Deer Lodge · See
Rialto Theatre
Deer Lodge's 1921 movie palace on Main Street, rebuilt by volunteers after a 2006 fire and back to weekend movies and live shows.
At a glance
Movie theater in Deer Lodge, Montana, established 1921. Open.
- Status
- Open
- Address
- 418 Main St., Deer Lodge, MT, 59722
- Town
- Deer Lodge
- Region
- Southwest Montana
- Established
- 1921
- Phone
- 406-846-7900
- Why it's still old school
- The only auditorium in Powell County. School plays, recitals, funerals and the Friday movie all happen in the same room.
- Page updated
The Rialto went up in 1921 in the Beaux-Arts movie palace style and seated 720, according to the theater. A nonprofit formed in 1995 to buy it from the family that built it and ran it with more than 300 volunteers.
Fire gutted the auditorium, lobby and balcony on November 4, 2006. The terra cotta front, the side walls, the projection booth, and the stage with six original 1921 backdrops were saved. Reconstruction ran from July 2008 to May 2012 and cost about $3.5 million from more than 4,000 donors. It came back with about 485 seats, more legroom and an elevator.
The theater calls itself the only auditorium in the county. It hosts school plays, concerts, recitals, civic events, funerals, a 2026 songwriter series, and movies Friday through Sunday at 7:30. If you’re nearby, stop in and keep them busy.
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