The 1,seat theater opened on April 21, , on the former site of Oscar Hammerstein 's Vaudeville venue the Victoria Theatre. Together with Strand Theatre , they were the most important movie theatres on Broadway at the time. When Paramount sold the building in , the Rialto Theatre was demolished and rebuilt on a smaller scale, with the rest of the building dedicated to shops and office space. By the s, the theater had become an adult movie theater.
In February , it abandoned adult films in lieu of legitimate theater , becoming host to live theatrical productions. It was once home to daytime talk shows hosted by Geraldo Rivera and Montel Williams. The building was torn down in and a high-rise office building was erected in its place. The Rialto's predecessor, the Hammerstein vaudeville venue, is featured in the film Portrait of Jennie.
Jennie's parents are high-wire trapeze artists who perform at Hammerstein's until tragedy strikes. The Rialto itself also makes an appearance in the film, with a Mickey Mouse cartoon playing in the background.
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