In October of 1918, the Rialto theater in Medford, Oregon was temporarily closed to all audiences for fear of an outbreak of the Spanish flu. The decision did not come lightly, as a report from the Medford Mail Tribune suggests. In the article, it claims that city authorities had begun “...ordering the closing of churches, theaters, schools and all public meetings and gatherings of every description.” (Medford Mail Tribune. Oct. 12. Page 1.) This drastic measure came after a conference between the town’s governing authorities and physicians. After hearing of the worrying news that Spanish influenza had gripped over eighty thousand in Boston alone, with over two thousand reported dead, the town of Medford was quick to ban all forms of mass gathering and assembly. It was only a few days after this ban went into effect that the local doctors were already reporting cases of the disease within the town, only furthering the exhibition ban in 1918. While most people had hoped it would last little more than a week, the local medical personnel seemed less sure. It was not until over a month later, in late November, that Medford’s Mayor Gates would begin to lift this ban. The doors of the Rialto would open once again at 2:15 on November 23rd, with cases of the Spanish flu in town fading or not being particularly harmful to begin with. Funnily enough, during the month long quarantine, the Rialto took the time to renovate their building, only increasing the appeal of visiting the movies after such a long hiatus. (Medford Sun. Nov. 24. Page 2.) Also in that time, a third theater had been built in Medford, the Liberty theater, set to open Thanksgiving day, 1918. To conclude, while the Rialto theater was perhaps not the most successful theatre in Oregon’s history, its involvement in a nation’s wide epidemic, and month long shutdown is perhaps one of the finest examples on exhibition, and its power. It could be conceivable that, if not for the Surgeon General’s telegram or the action of Mayor Gates that Medford’s infection rate could have just as easily skyrocketed, potentially leading to countless deaths. (And all because people like to go to the movies.)
Works Cited:
"Local and Personal," Medford Sun. Medford,Oregon. November 24, 1918, page 2. Print
Medford Mail Tribune.Medford,Oregon. October 12, 1918, page 1. Print.
