre, which finally closed its doors to the public in early 2010. As shared today by South Pasadena Patch, the video tells the story of the once-grand movie house through use of interviews, historic images, period footage, and artifacts.
Gontz's film has done much more than help her make the grade:
Yet what began as a homework assignment her sophomore year, has now become an ongoing project inspiring many in the community. Gontz says "The Rialto: A Fading Treasure" has gone through many edits; the most recent was shown Sunday night at Encore Rialto.
A group of preservationists, film buffs, and locals are working together to determine how to give new life to the ailing Rialto.
We eulogized the Rialto, once a go-to for weekly costume-d audience participation screenings of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" in 2007, when the theatre showed its last regular-run movie.