Capitol Theater

Just recently visited the Capitol, and it looks great! Congrats on the reopening! Springfield should be proud of this accomplishment. I’ve got new pictures, too!

I visited the Capitol on July 10th, 2010. It is indeed a well preserved and little known gem and the above comments are certainly accurate. The interior has a general 1950s decor and a red color scheme with some beautiful, lite colored, wood paneling in the lobby (actual wood, not the cheap laminate stuff from the 1970s). The tickets are sold directly inside, where you pass through a narrow hall that serves as the box office and concession stand. At the end of that, there is a large mezzanine before you enter the auditorium. The seats in the auditorium are new-ish and very comfortable. They still do serve pizza to your seat if you want. The lower half of the auditorium walls are quite remarkable; they are covered in 1970s-era carpet samples and are extremely beautiful while adding an elegant splash color to the auditorium. These, sadly, will be removed and replaced by a more modern form of acoustic wall covering in the near future.
The booth is a very small, steel booth from the nitrate era. It contains platters and Brenkert projector. The presentation and sound were very good. There is no balcony in this theater, which dates back to at least the 1940s. It was owned and operated until the year 2000 by Ruby Ross, who closed the Capitol to run the Kar-Vu Drive In in town which she also used. The current manager is a very friendly, younger lady who although no relation to ms. Ross, has deep family roots in the theater business.

This theater is not to be missed when in Springfield!

I grew up in Springfield in the mid 80s. A quirky detail I remember from the Capitol was an old cartoon hanging in the mezzanine. It was by Stan and Jan Berenstain and was entitled “Saturday Matinee”. A Google search revealed that the cartoon was created as the cover for Collier’s Magazine in 1949. I wonder if it still hanging there.