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Remember When, Chattanooga? 100 years ago at the Rialto Theater

Contributed photo from ChattanoogaHistory.com / This 1924 photo shows dancers outside the former Rialto Theater in downtown Chattanooga. The silent film playing that week was called "Pleasure Mad." Contributed photo from ChattanoogaHistory.com / This 1924 photo shows dancers outside the former Rialto Theater in downtown Chattanooga. The silent film playing that week was called "Pleasure Mad."

By Mark Kennedy October 4, 2024 3 min read

Imagine seeing live dancers in front of a movie theater these days.

One hundred years ago, promoting silent films was a big business in Chattanooga. The accompanying 1924 photo shows elaborate decorations and two dancers at the entrance to the former Rialto Theater on Broad Street.

The photo was donated to the ChattanoogaHistory.com website by the family of Karl Hawk, who worked in the theater industry here in the early 20th century.

The Rialto, which opened as a vaudeville-style stage during World War I, was one of downtown’s major movie venues by the Roaring ’20s — along with the Tivoli, York and Bijou theaters.