Rialto Theatre

113 W. 2nd Street,
Kewanee, IL 61443

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Balaban & Katz Corp.

Architects: William T. Braun

Nearby Theaters

1928 newspaper ads in Kewanee paper

The Rialto Theatre was opened late-March 1917. By 1933 it was operated by Balaban & Katz Corp. It was destroyed by fire in 1942.

Contributed by Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on December 18, 2014 at 2:22 pm

I’ve found the Rialto mentioned in the trade publications in the latter part of 1917.

Kewaneekevin
Kewaneekevin on April 15, 2018 at 3:20 pm

Sadly this building was lost in the great 3 block Kewanee fire in 1942 .

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 15, 2018 at 7:17 pm

In 1933 the Rialto was a Balaban & Katz house, noted in the October 6 issue of The Film Daily.

Kewaneekevin
Kewaneekevin on June 19, 2018 at 6:40 pm

Opened late March 1917

SethG
SethG on August 22, 2021 at 12:37 am

The Rialto was a conversion of an old 2-story brick commercial building built sometime between 1885 and 1892, and modified over the years. At least for a time it was known as the Hallin Block, which is a bit odd since there was a Hallin building at 107. The 1910 map shows it as a restaurant.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on August 23, 2021 at 2:22 am

An item in the March 24, 1917 issue of The Moving Picture World said that the new Rialto Theatre in Kewanee was owned by Chris C. Taylor, who also owned the Dreamland Theatre. The March 10 issue of the same journal had noted that the plans for remodeling an existing building to accommodate the Rialto had been prepared by Chicago architect W. T. Braun. William T. Braun had been the architect of the Barker-Swan Film Service studio at Peoria, Illinois, according to Motography of March 25, 1916.

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