Goodbye, old friend

I just found out this morning that the old Rialto movie theatre in South Pasadena is closing tomorrow night. The boys and I took my niece Cameron there not long ago to see Ratatouille, and I had been struck not only by the tiny audience in attendance but also how shabby the building had become. It's too bad -- at one time it was a grand old theatre, with high-backed seats, red velvet drapes, box seats, and beautifully painted walls. It was a revival house during my high school days, and since it became an arthouse theatre I've seen some wonderful movies there over the years; I even caught my first showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at one of its frequent midnight screenings. More recently the Rialto has been showing mainstream fare, probably in a bid to bring in more business. Unfortunately, it seems not to have done much good.

R.I.P. to another great old Pasadena-area movie house.