Los Angeles Theatres: Rialto Theatre: lobby areas

1023 Fair Oaks Ave. South Pasadena, CA 91030 | map |

The Rialto pages: history + exterior views | lobby areas | auditorium | stage + basement |

The main lobby:

The house right end of the lobby in 1946. It's a photo in the Historic Rialto Photos album on the Friends of the Rialto Facebook page. Note the door to the ladies room on the right. That area later got appropriated for use as a space for an ice machine and concession storage. "Tomorrow Is Forever" was a January release starring Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles and George Brent.

The stairs in 1977. It's a photo by Lin Carriffe, one in a set he took for the application to get the Rialto on the National Register, something it achieved in 1978. His set of nine photos appears on the South Pasadena High School Alumni Association Facebook page.

The house left end of the lobby in 2006. It's photo by Tahoe 61, one of seven items in his Rialto Theatre set on Flickr. Note the drinking fountain over on the left. The door we see straight ahead is the marquee letter storage room. Just beyond is the entrance to the house left aisle.

The snackbar area on the house right side of the lobby. It's Claudia Mullins photo from 2010.

The house left side of the lobby in 2010. Thanks to Claudia Mullins for sharing her photo.

The drinking fountain. Photo: Hunter Kerhart - 2014. Thanks, Hunter! Keep up with his most recent explorations: on Facebook | HunterKerhart.com | on Flickr |

A look in from the entrance doors -- and on into the auditorium. Photo: Hunter Kerhart - 2014

The painting on the landing. It's a photo by Walt Mancini in the photo gallery with "Rialto Theatre in South Pasadena built in 1925 opens for one night, a June 2015 Pasadena Star-News article about a community meeting held to discuss preservation concerns.

Some Batchelder tile work above the drinking fountain. It's a 2016 Gary Simon photo that originally appeared as part of a seven photo set on the LAHTF Facebook page. Thanks, Gary!

The marquee letter storage room over toward the entrance to the house left aisle. Thanks to Mike Hume for his 2017 photo. Visit his Historic Theatre Photography site for hundreds of great photos he's taken of theatres in the Los Angeles Area and elsewhere. The site, of course, has a page he's done on the Rialto.

More marquee letters for you. Photo: Mike Hume - 2017

The view in from the front doors in December 2018. The church had pulled up the old carpet. Thanks to Claudia Mullins for her photo.

Christmas decorations. It's a December 2018 photo by Claudia Mullins.

Looking around toward the marquee letter room and the entrance to the house left aisle. Note the temporary heating and cooling unit. The main system was out of commission. Photo: Claudia Mullins - December 2018

The house right end of the lobby after snackbar removal. The original downstairs ladies room was beyond the wall straight ahead. It's a December 2018 Claudia Mullins photo.

The stairs decorated for Christmas in 2019. The theatre was open to the public for a screening of "Miracle on 34th St." It's a December photo by Claudia Mullins. See more photos from her visit in a set on the LAHTF Facebook page.

An improvised concession area. Photo: Claudia Mullins - December 2019

Looking out to the street. Photo: Claudia Mullins - December 2019

The lobby after the church's remodel. Photo: Escott O. Norton - August 2021. See 42 photos from the reopening day in the Rialto Theatre Gets a New Look album on the Friends of the Rialto Facebook page. Escott comments on this shot: "The lobby has new flooring and a new color palette."

The drinking fountain after the renovations. Photo: Escott O. Norton - Friends of the Rialto - August 2021. He comments: "The original Batchelder tiles on the wall behind the water fountain were retained, however the lower tiles, added in the 1940s lobby remodel, have been replaced."

The house right end of the lobby after renovations. Photo: Escott O. Norton - Friends of the Rialto - August 2021

New ADA compliant restrooms at the north end of the lobby. Photo: Escott O. Norton - Friends of the Rialto - August 2021

The view out after the church's renovations. Photo: Escott O. Norton - Friends of the Rialto - August 2021

The view in from the doors in June 2023. Many thanks to Mark Herman for this photo and others appearing on these pages. See his Arts Advocate Facebook post for thirteen more Rialto views plus several downtown exterior theatre shots and photos of the renovated interior of the Tower Theatre.

A peek toward the right center entrance. Thanks to Claudia Mullins for sharing this 2023 photo.

Heading upstairs:

A vintage view of the ladies lounge on the house right side of the balcony lobby. The photo appears in the Historic Rialto Photos album on the Friends of the Rialto Facebook page.

In the upstairs ladies lounge in 2010. No more deco mirrors on the wall. Thanks to Claudia Mullins for sharing her photo.

Looking across to house left in 2014. It's a photo by Irfan Khan, one of 7 photos with "Will South Pasadena's Rialto Theatre Rise Again?," a July L.A. Times story by Frank Shyong. Some of the same photos from the 2014 article appeared again in a January 2015 story by Mr. Shyong: "South Pasadena's historic Rialto Theatre sold...."

Looking across to house right. Photo: Mike Hume - 2017. Thanks, Mike!

The men's toilet area on the house left end of the balcony lobby. Thanks to Sean Byron for his November 2017 photo, part of a set he posted on the LAHTF Facebook page that he took at a Mosaic church service in the building.

A peek into the men's room in 2018. Photo: Claudia Mullins

Looking toward house left in 2018. The men's room and left entrance to the balcony are around to the right. Photo: Claudia Mullins

The house right end of the lobby in 2018. The ladies room and the house right balcony entrance are just around the corner to the left. Photo: Claudia Mullins

The ladies lounge in 2018. Photo: Claudia Mullins

The ladies toilet and sink area. The door leads to a room that was once the staff changing area. Photo: Claudia Mullins - 2018. Thanks, Claudia!

The upper level of the lobby after renovations. Photo: Escott O. Norton - Friends of the Rialto - August 2021. He comments: "The Mezzanine with the new color scheme. The original wood railing has been nicely preserved and refinished."

A plaster detail with a new color scheme. Photo: Escott O. Norton - Friends of the Rialto - August 2021

Newly repainted ceiling grilles. Photo: Escott O. Norton - Friends of the Rialto - August 2021

The new look for the upstairs men's room on the house left end of the lobby. Photo: Escott O. Norton - Friends of the Rialto - August 2021. Thanks, Escott!