Rialto Square Theatre will get a new marquee

The historic Rialto Square Theatre along Route 66 in Joliet, Illinois, soon will receive a new marquee and will repaint its iconic vertical sign thanks to a $350,000 gift from a local construction firm owner, reported The Herald-News.

The new marquee will have LED screens suitable for video under the name of the theater. Ed Czerkies of Ed Czerkies Construction Co. in nearby Plainfield, Illinois, gave the money in memory of his mother and father, Michael and Mary Czerkies.

WJOL radio had an artist’s rendering of the new marquee. The new marquee will be installed in the spring.

The six Rubens brothers opened the $2 million theater May 24, 1926 — a few months before U.S. 66 became federally certified. The Rialto underwent a major restoration during the 1980s.

The Rialto also sits just a block away from the Lincoln Highway.

(Hat tip to Lynn “Lulu” Bagdon; image of the Rialto Square Theatre by Matt Watts via Flickr)

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