Provenance

Various Parties

Purpose/Function

Reference, Research, Information

Arrangement

Arranged by Secondary Values (value of records to users)

Content

The ‘Rialto’ was a theatre built in 1921 along High Street near Kew Junction, following the boom of construction spurred on by a post-World War 1 sentiment. Nicknamed ‘Kew’s Dainty Theatre’, it became the monopoly provider of cinema entertainment for Kew and served many purposes for the community. This included the use of the stage on-site to create a school for the performing arts. It would be acquired by HOYTS in 1926, and after a host of issues including poor heat and air conditioning, rivals in the area and the advent of the television, led to the site’s acquisition in 1969 by a religious group. It would be renamed to the ‘Melbourne Revival Centre’, and would eventually be demolished in 1983 once the occupants moved sites. The file includes: Newspaper articles on the site’s demolition and history, and two copies of ‘Cinema Record’ detailing the Rialto.