Capitol 6 Theatre

Actually the original Capitol was demolished to make way for this new Capitol 6 in the mid seventies. I went to Vancouver in '74 and saw "The Parallax View" at the old Capitol and then went again in '77 and saw "Walking Tall" at the new theatre. Very impressive and the largest theatre holds over 1000 seats. I thought the architecture was great and the fact that the largest Capitol 1 was on the first level with Capitol 2 & 3 on the next level up and then the Capitol 4,5,6 up on the highest level. I took several pictures of the front and the back of the theatre. Too bad it will be demolished. That will only leave the Cineplex Odeon Granville 7 as the only movie theatre left on what was once "theatre row". Too bad.

The architect of the original Capitol Theatre was Thomas Lamb and it opened on 12th March 1921. The original seating capacity was for 2,153.

The auditorium was demolished in January 1975 and a new 3,000 seat 6 screen multiplex built on the site which retained the orginal facade and lobby.

Here is an article about the closing of the Capitol 6:
http://tinyurl.com/kzsso

Hasn't Empire Theatres taken over this cinema?

This theatre still exists and it is own by Empire Theatres. The theatre is pretty lucky not get demolished.

As far as I know, this theatre closed last year when the new Paramount opened nearby. I know that the Capitol 6 in Victoria is now an Empire theatre and is still open but the one in Vancouver was to be demolished after it closed. It's never listed in any showtimes for Vancouver in Tribute, Empire Theatres website or anywhere.

"This theatre still exists and it is own by Empire Theatres. The theatre is pretty lucky not get demolished."

The former Cineplex Odeon Granville 7 across the street has been bought by Empire Theatres and is still up and running, although attendance there has been sparse due to the construction on Granville and everyone would rather see a movie at the Paramount a few blocks away.

Capitol 6 is in the process of being demolished as the new Skytrain line is being built right beneath it. The property next to it has been cleared and you can see the back of the theatres from Granville now.

Really sad as the Capitol had the best location.

Jason

I was an usher at the Capitol 6 in the very early 1980s. The place was unionized and pay started at $4.24 per hour (a small fortune back then). Management supplied the jacket, shirt and bowtie and weren't shy about getting angry at ushers and doormen for slouching or spending too long in each theatre. But once you were there long enough to join the union, your job was quite safe (a few staff were so difficult that management wished those folks could be terminated) and it was the best-paying, do-little job in town (all those free movies, too!) I made lots of friends there and dated a cashier.

I guess theatres have long since become de-unionized, and that's a shame. Can you imagine getting $13 per hour today just to wander around and open doors? That was the greatest job any high school or college kid could have asked for. Back then, the Capitol 6 and other movie houses were inundated with applications; you could grow old and die waiting for an interview.

This theater has been demolished. You can watch a video of its demolition here.

What a great (but very sad) video. I wonder if the original Thomas Lamb designed facade & lobby part of the building survived (again)?

I don't know how much, if any of the old building will be reused. Here is a recent photo of 820 Granville. Capitol residences is going to replace the theater building.

This is a photo of the Capitol Theater dated September 13, 1934.

Here is an updated link for the 1934 photo. Lets see how long this link will last.

The original Capitol Theater had a Wurlitzer theater organ opus 1657 style 260 special installed on 6/17/1927. Status: sold.

The demolition video reminded me of those time-elapsed shots on the Discovery Channel where they show a dead zebra turning into a skeleton.

Or the plants and grass growing in seconds.

Those crafty Canadians won't let me copy this photo so the link won't fail. Here is the third version of the 1934 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/5zvpcl

That link is cursed. It will expire again in a short period of time. Just for fun, lets see if this link lasts any longer.

I was able to save that one, so if it goes down I can repost it.

That site thinks its fooling with amateurs. LOL

Tim Elliot;

You wouldn't happen to still have those pictures from the Capitol 6 #1? I tried to take a photo during a screening of Return of The King, but the low light level made the picture to dark to develop.

If you still have these photos and if you can scan them PM me PLEASE!

No...the ones I took were only of the exterior. I believe on Cinema tour there are interior shots of the Capitol 6

There were shots of the lobby, but none of the actual theater itself.

That's too bad...would love to see shots of the Cinema 1...that was the big one that sat over 1000...would love to have seen each cinema.

Yeah #1 was something else, 1021 seats I believe.

#2 & 3 were decent screens as well, but the top floor of the complex was nothing to write home about, especially towards the end.

Cinema One was a glorious room. It was anywhere between 1031 and 1012 seats over the years (I believe some seats were removed for more wheelchair spots), and it pretty much filled up every Friday and Saturday night, no matter what the movie. Huge screen, incredible SRD sound system, the seats were okay and it was always a treat to see a movie there.

Just don't let anyone tall sit in front of you...the sight lines were TERRIBLE in that cinema, and I think the unofficial rule over the years was for everyone to "lean down" when they saw a flick there. :)

Here is a link to a Tyee article circa 2005 when the cinema closed. It has some rather interesting comments as well, even from one of the former managers who didn't appear to like the place very much.

I thought you would be adding to this Jason! haha

Speaking about the sound in #1, they were equipped with ALTEC Stanley Screamer subs ( same ones used during Pink Floyd's The Wall Tour ) for extra bass impact.

An exterior photo of the Capitol 6 Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=123&CategoryID=3281&Category2ID=3224&List=1&SortField=ProductName%2cProductName&catpageindex=2&Level=2&ProductID=36673

Great Photo!

That Capitol 6 " Extension " out into the sidewalk was there up until around 2003-2004, when it was demolished.

I didn't know about the monitors built into it, I wonder when those were removed? They weren't there in 2002-2004.

This is a 1935 ad for "G Men". The ad was originally in the Vancouver Sun newspaper.