The Ritz Theatre & Performing Arts Center, also known as The Ritz Theatre or Castro's Ritz, is a historic performing arts venue in Elizabeth, New Jersey, located at 1148 East Jersey Street. Built in 1926 on the site of the 1865 Drake Opera House, the theatre was originally opened as a vaudeville and silent-film house. Designed by architect Fred Wesley Wentworth, it featured an ornate Art Deco interior and originally seated 2,791 patrons. During the mid-20th century, it continued as a movie palace until it was closed by RKO in 1979. Threatened with demolition by 1980, it was rescued by local preservationists in 1989, though funding fell short.