Rialto Square’s sign restored

Although the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet, Ill., has been restored and operating for years, its sign was fully refurbished only this week, reports the Joliet Herald News.

On Wednesday, a sign crew installed the name “Rubens” above the vertical “Rialto” on the lighted, brown marquee.

“It’s listed in the National Register of Historical Places as ‘Rubens Rialto Square Theatre,'” said Steve Rubens, grandson of Claude Rubens, one of six brothers who founded the theater in 1926. “It’s ironic that it took this long to get the name up there from a restoration standpoint.” […]

Dorothy Mavrich, 88, donated the $10,000 necessary to add the name. […]

Mavrich said she wanted the Rubens name installed on the sign to credit the visionary brothers.

“This is their theater,” she said. “I hope they are remembered forever. Who else had the vision and the guts to take the risk?

“They are the ones who brought us this beautiful theater.”

A photo of the sign work can be seen here.

The theater was restored in 1980, but for some mysterious reason, the Rubens name was left off the marquee.

(Hat tip: Lynn Bagdon)

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