R.I.P. Rialto Theater in Ridgefield Park (houses, high school)

[pbergen]

for those who aren't familiar with this theater, the rialto was one of the last old-school, single-screen theaters in nj, and the only one remaining in bergen county. even though i hadn't been to this place in a while, i'm very sad to see it go. i actually hadn't heard that they were closing until i read the articles linked below; if i'd known earlier, i would've tried to catch one last screening before they shut their doors.

Last single-screen theater to close
Rialto owners prepare to close doors

[CuCullin]

Didn't they play all kinds of great independent movies? Thats a damn shame

[pbergen]

yeah, for the last few years of their existence, they played foreign and indie films. along with a theater in montclair and a small place in teaneck, they were one of the only film houses in the area that did so.

in the late '90s, they showed bollywood films for a few years; before that, mainstream american movies. when i was a kid (especially before i had a car), i'd see movies at the end of the summer that had come out a couple of months earlier in all the big multiplexes. it was cheaper and less of a hassle than going to the multiplex over on rt. 46 (also in ridgefield park), although once my friends and i got our driver's licenses, we pretty much stopped going to the rialto in favor of the bigger theaters.

it's too bad about this place. in the city there are more than a few old-school theaters that hang on due to the high demand for indie and foreign film screenings, but in the suburbs it seems that the bigger, flashier theaters showing only mainstream flicks rule the day. as an example, the aforementioned multiplex on rt. 46 used to be THE place to go when i was in high school, but then it became somewhat obsolete once the multiplex on river rd in edgewater opened up. now there's that monster multiplex at the garden state plaza in paramus, so i'm sure all the kids go there instead. i haven't been there myself but i'm sure it's great; still, it's not the same experience for me as the cozier places without all the bells and whistles.