Peoria has a rich history of movie theaters that are no longer here. There was the Varsity Theater on Main Street, The Palace Theater also on Main Street but further down in downtown Peoria, There was the Fox and Beverly Theaters and of course the beloved Peoria Drive-in. The Madison Theater is still standing and it’s currently under-going renovations and they plan on a grand re-opening!
Probably the most elegant movie theater was The Rialto Theater on South Jefferson Avenue in downtown Peoria.
I found some photos of the Theater online, so let’s go take a look at one of Peoria’s past beloved movie theaters.
The Rialto was originally The Hippodrome Theater.
Here’s some black and white shots of the Rialto back in the day.
Here’s the theater in living color. You can read about the theater and the history of it here.
Check out the parade passing by the theater in the ’60’s. It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World was the feature playing back then.
There’s the majestic entrance and ticket booth up in the front of the building.
Here’s two photos of the elegant interior of the movie theater.
They announced in 1979 that it was going to be torn down to make way for the Peoria Civic Center.
Here’s Peoria’s Civic Center that replaced the Rialto Theater.
I thought this was a perfect shot to close out this post! Yes, the Rialto Movie Theater is Gone With The Wind, but it’s still alive on this post and in our memories!
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Related Posts: Meanwhile, Back In Peoria’s Past: The Oral History Of WWCT, Spalding Pastoral Center and Sky Harbor.