Then and Now - Rivoli Theatre - Rutherford, NJ

The Rivoli Theatre opened on April 22, 1922 in Rutherford, New Jersey. It had 2,200 seats when it opened and was a combination vaudeville and silent film house. The first photograph was taken before the theater opened and was used in newspaper and trade publications to advertise the Rivoli’s opening.

Like many other theaters of its day, it changed formats in the late 1920s and began only showing “talkies” or what we come to know as modern motion pictures.

The front of the building and the original lobby were destroyed by fire in 1977, and the theater closed for a time. It reopened as a performing arts center in 1982, and is now called the Williams Center. The original auditorium was closed for years due to damage to the roof, but it has recently been repaired, and has reopened.