Capitol Theater
211 N. 3rd Street,
Burlington,
IA
52601
211 N. 3rd Street,
Burlington,
IA
52601
3 people
favorited this theater
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 reopened on June 1, 2012 as a movie theatre & live performance theatre.
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
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
That is good news DPI,from the photos I have seen looks nice from the outside,good luck to them.
The Capitol was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm Wetherell & Harrison. The caption on this Flickr photo page has the story.
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
The Capitol Theater now has a web site. The renovated house is scheduled to reopen on June 1.
This should be listed as open with live performances and movies.
The history page of the official web site says the Capitol now has 370 seats. The performing arts center met its projected opening date of June 1, 2012. Plans for the project were by Metzger Johnson Architects of Burlington, Iowa, and Galesburg, Illinois, though as of this year the firm is now part of Klingner Architectural Group.
I don’t know if anyone still checks this page, but I’m wondering if anybody has info on where the original blueprints for the theater ended up. I feel the need to settle the old dispute about the existence of a balcony once and for all! ;)
JoJo_M: This comment by rebaanders of the Capitol Theater Foundation says “We are fortunate to have the original blue prints from Carl A Nelson.” (Carl A. Nelson was the original construction company.) I’d advise using the contact information on the theater’s official web site. If anybody knows where the blueprints are now it’s likely to be someone from the Foundation.
designed by the same architects as the CHARLES theatre in Charles City Iowa…..the building has a similar façade.