​When it opened the Rivoli was a beauty to behold.  The theatre was designed by architect Henry Ziegler Dietz in the Spanish Mission Revival style, including iron brackets, small second floor faux balconies and the pent roof of red clay tile.  The theatre was truly a beautiful structure and easily showed the $250,000 that was spent on her creation.  The architect paid attention to detail, using brick, Indiana limestone, fine sweet gum woodworking, leaded glass windows with upper window sashes and solid brass door fittings.  Each one of the upper window sashes above the front doors to the theatre contains a calligraphic "R" for Rivoli.

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A beautiful interior

A spacious vestibule led to the highly decorative lobby in which the terrazzo floors were made of Georgia white and Riviera black marble.  The auditorium had five aisles that divided the seating.  It was built to accumulate 1,500 patrons, which even today is considered large for a neighborhood theatre. 

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The seats were originally upholstered with leather backings and cushions.  The iron stanchions of the seats featured two neoclassic pilasters, adding to the overall style of the auditorium.  The walls of the auditorium were finished in a gold decorative plastered egg and dart pattern in soft green and gold.  Draperies of olive green trimmed in gold were hung in panels in the side walls. 

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There was a dome in the auditorium, which had a diameter of 55 feet and the height of 7 feet.  The dome had a tulip pattern bordered around the edge and small lights, which flickered to resemble starlight and two organ chambers, located just off of stage right and stage left, that had intricate wooden and plaster grillwork covering their fronts.  Under each organ chamber was a faux balcony supported by scroll-like brackets. 

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Not only was the theatre designed for showing motion pictures, but also for theatrical stage production, having the largest stage in Indianapolis at the time of its construction, back stage area, dressing rooms beneath the stage and an orchestra pit located in front of the stage. 

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The acoustics were second to none.  The famous organist Desa Byrd found the acoustics to be so extraordinary that she recorded two albums in the Rivoli.

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The Rivoli Theatre itself is located in a large building, which includes four storefronts, two on each side of the theatre entrance, and four apartments upstairs.  Above the outer lobby doors is a three sided marquee suspended from the second floor by iron braces attached to the facade. 

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Above the marquee is another vertical marquee (called a "blade" or an "upright") reading Rivoli along with the classic Tragedy and Comedy masks.  Although the vertical marquee is not original to the theatre, it has become a historically significant part of the exterior of the building.

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Changing Owners

The Rivoli has been closed several times during her lifetime and has survived several private owners. Universal sold most of its theatre holdings, including the Rivoli, in 1937. 

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