Located at 445 Market St, Sunbury PA, The Rialto theater could seat 475. The theater struggled, being closed down at least 3 times between 1950 and 1977. In 1978, a disgruntled janitor lit a broom on fire and threw it in a closet. The resulting fire gutted the building. Three months later, the building not having been repaired, a second fire was started, this time in the rear of the building. Again, it was ruled arson, although the second culprit was never apprehended. The adjoining Lutheran church, which had been damaged in the second fire, purchased the property and razed the burned out theater.
The Victoria Theater opened on November 9th 1911, showing silent films. The theater had a very small lobby, a sloped floor, and could seat 475 people.
In March of 1912, William Lyon, who owned the building, advertised that office rooms were available to rent in the theater building.
A 1918 article in the daily item, reporting on the new theater being built in Shamokin, stated: "The Chamberlin Amusement Enterprises Inc, owners of the Victoria And Peoples theaters here..." So we know that in 1918, Sunbury had two theaters, both owned by Chamberlain Enterprises. The Victoria would later be renamed the Rialto, and Peoples would later become The Strand.
On September 8th 1919, two new No 6-B motion picture projecting machines were installed in the Victoria Theater.
he last mention I found of the Victoria theater in Sunbury was in June of 1931. The first mention I found of the Rialto was in June 1933.
A new screen was installed in the Rialto, owned by the Comerford Company, in September 0f 1934. The front of the theater was to be painted that fall, and the ushers and doormen were to have new uniforms.
The range was won by Irvin R. Knouse, an invalid who had lost the use of his legs and one arm, due to a nerve condition. A neighbor helped him move his wheelchair to the street, where Knouse went spy hunting. He tapped two men, who denied being the spy, before correctly tapping Neal Furman, winning the electric range.
December 3rd 1958, the manager of the two Sunbury Theaters ordered them both closed, following more than a year of efforts to eliminate the city amusement tax, to ease a "critical deficit situation." The amusement tax went into effect in 1952 in Sunbury. It was projected to be a ten per cent levy, but the Sunbury Baseball Association [defunct in 1958] had insisted it be lowered to 5 cents on all tickets over 24 cents. The theaters at the time were charging 50 cents, so in their case, it actually was a 10 percent rate. At the outset, the amusement tax yielded he city $20,00 year. The decline from the movie houses rapidly declined, with the take being just $8,000. The total amusement tax collected in Sunbury in 1957 was $12,000, with $530 coming from professional basketball, and $67 from high school events.
It was pointed out that Danville, Jersey Shore, and Carlisle had abolished their amusement tax in 1957, Milton & Lewisburg had cut their levy in half.
Charles Lytle, in his Tales Of Sunbury website, shares his recollections of the Rialto here: https://talesofsunbury.com/the-rialto-the-nu-way-and-tv-knob/
In addition, the fire caused extensive smoke damage to the Andrews furniture store next door.
This second fire was also ruled arson, but no arrest for this second fire was ever made.
In April of 1979, the Daily Item ran a full page on the abandoned and dangerous buildings in the shopping district of Sunbury. The headline read "Absentee owner blight plagues city's downtown." The buildings they named were:
the former Neff Hotel [later the Fort Augusta House], listed as falling apart and a potential safety hazard. It had been abandoned by it's owner 2 or 3 years prior.
"The roach infested and debris-littered former YMCA building", at 235 Market Street.
Weeds on an empty lot beside the Strand Theater were left to grow to 4-5 feet in height, according to the article. That been the former sie of a furniture store.
The Abandoned Penn Railroad Station, a landmark building had deteriorated to the point that demolition seemed inevitable. [Thankfully that did not occur, and today it is a beautiful antique mall, showcasing much of Sunbury's history https://www.facebook.com/ValleyVintagePA]
The burnt out Rialto building was added to this list. The Rialto building was sold to the adjacent Zion Lutheran church, which razed the building and had plans to landscape the lot in the summer of 1980.
Actually, my Eagle Scout project was to do the landscaping of the empty lot, as I was confirmed at Zion, which purchased the ruins of the theatre, razed it, and prepared it for landscaping. My project was completed in the Spring and Summer of 1981, if memory serves
ReplyDeleteActually, I did the initial landscaping for my Eagle project in the Spring and Summer of 1981. I attended and was confirmed at Zion, though my Scout unit was Troop 342 in Northumberland (Zion's was Troop 333, if memory serves).
ReplyDeleteI'm confused now! My Great Grandfather and his brother bought the Lyric from Mr. Lyons in 1933, but I can find no other info!
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