Americus businessman Walter Rylander began construction of one of the South's premier performance theatres and movie palaces in 1919. After a year and a half, the Rylander Theatre opened the doors for its first live performance, the hit play Lightnin on January 21, 1921, and was called "The Finest Playhouse South of Atlanta. " Three weeks later, the Rylander presented its first movie double feature with Mary Pickford's The Love Light and Harold Lloyd's Get Out and Get Under. Through most of the next 30 years, it hosted the finest in live entertainment and motion pictures and finally closed in 1951.
Designed by C.K. Howell of New York with interior design by William Saling, also of New York, the Rylander was a visual feast of ornate plaster work, beautiful stencil patterns, and painted murals. Closed for more than 40 years, the theatre still has much of its original grandeur intact. Having reopened after an extensive restoration (4.8 million dollars), the Rylander Theatre is nothing less than stunning and is once again reclaiming its title as "The Finest Playhouse South of Atlanta."
