The Rialto Square Theatre - Joliet, IL
N 41° 31.608 W 088° 04.896
16T E 409763 N 4597804
OPENING DAY - May 24, 1926
Waymark Code: WM1R1W
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 06/27/2007
Views: 59
Making our way east-bound on Route 66 through Joliet, IL, we came across this gem of a theatre. The Jewel of Joliet as it's known, the Rialto Square Theatre is a former Vaudeville movie palace built during the "Golden Age" of movies.
Debuting on May 24, 1926, the Rialto was two years in the making at an approximate cost of one and a half million dollars. Originally conceived as a Palace For The People by the Rubens Brothers, the Rialto is now considered one of the most beautiful theatres in the nation. The building reflects Italian Renaissance, Byzantine,
Roman, Greek, Rococo, Venetian and Baroque architecture.
The Esplanade, or inner lobby, is designed after the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, France. The arch between the Esplanade and the Rotunda area has been carefully copied from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The elegant rotunda is surrounded by eighteen Corinthian-style columns and surmounted by a dome quite similar to the Pantheon in Rome.
There are over one hundred crystal chandeliers and light fixtures throughout the Rialto. All are Czechoslovakian crystal. Steuben glass, copper and bronze. Each piece of crystal was crafted by the Victor S. Perlman Company, in Chicago. The magnificent chandelier in the center of the Rotunda is called "The Duchess". It is one of the largest crystal chandeliers in the United States. It weighs over two and one half tons, is nearly twenty-two feet long and has approximately two hundred fifty lights.
Americana: Theater/Drive In
Significant Interest: Other Icon
Milestone or Marker: Other Icon
Web Site Address: [Web Link]
Address of Icon:
15 E. Van Buren St.
Joliet, IL USA
60432
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