Historic movie palaces / Gratiot Avenue / East Side
Rialto Theatre
Closed – archive entry · 1917–1968
C. Howard Crane's Gratiot Avenue movie house, open from 1917 to 1968, was an early take on stadium seating: the floor was so steep it didn't need a balcony. Its facade looked a lot like today's Detroit Opera House.
Quick facts
- Opened
- 1917
- Closed
- 1968
- Architect
- C. Howard Crane
- Seats
- 1350
02 / The story of this place
Make time for these
The Rialto opened on Gratiot Avenue in 1917, designed by C. Howard Crane. It had an early form of stadium seating: a steeply raked floor that made a balcony unnecessary for its roughly 1,350 seats. Its facade closely resembled Crane's later Capitol Theatre of 1922, today's Detroit Opera House. It got a new marquee in 1941. The Rialto closed in 1968 and has since been demolished.
- A steep floor instead of a balcony
- A facade twin of the Detroit Opera House
- A 1917 C. Howard Crane design
Plan your visit
The Rialto has been demolished and no longer stands on Gratiot Avenue. Its facade's big sibling, the Detroit Opera House, is in our guide.
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