Cinema Rialto: the story of Casablanca’s grand Art Deco theatre

In the heart of central Casablanca, on rue Mohammed El Qori, Cinema Rialto is a reminder of the era when going to the cinema was one of the defining experiences of urban life. Its history links the growth of Casablanca with the rise of large movie theatres, the popularity of international entertainment and the architectural ambition of the city's early twentieth-century buildings.

Unlike a cinema designed solely around a screen and rows of seats, the Rialto was conceived as a major public entertainment venue. Its design and large auditorium made it a prominent part of Casablanca's cultural landscape.

A landmark completed in 1929

Cinema Rialto was completed in 1929. Designed by French architect Pierre Jabin, the building is recognised as an important example of Art Deco architecture in Casablanca.

It was designed to hold 1,350 spectators, with around 400 seats on its mezzanine level. These figures explain the ambition behind the building: it was meant to create a large, shared viewing experience while making an architectural statement.

Its central location placed it within a developing city whose streets, commercial buildings and public venues were being shaped by rapid urban change. Cinema was part of that transformation. Large theatres offered a modern form of entertainment and gave residents a place to encounter films from abroad alongside other cultural events.

A cinema and a stage

The Rialto's history extends beyond film screenings. The venue also hosted concerts and stage performances, making it part of a broader entertainment culture.

Josephine Baker performed there in 1943 for American soldiers stationed in Morocco during the Second World War. Édith Piaf, Charles Aznavour and Dizzy Gillespie are also among the artists associated with its stage. This programming connected Casablanca with wider cultural circuits.

Scale mattered. An auditorium of this size could turn a film premiere or a concert into a major public occasion. The Rialto's importance lay not only in what appeared on the screen, but in the way the building brought people into the same public space.

Art Deco and the modern city

The Rialto is part of Casablanca's wider Art Deco heritage. The style, known for its geometric forms and decorative detail, became an important feature of the city's built environment during the twentieth century.

The cinema's façade and mezzanine give it a distinctive character. Its design also shows how entertainment buildings could serve as landmarks, helping to define the streets around them.

Preserving such buildings is a challenge because their uses and technical requirements change over time. Cinemas need projection equipment, sound systems, comfortable seating and constant maintenance. The challenge is not simply to keep the building standing, but to keep it useful without erasing what gives it historical significance.

An uncertain future

The Rialto's capacity of 1,350 is a historical figure and should not be read as today's count: more recent descriptions mention about 1,300 seats.

Its future also depends on a long legal process. The company that owns the building is in liquidation, and auctions of its assets have been postponed or challenged since 2022. In October 2025, the Casablanca commercial court of appeal annulled the sales and removed the liquidator, sending the process back to a new one. The present state of the cinema's activity remains unclear.

Beyond the courts, a historic cinema needs audiences, a sustainable programme and the resources to maintain its building and equipment. It must also compete with multiplexes, home entertainment and online streaming. These pressures make the Rialto an important case for examining the relationship between cultural heritage and the economics of entertainment.

Preserving a collective memory

For Casablanca, the Rialto is more than a surviving building from 1929. It represents a time when large theatres were central to the city's cultural identity, and when film screenings and live performances brought urban audiences together.

Its history offers a wider lesson for Morocco's historic cinemas. Architectural protection matters, but the long-term value of a cultural venue also depends on its ability to keep welcoming people.

The Rialto's story is therefore both historical and contemporary. It looks back at the ambition of Casablanca's early cinema culture and raises the question of how the city will protect and use that heritage in the future.