Sometimes, buildings act as time capsules, standing in the midst of modern architecture to remind us of how far we’ve come. The Rialto Theater is one of the largest and most intricate theaters in all of southern Arkansas, and the southeastern region. Located at 117 East Cedar St. in the downtown El Dorado, Arkansans across the southern portion of the state came from miles away every year to see the building, which has withstood the test of time. The iconic Rialto Theater is, in many ways, a time capsule — a cosmopolitan reminder of El Dorado’s past, and a hint at what lies in the near future.
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A commotion broke out around the oil well. People stopped what they were doing and rushed near to see the source of the hubbub. On the morning of Jan. 10, 1921, the Busey oil well brought dark, bubbling crude oil to the surface of the earth, and El Dorado’s fate was changed.
Overnight, the town was booming with an influx of people eager to strike it rich in the oil industry. Within six months of the discovery and subsequent oil boom, the town’s population exploded from 3,000 to over 40,000. Within two years of the discovery, 56 wells in the area were producing 50,000 barrels of oil every day.
Some of the most well-known characters in Arkansas’s history — some seemingly larger than life — were able to create political and financial dynasties in 1920s El Dorado.
“Famed tycoon H.L. Hunt got his start here; El Dorado’s Lion Oil Company became a petroleum powerhouse; businessman C.H. Murphy begat companies that shape the city to this day,” wrote Mel White in the July 2018 issue of AY About You.
The oil boom put El Dorado on the map, and as hundreds of oil executives and laborers flocked to the area in hopes of economic promise and a better life, the desire for more sophisticated leisurely opportunities grew. The Rialto was the city’s silver bullet, paving the way for folks to come to El Dorado for the opportunities and stay for the amenities.
The first Rialto Theater was owned by the well-known and affluent Clark and McWilliams families of El Dorado, who owned a large portion of stock in Arkansas Amusement Enterprises, a chain of over 30 movie theaters across the state. L.B. Clark and W.F. McWilliams built the theater to be the flagship for the chain.
The new Rialto was built in 1929 on the foundation of the former Rialto Theater, which had been constructed in 1918 and only seated 400. The theater was designed and built by the Little Rock architectural firm of Kolben, Hunter, and Boyd for a price tag of $250,000. This new Rialto Theater could seat 900 people on the main floor and 250 in each of the two balconies.
The rectangular-shaped Rialto was built in the Classical Revival style, consisting of three stories above the ground level with Egyptian Revival details on the front facade and around the theater’s main entrance. The building capitalized on the cosmopolitan style popular in the roaring ῾20s. Part of the building’s original 1920s design also consisted of barriers separating the balconies and the concessions areas, which fell in line with the segregation requirements of Jim Crow laws at that time.
In its heyday during the oil boom, patrons of the Rialto would have found ornate double stairways as well as elaborate lounges for men to smoke and women to freshen up. Red velour draperies hung from arched panels helped to dampen sound and enhance acoustics, while the original theater seats were made of cushioning and rich leather upholstery.
When it was first built, the new Rialto Theater had state-of-the-art technology, equipment, and mechanical systems in place to make sure the lights and sounds of the theater were in optimal condition. Sound and projection systems were installed by an engineering firm from Buffalo, New York. The theater was also outfitted with a Kohler organ and a 32-foot by 63-foot stage. A Celotex ceiling, a washed-air ventilation system, $13,000 Ozite wall panels, and Vitaphone sound system all helped earn the Rialto theater the moniker of “the showplace of the South.”
The Rialto Theater’s owners saw it as more than just a place to enjoy the new phenomenon of talking pictures. “We believe that this theater will serve as a community asset,” they said, in the double-page announcement found in the Sept. 29, 1929, edition of the El Dorado Sunday News, “and will aid materially in the economic progress of El Dorado and vicinity.”
For decades, the theater attracted vaudeville performers from around the country, leading a tourist explosion for El Dorado. Under the Clark and McWilliams families, the theater thrived and was renovated throughout the years so that it could continue to be a staple of arts fanatics everywhere. The theater was standing-room-only for the 1939 regional premiere of “Gone With the Wind,” drawing individuals from Louisiana and Texas as well as across The Natural State.
In the years that followed, the theater was largely business as usual. But as the ecstasy of the oil-boom began to fade, so too did the popularity of the Rialto. In 1980, the theater closed for seven years while city officials in El Dorado tried to figure out what purpose the theater should serve next before the city ultimately chose to restore and reopen the building.
In 1986, the theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places and reopened the following year. From 1987 to 2006, the structure served as a three-screen movie theater, and in 2003, was included in the El Dorado Commercial Historic District. The main lobby and concessions area of the theater briefly operated as a bar called Marilyn’s, but this eventually fell through. Soon, the theater again closed, and all was quiet for several years.
In 2012, the winds of change blew for the Rialto Theater. The Murphy Arts District, formed by a coalition of individuals in El Dorado committed to ensuring that visitors and residents had creative outlets for music, food, art, theater and dance, purchased the Rialto Theater. Plans were announced to restore the theater once more as part of phase two community revitalization efforts in downtown.
As work continues, proponents envision the revitalized theater to be the hub for live music performances, comedy shows, movies and plays. The theater will have floor seating available for 850 attendees, as well as a full balcony.
The revitalization comes at a time when the community is gaining national attention for the work it has done to improve and promote downtown. The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism recognized Murphy USA Chairman Madison Murphy as Tourism Person of the Year in 2018 and presented the Murphy Arts District the Natural State Award.
Murphy believes that by creating both entertainment and economic opportunities, people will not only move to El Dorado to build their careers but also their lives.
“The arts district directly addresses the quality of life,” Murphy told White in the AY About You interview, “but it also tests the thesis: Can you be successful in economic development through arts, entertainment and culture? And we think the resounding answer to that is ‘yes.’”
As of January 2023, workers with Diversified Construction & Design have laid concrete for a new sidewalk outside of the Rialto Theater and its next-door neighbor, Sports Alley, on East Cedar Street. This comes as part of the ongoing preparations for the 2023 Governor’s Conference on Tourism, which El Dorado will host in February.
History tends to repeat itself. El Dorado, a once popular tourist destination as a result of the oil boom, has found itself in the spotlight of another tourism pilgrimage as the city updates, restores and expands its amenities and attractions. This time, the Rialto Theater will get to witness the second popularity boom and hopefully be a lasting staple for the city of El Dorado.
