Blame it on Rio

In 1946, the Dickinson Theater Group commissioned renowned Midwest theater designer Robert Boiler to design the Overland Theater. The theater became the thirty-eighth in the Dickinson movie theater chain, which operated in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois. Prior to the construction of the Overland Theater, Overland Park had two other movie houses. An earlier Overland Theatre showed silent movies in a building that accommodated 308 patrons. The Star Theater, which had seating for 208 patrons, was another early movie theater. Neither of these theaters survived the economic downturn of the Great Depression. When the Overland Theatre opened in 1946, the town had been without a movie theater for ten years.

Opening on Christmas Day 1946, the brand new Overland Theater had seats for 600 patrons. On December 19, 1946, the Johnson County Herald wrote that the Overland Theater presented an “all-glass front of pink and mirror glass, glass blocks with neon light.” Patrons could buy popcorn and candy in the central lobby. Men’s and women’s restrooms were on either side of the lobby. They planned to show three different movies each week, changing them on Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Over the years, the Dickinson Theater Group changed the name of the Overland Theater to the Kimo South and the Park Cinema. In 1977, the Theatre for Young America, a live performance group for children, bought the theater and ran it until 1987. Although they sold the building to the City of Overland Park in 1987, they continued to lease it until 1993.

The Fine Arts Era

In 1993, the Fine Arts Theatre Group purchased the building and began an extensive restoration campaign to return the deteriorated facade to its original condition and appearance. A 1994 survey photograph shows the theater without its original marquee, poster cases, and glass block ticket booth. In addition, the Vitrolite panels appear to be discolored and in poor condition.

Over the next seven years, the building underwent extensive renovations. It reopened in 2000 as the Rio Theater. To match the theater’s original appearance and materials, the facade received new porcelain tiles, a recreated glass block ticket booth, and rebuilt poster cases. A new marquee matched the appearance, dimensions, and neon tubing of the original, but features the name “Rio” across the front instead of the historic “Overland.” The new finishes and materials added to the interior complement the historic Moderne style. The building’s current owner, Wade Williams, designed the finishes in the lobby and the auditorium. The lobby chandelier, wall sconces, and lobby poster cases were originally at the Isis Theatre. Additionally, the 1949 Manly Popcorn maker and the lobby door trim were originally at the Plaza Theater in Abilene, Kansas.