Rialto Theatre Recipient of Architectural Award
Written by Erin Sommers for the Record-Democrat, originally published in the newspaper in September 2023.
The Iowa Architectural Foundation selected the Rialto Theater as one of the inaugural recipients of the organization’s “Historic Vitalization” award.
“Historic theaters in particular are an excellent community-building tool and the common threads of purpose-driven passion, historic significance, and public mission in these projects warrant the Foundation’s recognition of both nominees,” jury member Steve Wilke-Shapiro.
The Rialto was one of two theaters honored with this award. The second was Des Moines Film, formerly known as the Varsity Theater near Drake University, which operated for eight decades before it closed in 2018. A community nonprofit worked for four years to reopen it.
In the same way, community members in Pocahontas banded together in the 1990s to reopen and restore their beloved Rialto Theater, which operated from the 1930s through 1989.
“Theaters can give an identity to a community,” Iowa Architectural Foundation officials said in announcing the award. “These two nominees represent different communities of different scales, but the jury has decided to honor both because they represent passionate advocacy for vital community centers that deserved to be revived. Moreover, passionately done projects with low budgets can and should be honored.
“It is significant that people and communities own these two spaces,” they added. “These organizations have accomplished true ‘community enhancement through historic vitalization’ by not only mobilizing their communities at the grassroots level, but also ensuring the architecture of their past will sustain them in future years.”
The foundation quoted from a nomination letter from RD reporter Erin Sommers.
“To go to the Rialto is to participate in a cultural and historical experience,” Sommers wrote. “It’s to be a part of a community. … The Rialto is a movie theater, but it’s so much more. It’s a venue to highlight local talent. It’s a place for the community to meet. It’s a place that offers entertainment to kids and adults. It’s a focal point in Pocahontas.”
The foundation noted the work community members have done to maintain the theater.
“Of special merit recently was the investment of approximately $75,000 in the building’s historic Art Deco marquee,” foundation officials said. “Additionally, the past year’s renovations included new poster cases, painting of the marquee letters, and the updating of fluorescent and neon lights with LED bulbs or LED tube lighting that maintained the original look and feel.”
Rialto Manager Parker Aden said when he first learned about the award from the Iowa Rural Development Council, he immediately thought of the theater.
“The theater has been a community project with thousands of volunteer hours over the multiple decades it has operated as a non-profit,” Aden said. “It has taken a village and is a labor of love -— and is honestly a love letter from our community to current and future generations. This award does not just honor where we currently are as a theater, but all of the passion and progress over the years. Irene Shaw, Marcia Hamp, Tom Van Overbeke, Pam Ahlrichs, Brian and Shela Blomker, Greg Fritz, Jack and Gladys Bouma and many, many others played a role and/or continue to play a role to keep the theater open and viable in our community. It is such a treasured and distinct landmark for our community, and a magical, culturally rich venue.”
Aden said he was grateful that the foundation recognized the Rialto and rural, northwestern Iowa with the statewide award.
“Thank you to those who volunteer to help us keep operating,” Aden said. “Thank you to the donors and patrons who support our theater. Thank you to our wonderful staff and those who have been an employee over the years. Thank you to all individuals that I do and don’t know over the years who have helped and impacted the Rialto in some way. This award is recognition of everyone’s impact over the years.”
