Art Deco Rio Theatre, Overland Park, Kansas Postcard

The pink neon lights of the Rio Theatre beckon movie goers who want to enjoy current films in a vintage splendor that recalls the 1940s Palm Beach look. The theater, in downtown Overland Park, Kansas, was restored and re-opened to show movies in 2000. It's a real movie palace! The theater opened first as the Overland Theater and later the Kimo South Theatre. Before the auditorium was restored to show movies again, it was the Theatre for Young America, which was a live performing company, where I took my children to see a play. Later, I'd go with friends and family to see new movies in the totally transformed theater, which seats 281 people. Built in an Art Deco style, the restoration was pieced together from parts of condemned movie theaters from throughout the Midwest as well as lots of new neon lighting. In 2000, the theater reopened showing screenings of John Ford's film "The Hurricane," starring John Hall, Dorothy Lamour and state-of-the-art special effects circa 1937, the same movie that played at the Overland Theatre when it opened on Christmas Day in 1946. This theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in February of 2005. Many call it "The prettiest little theatre in the world."