The Indie Theater That Refused to Close Is Selling Out Again

The Rialto, a 1928 movie palace with 600 red velvet seats, nearly closed for good four years ago. This fall, its Friday double features are selling out. On a recent Friday night, the line for a pairing of two classic screwball comedies stretched past the shoe repair shop next door and around the corner, and the box office hung its handwritten “Sold Out” sign at 7:12 p.m., nearly an hour before the first reel.

A volunteer crew of 80 runs the concession stand and ushers, and a members’ program now covers the building’s heating bill. For a theater that once showed first-run films to a dozen people on weeknights, the turnaround has been fast, and the people who made it happen are still a little surprised.

Four years from the edge

The trouble began the way it has for many single-screen theaters across the country. Studios shortened the window between theatrical release and streaming, the old projector needed expensive repairs, and the audience thinned out to a handful of loyal regulars. The previous owners announced a closing date and put the building up for sale.