Capitol Theater

211 N. Third Street,
Burlington, IA 52601

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Capitol Theater

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One of the most modern and luxurious theaters of its time, the Capitol Theater symbolized hope for Burlington in the darkest days of the Depression. Opened on July 1, 1937 with “The Prince and the Pauper”. Its stunning Art Deco style facade is the most significant remaining element, as its 700 seats were removed and the structure became unstable.

The Capitol Theater fell victim to competition from a nearby multiplex and was mothballed on March 29, 1977 with Piper Laurie in “Carrie” being the final film. In 1996 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

After laying dormant for 35 years, it is set to reopened on June 1, 2012 as a movie theatre & live performance theatre.

Contributed by TC

Recent comments (view all 28 comments)

lostmemory
lostmemory on October 11, 2008 at 5:28 pm

Here is a photo of the Capitol Theater.

Chuck1231
Chuck1231 on April 7, 2009 at 5:47 am

1982 photo of the Capitol Theatre.
View link

lostmemory
lostmemory on April 20, 2009 at 6:06 pm

This is a nice 2009 photo of the Capitol Theater.

lostmemory
lostmemory on August 27, 2009 at 3:50 am

Here is a July 2009 photo.

DPIdirector
DPIdirector on August 17, 2010 at 9:23 pm

The non-profit Capitol Theater Foundation was awarded a $1 million I-JOBS grant for the renovation of the historic building. Under the terms of the grant, the theater will be reopened in 2012! View link

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on August 17, 2010 at 10:07 pm

That is good news DPI,from the photos I have seen looks nice from the outside,good luck to them.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on September 8, 2010 at 12:47 pm

The Capitol was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm Wetherell & Harrison. The caption on this Flickr photo page has the story.

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on September 19, 2010 at 7:34 am

A recent block party was recently thrown to raise funds and give tours of the theater prior to its renovation into a performing arts center: View link

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on May 7, 2012 at 11:18 pm

The Capitol Theater now has a web site. The renovated house is scheduled to reopen on June 1.

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