Rialto Cinema History

#186 Do - as you head up the stairs of the Rialto Cinema, take a peek at the historic ceiling of what was a foyer in The New Empire De Luxe. The theatre first opened in 1916 as The Empire Picture Palace with a silent film 'Fanchon the Cricket'. In 1920 the theatre was bought by Thomas O'Brien. It was re-named and redesigned in Moorish style and included an atmospheric twinkling starry ceiling in the main theatre that seated 2,600 (the architect was Edmund Anscombe). The 1920s was an exciting time in film, the theatre first screened a 'talkie' (a movie with spoken dialogue) in 1929! It was remodelled again in the 1930s in Art Deco style and again in 1952 when it became the St. James Theatre. The heritage listed building is now the Rialto Cinema and I love that you can see little snippets of its historic past as you go up the stairs and see the foyer, and some of the original architecture next cinema 6. I headed into the Rialto today to pick up my ticket to tonights premier of Radio Dunedin at 8pm - the documentary on another amazing local story, launched in 1922, it is New Zealand's longest running radio station.