5 Screens Sought for Historic Theater

The landmark Rialto Theatre in South Pasadena has survived the death of vaudeville, two fires and even the threat of becoming a parking lot.

Now, the owner of the Spanish Baroque-style theater--with a balcony known for its creaky wooden floor and a red velvet curtain that still swoops across the single, giant screen--is hoping to give the 72-year-old theater a new lease on life as a five-screen multiplex.

Landmark Theatre Corp. officials say they plan to build theaters in the balcony area while preserving the integrity of the main auditorium, which is falling into disrepair. Without the renovations, the Rialto will not be able to stay open during this age of popular multiplex theaters, officials said.

But even in its fading charm, this grand old movie palace is a personal favorite of preservationists, some of whom are already voicing their displeasure with the scale of the plans. They seem most concerned about maintaining the art and architecture of the balcony.

“It is not evident from the drawings that preserving the historic integrity is paramount in their minds. What is paramount is maximizing the use,” said Glen Duncan, chairman of the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission.

And Landmark’s plans are not guaranteed a thumbs-up from city officials. Next week, the owner will appear before the Planning Commission seeking a permit to add the new screens.

“It could be wonderful. It could be terrible. It depends on the execution,” said Stuart Denker, a designer and chairman of the city’s Design Review Board. Denker, who helped collect more than 3,200 signatures to save the theater from becoming a parking lot two decades ago, said preservationists will reserve judgment on the project until more details are forthcoming.

However, Denker, who has designed multiplexes, said the days of the single screen are numbered.

Today, the 1,150-seat theater plays host to independent films such as “The Ice Storm.” While patrons enjoy the magnificent screen, they often suffer more than two hours on well-worn seats amid a musty smell.

Landmark’s overhaul calls for all that to change with a new configuration that would retain the same large screen and add four smaller ones on the second story. Together they would seat 997 moviegoers.

Two of the small-screen theaters would be in the balcony, which would be sectioned off by temporary walls. Another two theaters would be in what is now office space above the lobby. Modern bathrooms, an elevator and new air conditioning would also be installed. A baseball card shop and key store on the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Oxley Street, next to the theater lobby, would become a concession area.

“For many years we’ve looked forward to refurbishing this theater,” said Stephen Gilula, Landmark’s president. “But to do that we need to find a way to pay for it, and the way to do that is to build theaters up in the balcony. This will allow us to maintain the integrity of the main auditorium and bring back life to the theater.”

He said Landmark is willing to invest in restoring the fittings as it did when it rehabilitated movie palaces in Milwaukee and Denver into multiscreen cinemas. “We need to do this as soon as possible if we are to keep it open as a movie theater,” Gilula said.

But the theater plan does face many obstacles. South Pasadena city staffers have determined that the changes will not mar the historic building, but the Planning Commission must agree. City Cultural Heritage Commission members must agree that the property--which is on the National Register of Historic Places--is being altered appropriately. But any decision can be appealed to the City Council.

Heritage commissioners, while not opposing the idea of a multiplex, do take a dim view of the plan to wall off the 500-seat, cantilevered balcony. “The proposed high wall would obliterate the essential historic fabric of the theater and destroys its design integrity as a historic venue of cinema, vaudeville and dramatic productions,” the commission said in a recent letter to the city manager.

“This is the real treasure of the Rialto.”