Florence, Colorado: The Historic Rialto Theater

Florence, Colorado has treasures almost everywhere--but one of its finest treasures is The Rialto Theater at 209 W. Main St. The grand old building was constructed in 1923 as an opera house with nearly 900 seats. By 1927, the grand old dame was used for screening movies and by 1969 it was closed and ever since has mostly been undergoing painstaking restoration.

The Rialto, named after a section of Venice, Italy--stands as a historical testament to not only the Italian culture so vital in Fremont County, but to the grand era of opera houses.

After years of ups and downs, the theater has seen some majestic restorations, but is still in need of more funds and community volunteers to complete the decade- long project.

I've only been in Florence a relatively short time, but have been following the progress of this massive undertaking. We were fortunate enough to have a private tour of The Rialto, given by Suzanne Phipps, who was instrumental in raising funds and completing projects--shortly before her death in Dec. of 2014.

More recently, city leaders and other civic leaders have taken over the restoration project.

The Rialto has a new (and under partial construction) website at: http://www.historicrialtotheater.com/

Some have estimated that it will take about $1 million more to complete the project and open the doors to opera, theater, community gatherings and more.

I think of Florence (pop. apprx. 3,800) as the little town that could--and will. I think they can do it.

I got a bit curious about the history of opera houses in Colorado. So I went to: www.operaoldcolo.info/houses.html

I know the Rialto is a historical and architectural treasure, but just how rare is it in the state of Colorado?

There were about 150 opera houses built from about 1860 to 1920 in Colorado, according to the historical opera house website. That was the apparent heyday not only in Colorado, but across the USA. Of course, tastes changed. In the 1920s, the silent movies, automobiles and other factors changed people's habits in entertainment.

So, by that standard--Florence's opera house was built in 1923, just as the heyday of opera houses was winding down.

I scanned the website to see if the Rialto was listed. I was surprised that it was not. According to the website, Florence had a previous opera house built in 1903, that is now apparently a bank parking lot.

According to the website, only about 46 (or approximately one-third) of Colorado's original opera houses have been identified and many of those 46 have been so substantially remodeled or renovated that they can barely be classified as historical opera houses. Sad. About 17 remain in mostly intact condition. Buildings, that is, that were significantly associated with opera in the past, still are, or ones that will be fairly soon.

Seventeen. Sad.

But, Florence's Rialto Theater is not on the list. It's not even mentioned.

Do we have number 18 here?

Regardless, most people in Fremont County agreed The Rialto is a treasure that needs to be restored, not only for the historical record, but for the community treasure it was, still is and will be even more so in the future.