Theatorium / National Theatorium / Rialto Theatre

117 W. Pike Ave. Long Beach, CA 90802 | map |  

Opened: 1908 or a bit earlier as the Theatorium with an entrance at 35 Board Walk. Signage on the side of the building in 1908 called it the National Theatorium. At the foot of Pine Ave. a pier continued out toward the 1905 Municipal Auditorium at the Ocean Blvd. level. Board Walk was a bit west of Pine and sloped down toward the beach. The theatre was a half block down from Ocean. If you were to walk down another half block you'd run into The Pike.

 

Among the "refined photoplays" the theatre was running when this 1912 photo was taken were "The Schoolma'm of Stone Gulch" and "Tenderfoot Bob's Regeneration." It's a photo from the Mrs. William J. Fahey collection, appearing on the Los Angeles Public Library website. A copy from the Ronald W. Mahan Collection appears on the Cal State Long Beach page about the Theatorium. Fahey and a partner were running the house in 1911 and 1912.

Architect: Unknown. The space used for a later entrance down on The Pike had been a restaurant and candy store. 

Seating: Perhaps 600 originally. A later number, as the Rialto, was 462. 

Stage: The building started without a stagehouse and later got one added. At some point it was removed, perhaps following the 1933 earthquake.

 

The Theatorium and the Municipal Auditorium are seen in this detail from a 1908 Sanborn Map appearing courtesy of Ronald W. Mahan. The later entrance, when the Theatorium became the Rialto, was through the corner space in the building seen directly below the theatre, fronting on The Pike, here seen as the "Walk of a Thousand Lights." That's the Bathhouse to the left of the Theatorium. Also see a larger area of the map. 

 

Evidently the initial operator was a G.O. Post. The Theatorium is in the 1908 and 1910 city directories with the address "South of the Salt Lake Depot," which was on Ocean, just west of Pine Ave. 

 

"New Pictures To-Day." It's a September 1910 ad located by Ken McIntyre for a Facebook post on Ken's Movie Page.   

The Cal State Long Beach page about the Theatorium references "Long Beach’s Nickel Movie Days," an August 2, 1964 article by Maymie Krythe in the Independent Press Telegram: 

 

"Featured in this article is a picture of the Theatorium which Krythe said was obtained 'courtesy of Mrs. William J. Fahey and Harold Fahey.' This movie house was very popular because of daily performances from 2-5:20 P.M., at five cents and because there were also showings on Saturday and Sunday evenings. 

 

"It is said that some residents never missed a program, which changed three times weekly. In 1911, William J. Fahey and William Raymond bought the Theatorium and showed films made by Biograph, Vitagraph, Lubin and Pathé."

It's unknown how long Fahey and Raymond had the house. In the 1911 city directory Claude E. Leyman is listed as the manager but he may not have had an ownership interest. By 1912 Fahey was on The Pike running the Joyland Theatre. He opened the Palace Theatre in 1916 and, with a partner, took over operation of the State Theatre around 1923.

In the 1913-14 Long Beach city directory its address is listed as "The Boardwalk" with Edward G. Mix as the proprietor. In the 1914 Los Angeles phone book the address is shown as "Boardwalk on Pike." In the 1915-16 and 1916-17 Long Beach city directories we actually have an address: 35 Board Walk. It's not listed as the Theatorium in either the 1918 or later Long Beach city directories.

Becoming the Rialto: Around 1917 the corner space in the building at Board Walk and The Pike was acquired for a new boxoffice and entrance lobby that was connected to the side of the Theatorium building. It's listed in the 1917 and later Long Beach city directories as the Rialto at 117 The Pike.

After the State Theatre opened in 1919, one would have been able to stand at the front doors of the Theatorium building (then just used as an exit) and look under the boardwalk to see the lower floor of the Markwell / Jergins Trust Building on the east side of the walk, which contained the State Theatre.

 

"Everybody's Going!" The Rialto was featured in a September 6, 1920 Daily Telegram ad for Paramount Week. The theatre also participated in the "First Annual Go To Theatre Week." See the February 11, 1922 Daily Telegram ad announcing that event that encouraged patrons to "Go At Least Three Times!" Thanks to the Ronald W. Mahan Collection for sharing these ads. 

 

 

 

The Rialto, with its new entrance on The Pike, is seen in turquoise in this detail from a 1926 map from the Long Beach Historical Society. Thanks to Ron Mahan for supplying the map and coloring the theatre locations. Also see a larger area of the map.

 

In 1948 the Rialto was being operated by Isaac Victor, who also had the Victor Theatre. At that time he sold sold the Victor operation to Eugene Tracy and the Rialto to Louis Federici.

 

 A 1949 ad appearing in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Thanks to Scott Pitzer for locating it.

Closing: Federici closed the Rialto in 1950.

An item in the September 2, 1950 issue of Boxoffice. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.

 

Status: The theatre was demolished in 1956. 

 

This photo appeared in the July 2, 1956 issue of the Press-Telegram. Thanks to Ron Pierce for locating it for a post on Cinema Treasures. The caption:  

"WHERE VALENTINO RODE - Exploring through rubble of the Rialto Theater on the Pike, John Mulholland (left) and Llewellen Bixby Jr. recall happy matinees of their youth. The Rialto -- Long Beach's first motion picture house -- has been demolished to make room for a 125-car parking lot. Wall containing exit door is all that remains of the old theater. -- (Staff Photo.)

The Pike area where the Rialto and adjacent buildings were located was a parking lot for decades and has now been redeveloped with residential buildings.

The area east of where the theatre had been (fronting on Pine Ave.) is the location of the gargantuan Ocean Center Bldg. It was designed by Meyer & Holler and completed in 1929. The Ocean Center building had a lower arcade heading directly onto The Pike.

 

 

c.1907 - We're looking over the train station to get a grand view of the 1905 Municipal Auditorium. By mid-1908 there would be a small building added to the right of it. This card was postmarked in 1909. Right behind the station we get a sliver of the Theatorium. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for locating the card on eBay.

 

c.1908 - A panorama of Long Beach by Haines Photo Co. that's in the Library of Congress collection. Thanks to Ron Mahan for locating it.

 

 

 

c.1908 - A detail from the Library of Congress panorama. The Theatorium doesn't have a stagehouse at this point. 

 

 

 

c.1908 - An early look up the pier toward Ocean Blvd. The building to the left with the reddish roof is the train station. This side of it we have a glimpse of the curvy Theatorium facade. The patch of green grass at the right would later be the site of the State Theatre. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for locating the card on eBay.  

 

 

c.1908 - In this view you can see the front of the Theatorium building beyond the boardwalk. It's right of center, below the twin red steeples of the Bathhouse beyond. The Municipal Auditorium was off to the left, out of the image. Ten years later the building housing the State Theatre would rise on the right where the grass is. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for sharing this card from her collection.

 

A smaller version of the card appears in Brent Dickerson's "Long Beach: Part 3 Pier and Pike" chapter of his epic "A Visit To Old Los Angeles." Also see "Long Beach Part 1" and "Long Beach Part 2."

 

 

 

c.1908 - A partial view of the Theatorium to the right of the corner building on The Pike that would about a decade later be the theatre's entrance. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for spotting this one on eBay. 

 

 

1908 - A delightful view looking across the National Theatorium toward the Municipal Auditorium. Thanks to Alexander Djordjevich for locating the photo for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. The caption that was affixed was "Atlantic Fleet arriving at Long Beach Cal. April 18, 1908."

 

 

1910 - The Theatorium's auditorium and new stagehouse is seen on the far right of this postcard. We're looking west with the colonnaded Bathhouse in the center of the image. Beyond that there's a nice smaller building with two domes. Just beyond is a less ostentatious building that's the Columbia Theatre, later replaced by the Strand. The large building with the arched roof is the Majestic Rink. The Virginia Hotel is in the distance with the stagehouse of the Bentley Theatre visible just in front of it.

 

Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for locating this in the collection of Loyola Marymount University. Card Cow has several versions:  #103537 | #238226 | #106352 - postmarked 1913.   The Library also has the black and white photo used to create the card. A version of the card is in the Long Beach Public Library collection. On the image the photographer, "J.A.," has dated it 1910. 

 

 

 

c.1910 - The Theatorium's stagehouse is in the lower left in this shot of a happy couple at the beach. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality finding this on eBay. He shared it on Noirish post #56116. The circular track on the beach is "Reckless Ross Millman's Wall of Death." For more on the "Wall," including images of a similar installation in Venice, see Hoss C's Noirish post #21784.

 

 

c.1910 - A nice view over toward the Municipal Auditorium from the Long Beach Heritage Museum collection. The stagehouse we see in the lower center of the photo is that of the Theatorium. The sign on the side says "Selz Shoes." The photographer was probably standing on top of the bathhouse. The site Card Cow also has a version of this card with a 1911 postmark.  

 

Nathan Marsak notes that the ride in the image, Bisby's Spiral Airship, "had cars that were suspended underneath a track and could swing freely. The cars traveled up an inclined track, and then descended along a spiral track around a steel frame tower before returning to the station. This is commonly acknowledged as the first suspended roller coaster type ride." 

 

c.1910 - A look down Board Walk toward the Pike. Just beyond the Salt Line Kitchen sandwich joint we get the theatre, with "Natio..." and "Moving Pi..." on the side wall. Over on the left that's the Pine Ave. Pier with a bit of the 1905 Municipal Auditorium. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for sharing this photo from her collection. She notes that it was taken by an individual who later added it to their photo album.

 

 

1910 - A photo of the National Theatorium from the December 31, 1910 issue of the magazine Film Index. The items stuck to the facade are wedding wishes. The caption was: "How the National Theatorium, Long Beach, Cal., looked when its proprietor, G.O. Post, returned from his wedding tour." Thanks to Brooklyn-based theatre historian Cezar Del Valle, of Theatre Talks fame, for locating the photo.

 

 

 

c.1912 - A nice view from the site Card Cow emphasizing the length of the theatre. 

 

 

c.1913 - The stagehouse rented out as advertising space for Owl Cigars. The sign painter was Ed Herwick: "We Cover the Coast." Here the corner building is the Bon Ton restaurant. The postcard is in the California State Library collection, their item # 001409539. 

 

 

 

c.1913 - A wider shot from the California Historical Society appearing on the USC Digital Library website. 

 

 

 

c.1913 - A detail from the California Historical Society / USC photo.

 

 

1915 - The theatre is over on the left in this parade photo from the Historical Society of Long Beach. That's the train depot beyond. The photo appears on the Cal State Long Beach page about the Theatorium. It looks like the space on the corner of the theatre where it used to say 5 cents has been whited out.

 

 

 

c.1915 - A fine postcard from Nathan Narsak, appearing with other Long Beach cards on his Noirish Los Angeles post # 2308. Also see an even larger image of the card he has on Flickr. The Theatorium stagehouse is visible on the right, either between paint jobs for various advertisers, or perhaps just blacked out by the postcard artist. The corner building in the foreground would soon become an entrance for the Theatorium, then renamed the Rialto.

 

 

c.1918 - A fine view of the new Rialto entrance as we look west along The Pike. The old entrance had been up Board Walk to the right. Patrons now went through a new lobby and then into the side of the original building. The card was on on eBay for $7.25. Thanks to Michelle Gerdes for finding it.

 

 

 

c.1918 - A detail of the Rialto's entrance from the previous card.  

 

 

 

c.1920 - A delightful postcard that gives us a glimpse of the new Rialto entrance on the corner and, up the block to the right, the side of the auditorium. Look just above the entrance and note "Theatorium" is still on the stagehouse. It's a card from the site Card Cow.

 

 

 

c.1920 - This side of the pier on the left side of The Pike note a view of the Rialto's corner sign.  Beyond the pier it's the newly opened Loews's State in the Markwell Building and the Municipal Auditorium. The card is in the Long Beach Public Library collection.

 

 

 

c.1921 - We get a view of the back of the Theatorium stagehouse on the left, halfway up this card. Note the "Loew's State" signage atop the State Theatre building. The State had opened in 1919. The card is from the Long Beach Heritage Museum collection. 

 

 

 

1922 - An April view looking west along The Pike. The Rialto is at the right. The theatre later called the Strand is down in the next block, here still called Hoyt's. On their readerboard it's "Tom Mix and Pantages Attractions." You can also see a sliver of the Hoyt's stagehouse in the upper right. The photo is in the California State Library collection, their item #001377431. There's also a copy from the California Historical Society appearing on the USC Digital Library website.

1925 - A photo in the USC Digital Library collection. On the far right is a bit of the building the State Theatre was in. The large building on Ocean Ave. was the Heartwell Building, under construction at the time.

 

 

 

1925 - We certainly don't see much of the Rialto in that USC photo. But in the center of this detail from it we do get a glimpse of the Rialto's corner sign. 

 

 

1925 - An interesting angle on the Rialto's entrance building and the long auditorium beyond. Thanks to Kevin Walsh for sharing this photo from an album of images of 1925 road trips around the west that's in his collection. Over on Ocean the tall building is the Heartwell, with the Schuyler Hotel to the left. Just left of the Schuyler, not visible here, was the Liberty Theatre, a house that ended up as the Roxy.

 

 

c.1930 - A bit of the Rialto, as usual, in the lower right. Beyond the Bathhouse note the roof sign for the Strand Theatre, the former Hoyt's. It's a photo in the Long Beach Public Library collection. Many more historic images await you in the Library's photo collection.  

 

 

  

1933 - A sad post-earthquake view from the Ronald W. Mahan Collection. We're looking east on The Pike toward the Ocean Center Building. The Rialto's entrance is down on the corner with, as Ron notes, the sign still up in the air. The theatre reopened but evidently this was the end of the stagehouse. Thanks, Ron!

 

 

1950 - A photo showing the original Theatorium building still surviving. The oval opening in the Ocean Center Building lines up with The Pike. Just to the left of that is the building used as the entrance when it became the Rialto. The next building to the left is the very long auditorium building. It's a photo from the Long Beach Public Library collection. That's Seaside Way continuing off to the right with the Victor and Tracy theatres in the 200 block.

 

 

 

1970s - Looking east along what was left of the Pike from Chestnut Pl. toward the Ocean Center Bldg. The Rialto's entrance had been down there on the left, just this side of the big arch. A bit of the State Theatre building is seen beyond the Ocean Center Building. These remnants of The Pike seen in the foreground demolished in the 80s. Thanks to Howard Gribble for posting his photo on Flickr.

 

 

1970s - Looking through the Ocean Center Building's arched entrance to what had once been The Pike. If you had walked through the arch as late as 1950, you would have run into the Rialto boxoffice, with the auditorium in the earlier Theatorium building up the block to the right. Thanks to Howard Gribble for sharing his photo on Flickr. 

2011 - A view through the arch to what at that time was a parking lot beyond. On the right we're looking north on Pine toward Ocean Blvd. The site of the now demolished State Theatre is out of the frame to the right. Photo: Google Maps

 

 

 

2019 - Looking along Seaside Way for remnants of The Pike. It used to be off to the left but at the time of the photo was all getting redeveloped. We're looking east toward the Ocean Center Building and Pine Ave. Photo: Google Maps

 

2019 - A view up Pine toward Ocean Blvd. Photo: Google Maps

 

 

 

2019 - Looking south across Ocean Blvd. Once upon a time Board Walk went down to The Pike where the left end of that new building now is. Pine Ave. is over on the far left. Photo: Google Maps

More information: Thanks to Ron Mahan for his fine research on the Theatorium/Rialto. Cinema Treasures has a page on the theatre, which they list as the Rialto. Cal State Long Beach has a page with two early photos of the Theatorium. 

See the Strand Theatre page here on this site more photos of this end of The Pike.

It's not related, but Los Angeles had a theatre in Echo Park called the Theatorium operated by Henry Jensen. It ended up as the Holly Theatre.

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