Opened: December 25, 1948 with "Red River" starring John Wayne. Thanks to Mike Rivest for the data. The 1949 trade magazine photo was a find by Dallas Movie Theaters for a post on Cinema Treasures. "Adventures of Don Juan" was a December 1948 release.
The location was on the west side of Western just north of Imperial Highway. The theatre was a project of the Fanchon & Marco Southside Theatres chain. A year later F&M built the Southside Theatre, a larger house at Vermont & Imperial.
Architect: Clarence J. Smale, who also designed the Southside. Joe Vogel notes that the project was announced in the August 21, 1948 issue of Boxoffice and the item mentioned that a commercial building with seven stores (never built) was to be on the corner of Western and Imperial.
Seats: About 1,100
A Southside Theatres classified ad in the Times in 1950. The Manchester was another location in the circuit. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting the ad.
The Fanchon & Marco locations were sold off in 1959 to the ElectroVision Corp., aka EVC. A July 1959 L.A. Times article titled "ElectroVision in Aquisition" noted that the company (headed by Edwin F. Zabel) had purchased theatres in the area operated by Robert Lippert. At the bottom it was mentioned that they had earlier picked up the F&M holdings as well.
A 1959 Times ad located by Ken McIntyre showing the Southside as being
operated by EVC. By the mid-1960s they were gone and the Southside, as
well as a number of these other locations, were then operated by
Statewide Theatres, headed by Fred Stein. Statewide Theatres was the last circuit to run the Rio. By 1968 it was running as an independent and had at least one period of being dark.
In August 1971 the theatre squeezed performances of the Watts Writers Workshop production of Elizabeth Leigh-Taylor's "Cinderella Brown" in between screenings of "Shaft" and "Vanishing Point." A L.A. Times review of the production is reproduced at the bottom of the page.
Closing: It closed for good in 1971 after gang activity made business difficult. The last film to run was "a.k.a. Cassius Clay."
Jerry Chamberlain comments:
"Saw many movies at the Rio Theater as a kid. There was a tiny novelty shop attached to the south end of the Rio, with gags, masks, magic tricks, etc. North of the Rio, in the same block on the Western side, was Lenny's Ringside Barber Shop where I got my haircuts. Across the street on the east side of Western Ave., was Clark's Market (later Food Giant), Owl Drugs (later Drug King), a florist, and a women's clothing store, among other shops..."
Status: It's been demolished. Joe Vogel notes that it was still visible on aerial photos as late as 1994 or 1995. There's now a warehouse on the site.
c.1970 - We're looking north on Western to the light at Imperial Highway and the Rio just beyond. Many thanks to transit historian Sean Ault for sharing the photo from his collection.
c.1970 - A detail from Sean's photo. One upon a time the sign looked much better. It had originally said "Rio" in large neon letters across the top.
c.1990 - The abandoned theatre. Demolition was in the mid 1990s. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
2017 - We're looking west across Western with the site of the Rio just to the right of the big billboard. Since the photo was taken a warehouse has been constructed on the site. That's Imperial Highway on the far left of the image. Joe Vogel notes that Church's Chicken site on the corner used to have a gas station on it. Photo: Google Maps.
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Rio for all that is known about this one.
The L.A. Times Review of "Cinderella Brown" at the Rio in August 1971:
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