The Capitol Theatre did indeed start out life as an hotel, with a Moose Lodge at the very top. The rooms were still intact up until the conversion in the late 80’s. The Capri Theatre, set in one over, started life as a beautiful stage theatre. The screen was dropped over the stage. The dressing rooms for actors were accessible right under the stage. The orchestra pit was filled in to accommodate more seating.
The two buildings shared street space with two small shops. The shop between the Capri and Capital was destroyed when the conversion took place. The second is still in use today and houses a leather smith, I believe. The theatres are connected above the street level by a staircase. Each room in the hotel, in the Capitol, was still numbered, had high ceilings and dormers. Each floor had its own “washroomâ€. In the 80’s the roof and floors were already giving way to decay and neglect.
Nothing was more devastating than watching that gorgeous stage theatre being ripped and torn into pieces, making four smaller screens available. The Capri was one of the last theatres in Iowa to boast a balcony. The only other was one in Mason City.
As with most of the wonderful and rich history of our city, it sits, abandoned and falling apart, until someone determines it is useless and destroys it. It’s analogous to our societies’ view on the aged. Why fix up, maintain, and treasure our past when you can tear down and rebuild? Or better yet, how about another parking lot!
It was truly sad what happened to the Capri and Capitol theatres. I fear it will share the same fate as the beautiful, and now gone forever, Ballingal Hotel.
The Capitol Theatre did indeed start out life as an hotel, with a Moose Lodge at the very top. The rooms were still intact up until the conversion in the late 80’s. The Capri Theatre, set in one over, started life as a beautiful stage theatre. The screen was dropped over the stage. The dressing rooms for actors were accessible right under the stage. The orchestra pit was filled in to accommodate more seating.
The two buildings shared street space with two small shops. The shop between the Capri and Capital was destroyed when the conversion took place. The second is still in use today and houses a leather smith, I believe. The theatres are connected above the street level by a staircase. Each room in the hotel, in the Capitol, was still numbered, had high ceilings and dormers. Each floor had its own “washroomâ€. In the 80’s the roof and floors were already giving way to decay and neglect.
Nothing was more devastating than watching that gorgeous stage theatre being ripped and torn into pieces, making four smaller screens available. The Capri was one of the last theatres in Iowa to boast a balcony. The only other was one in Mason City.
As with most of the wonderful and rich history of our city, it sits, abandoned and falling apart, until someone determines it is useless and destroys it. It’s analogous to our societies’ view on the aged. Why fix up, maintain, and treasure our past when you can tear down and rebuild? Or better yet, how about another parking lot!
It was truly sad what happened to the Capri and Capitol theatres. I fear it will share the same fate as the beautiful, and now gone forever, Ballingal Hotel.