El Dorado's 1929 Egyptian Revival oil-boom theater where four entities reportedly share the stage with every performance
117 E Cedar St, El Dorado, AR 71730
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ticket prices vary by event; see the Murphy Arts District website for current programming and pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Restored historic theater with level lobby and seating areas
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1929 · National Register of Historic Places 1986 · Egyptian Revival Architecture · El Dorado Oil Boom Era · Arkansas Entertainment History
El Dorado's oil discovery in 1921 touched off one of the fastest boomtowns in American history. Within a decade, the city had the infrastructure and ambition to build an entertainment venue that matched its new wealth. The Rialto Theatre opened in 1929 at 117 E. Cedar Street, constructed for $250,000 — a significant investment for the era — and designed by Kolben, Hunter and Boyd in the Egyptian Revival style then fashionable in American movie palace design.
The theater's brick facade was laid in a basketweave pattern unusual for Arkansas construction, and decorative stone Egyptian Revival elements set off the entrance. Inside, the main hall seated 1,400 patrons. The McWilliams family owned the theater for many years, operating it through the golden age of American movie exhibition.
The Rialto closed from 1980 to 1987, then reopened briefly as a three-screen cinema, operating until 2006. Its main lobby was converted to a bar called Marilyn's for a period during the interim years. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 21, 1986, under reference number 86001888.
In 2012, the Murphy Arts District purchased the property and undertook a restoration that converted the main hall for live performance use — floor seating for 850 plus a full balcony. The district now operates the Rialto as part of a larger arts campus anchoring El Dorado's downtown, hosting concerts, theatrical productions, comedy shows, and films.
Sources
The Rialto's paranormal accounts go back far enough that longtime staff treat them as part of the building's institutional memory. The most frequently reported phenomenon is footsteps — heard in areas where no one is present — and apparitions in the upper reaches of the theater, including the balcony. A specific recurring detail, noted across multiple accounts, is the scent of a woman's cologne in the upstairs restroom, appearing and disappearing without apparent cause.
A 2019 report by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette documented these accounts from employees and visitors, noting the consistency of the cologne detail in particular — multiple people who did not know each other had reported the same thing, in the same location, over a span of years.
Spirit Seekers, a Central Arkansas paranormal investigation team, conducted a formal investigation of the Rialto and concluded that at least four distinct entities inhabit the structure. The team did not assign identities to the presences — no specific historical figure has been credibly linked to the accounts.
The 2024 El Dorado News also reported on the building's ongoing paranormal reputation, indicating the accounts continue from current staff and event attendees. Whether the origin of the hauntings traces to the theatrical history of the space, the building's conversion periods, or something in its pre-theater use as another commercial structure, no one has established.
The restored Rialto accommodates concerts, theatrical productions, comedy shows, and film screenings in its main hall, with floor seating for 850 plus a full balcony. The Murphy Arts District operates the venue as part of El Dorado's downtown arts campus. Visitors attending events often hear about the building's paranormal reputation from longtime staff.
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