GATEWAY THEATRE OPENS MONDAY

From the Archives
October 19, 1923

Little Falls Evening Times

The new Gateway Theatre on North Ann street will be opened to the public next Monday night, and the public has a treat coming.  The new building is said to be the finest moving picture theatre between New York and Buffalo, one that Little Falls can well be proud of, and is a notable addition to the new structures that have been built in the city during the past few years.  The exterior is novel and handsome in its architecture, and the interior is finished in the finest and most modern way.  It will be a revelation to hundreds of Little Falls people who visit it next week and who had never hoped to see such a theatre building in Little Falls.  It has been made possible by the faith and enterprise of Little Falls and Herkimer people whose vision of the future will no doubt be justified.

The opening attraction chose is “The Green Goddess,“ a recent release in which the well- known George Arliss and Alice Joyce starring, and a picture worthy of the occasion.  Monday evening will be a notable occasion, and the capacity of the big new theatre is likely to be tested.

The prices for the new theatre have been fixed at 22 for children and 33 cents for adults, which conforms to the prices at Herkimer and Utica.  The pictures will run for one, two or three days according to the bookings.  The organ is the finest between New York and Rochester.

Notes:  The Gateway Theatre was renamed the Rialto Theater on August 12, 1925.

Children’s prices of 22 cents in 1923 are equivalent to $4.30 in 2026, and adult prices of 33 cents in 1923 are equivalent to $6.45 in 2026.

Initially the movies were silent with organ music providing a background. Local residents Stacy Simpson and Marie McGraw were the organists with Miss McGraw later marrying theater manager, Nicholas Kauffman.  Talking movies debuted in February 1929.

The last movie was run on Memorial Day 1972, and the theater was demolished in 1997.

For a comprehensive history of the Rialto Theater read “RIALTO WAS LITTLE FALLS’ MOVIE PALACE” by Mat Rapacz on the Little Falls Historical Society website.