{"nrhp_refnum":"78000700","name":"Rialto Theatre","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1019--1023 Fair Oaks Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"South Pasadena","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.11393532000005,"lon":-118.15065417699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-05-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story reinforced concrete, brick and structural steel building at 1019-1023 Fair Oaks Avenue, South Pasadena, California, designed in 1924 and built in 1925. It was designed to hold a theater, retail shops and apartments.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the Rialto is one of a dwindling handful of surviving theatres by prolific architect L. A. Smith and one of the best preserved examples of his work. Its Moorish fantasy interior, original decorative art, curtains and vaudeville and film history add to its theatrical significance.","narrative":"Built in 1925 at 1019-1023 Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena, the Rialto Theatre combined a theater, retail shops and apartments in one two-story building of reinforced concrete, brick and structural steel. Architect L. A. Smith gave it a Moorish theme, and the interior is described as a lavish example of his eclectic Moorish fantasy. William G. Reed built it for West Coast Theatres. It opened with feature films and vaudeville, and served as a tryout stage for talent produced by Fanchon and Marco. Later it hosted a touring play company before a backstage fire in the early 1930s ended live performance. The original wall and ceiling decoration, red and gold house curtains and asbestos curtain survive, and a larger neon marquee replaced the first one in the 1930s. Smith designed fifteen or more theatres, and the Rialto is one of a few that remain. The nomination rests its case mainly on architecture, art and theater.","period_of_significance":"1924-1925","architect_builder":"L. A. Smith, architect; Wm. G. Reed (William G. Reed), builder","architectural_style":"Moorish motif/Moorish fantasy (theatre 'palace of entertainment'), with a later moderne/art deco marquee","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in use for entertainment; condition marked excellent/good and altered. The interior remains in good shape, though no stage performance has occurred since the early 1930s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.678332-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000700.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000700/411f439841-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000700/411f439841-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cbl62","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rialto_Theatre,_South_Pasadena.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cbl62</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rialto_Theatre,_South_Pasadena.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859453","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rialto_Theatre_(South_Pasadena,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18753805"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/rialto-theatre-78000700/"}