Imagining the Rialto...

Wouldn't it be great if this were available right around the corner?

Yesterday I took my family to see a special screening of Secret of the Wings at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Secret of the Wings is the latest in Disney's Fairies franchise, and I can't imagine a more magical setting for a screening than the majestic El Capitan.

Unless, of course, it could be at our very own Rialto Theatre.

Naysayers love to insist that glamorous old movie palaces aren't practical, that people would rather stay at home and watch their Blue Rays than go sit in a theater, especially an old theater.

Well, the sold-out show at El Capitan yesterday is just one example of how wrong those naysayers can be. (I've covered many other success stories of renovated movie palaces in my Rialto series on Patch right here and here.)

When the curtain rose yesterday, illuminated by dozens of glimmering lights every bit as whimsical as fairy dust, Little Bit said, "This place is more special than any other building in the world! Will we ever have a theater like this at home?"

I don't know. I hope so.

Share my dream of a reborn Rialto? Join Friends of the Rialto here.

Sign On

It's official: Landmark wants the Rialto sign to stay exactly where it is!

We still have a long, long, LONG way to go to officially save and revitalize our beloved Rialto Theatre, but as Escott Norton of Friends of the Rialto posted on Facebook, "I would say today's news is a very good 'sign'!"

(Be sure to let Landmark Theaters know that we don't want to stop here. We want more than a secure sign. We want our movie palace back! You can write Landmark by clicking here.)

I want to thank Landmark Theaters for recognizing the importance of this historic piece of South Pas. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I can hear those ghosts of the Rialto screen right now...

Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd are also saying thank you. (We can't hear them, of course, but it's written in lovely font across a silent film card.) Malle, Truffaut and Rohmer are saying merci. Lang, Lubitsch and Fassbinder are saying danke schoen.

Danke schoen?

Heck, with this kind of shake-it-up good news I'll bet it goes something like this.

Hanging in the Balance

Expert structural engineer Michael Krakower will offer the city of South Pasadena a report today regarding the safety of the historic Rialto sign. (LA Times blog got a few facts wrong -- Landmark Theaters leases but does not own the Rialto, for example -- but you can read more about the latest in the saga in the Times story here.) I say, let's make sure we do whatever it takes to keep the Rialto sign safely in place. Then, let's use this as a starting point to finally bring this grand movie palace back to life.

My regular readers have seen most of the following links already, but for newbies:

Read my history of the Rialto Theater, including my historical photo slideshow at Patch here.

Read my analysis of other historic theaters that have been successfully revitalized at Patch here, and make sure to watch the included portion of my longer film project: The Rialto: Remembered and Imagined.

Read my plea to leaseholder Landmark Theaters to help us save our beloved movie palace here, and my follow up here.

Join others who want to make sure the Rialto is saved, restored and reopened by signing up with Friends of the Rialto at the website here or on the Facebook page here.

Let Landmark Theaters know that since they have the power -- and the keys to the place -- we really, really, really need their help to save the Rialto. You can write them online here or send mail to:

Customer Service

Landmark Theatres
2222 South Barrington Avenue

Los Angeles, California 90064.

We don't have to go all Network on them. I really believe once Landmark knows how important the Rialto is to South Pasadena as well as greater Los Angeles, we'll have something more along the lines of this...

Stay tuned for more as this develops.

UPDATE 5:40PM: Pasadena Star News reports that Rialto sign can be saved if Landmark Theaters fund repairs. Officials from Landmark have not returned repeated calls for comment.

I'll say it again: write and let Landmark know how much the Rialto means to us. After all, there's power (and persuasion) in numbers. Just take a look at this.