City of Tacoma: Rialto Theater

310 S 9th St
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 591-5890
www.broadwaycenter.org
map

Tacoma’s Rialto Theater also opened in 1918 and was hailed as "the ultimate photoplay house". But the Beaux-Arts style Rialto was still and foremost a vaudeville-era theater designed to meet the acoustic needs of theaters and concert halls of the time.

The Rialto resembles Vienna's 1916 Redoutensaal, the first "shoe box" shaped orchestral hall. Much of the original ornate plaster decoration (including replicas of cupids and patriotic eagles) remains to this day.