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Home » Theater Guide » Location » Canada » Ontario » Kingston » Empire Capitol 7
Also known as Allen Theatre, Capitol Theatre, Capitol 7 Kingston

Empire Capitol 7

Kingston, Ontario
223 Princess Street
, Kingston, Ontario K7L 1B3 Canada
(map)
613.564.6741
Status: Open
Screens: Multiplex (7 Screen)
Style: Adam
Function: Movies (First Run)
Seats: 1316
Chain: Empire International
Architect: C. Howard Crane
Firm: Kiehler & Schley
Add a photo for this theater!
Located in the heart of historic downtown Kingston, the Allen Theatre was opened by the Allen Theatres chain on December 30, 1920. It had a 1,207 seating capacity. Later taken over by Famous Players and renamed Capitol Theatre.

Renovated in 1990, the Capitol 7 has long been a wonderful place for families to go and watch first run films. The Capitol 7 is one of the oldest functioning theatres in Ontraio today, and the friendly staff and management really do a great job maintaining its strong reputation.

What singles this theatre out from others in the area is that the staff seem to really 'care' about their job and giving customers the best experience possible. The lobby and auditoriums are always clean. The ushers are always friendly and often approach you after the film and inquire as to your opinion of it (they even sometimes remember what movie you saw!!) The sound levels are always perefect (and if they aren't, staff is more than happy to adjust it at the audience's request). Rarely are there scratches or problems with the films and the projectionists are constantly adjusting the focus to make the picture as clear as possible.

Sure the screens aren't as large as other theatres in the area, but the overall experience make this theatre the best place to go to watch movies in Kingston.

Related Websites

Empire Theatres (Official)
Contributed by Damon Lindelof

YOUR COMMENTS

 
Empire Theatres Canada is not related to any Empires around the world.
posted by Im_Not_Famous on Jun 21, 2006 at 6:25am
Was this ever known as the Odeon, which first opened in 1941 and was situated on Princess Street? I can't find a CT listing for the Odeon, but the theatre might have had later names.
posted by Warren G. Harris on Jul 15, 2007 at 9:42am
It might be the same theater. The address that I found for the Capitol 7 Cinemas is:

213-223 Princess Street
Kingston, ON K7L 1B3

posted by Lost Memory on Jul 15, 2007 at 10:20am
Cinematour lists an Odeon Theater in Kingston, Ontario at 389 Princess Street so its not this theater.

posted by Lost Memory on Jul 15, 2007 at 11:20am
Thanks! I'll try to start a listing for the Odeon, as I have most of the essential information. I feared that it might already be listed here under a different name. I don't understand why Damon Lindelof didn't give the address of the Capitol when he started this listing. He seems to have attended the Capitol, so he must know where it is. If not the exact building number, at least the street, which seems to be a major one in Kingston.
posted by Warren G. Harris on Jul 15, 2007 at 1:17pm
The 223 Princess Street address should be correct for this theater. This information comes from an August 22, 2005 announcement that Cineplex Galaxy was selling its theaters to Empire Theatres. Cineplex Galaxy.

Famous Players Capitol Theatre
223 Princess St.
Kingston, ON

posted by Lost Memory on Jul 15, 2007 at 4:54pm
How did they divide this theatre in to 7? Did the original have a balcony, that was divided as well as the main floor? Or did they add on to the building at the back or beside it. I love when they keep older theatres open, even if it means dividing them since ususally the lobby areas are kept as they originally were.
posted by Tim Elliott on Sep 20, 2007 at 11:04am
According to the AFY Yearbook of 1936, the Capitol then seated 1,207.
posted by spectrum on Oct 20, 2007 at 8:13am
Here is a recent photo of the Capitol.

posted by Lost Memory on Oct 23, 2008 at 9:06am
This theatre was purchased by the Famous Players Canadian Corp. in 1929. It has always been a movie theatre. It was built in 1923 by the Allen Bros. I got this information from the library. We hold 1316 seats currently. We still have a catwalk that goes up over the original ceiling upstairs. The Olympia is part of the original cinema 1...the largest house. I have pictures from 1923 to currently of the building. The stone front with the lion heads and columns are original from the day it was built, still hold up our marquee. Our last renovation was in 1990 to the 7-plex. Currently, we've fixed up our front & back marquees (with flashing lights still) and put in new seats in the largest cinema. Most of our curtains are working and open/close for each performance.
posted by Showgirl on Apr 23, 2009 at 7:01pm
This is a 2009 photo.

posted by Lost Memory on Jul 24, 2009 at 9:45am
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