The Rialto Theatre is a former movie palace located on Park Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada.
Constructed in 1923-1924 and designed by Montreal architect Joseph-Raoul Gariépy, who specialized in theatre and hospital projects, the Rialto was inspired by Neo-baroque-style Paris Opera House. The interior was designed by Emmanuel Briffa, designer of over sixty Canadian movie houses, in the Louis XVI style. The Rialto ceased operation as a cinema in 1990.
The Rialto Theatre underwent many changes since 2000. All the theatre seats were removed and attempts were even made to convert it into a steakhouse. After nearly thirty years of ownership the owner, Louis Calogeras, was finally able to sell it in March 2010 to Le Groupe Merveilles Inc., and its owners Ezio Carosielli and Luisa Sassano.They have indicated an intention to protect and restore its unique architecture.
Famous quotes containing the words rialto and/or theatre:
“Signor Antonio, many a time and oft
In the Rialto you have rated me
About my moneys and my usances.
Still have I borne it with a patient shrug,
For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe.
You call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog,
And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine,
And all for use of that which is mine own.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Glorious bouquets and storms of applause ... are the trimmings which every artist naturally enjoys. But to move an audience in such a role, to hear in the applause that unmistakable note which breaks through good theatre manners and comes from the heart, is to feel that you have won through to life itself. Such pleasure does not vanish with the fall of the curtain, but becomes part of one’s own life.”
—Dame Alice Markova (b. 1910)