Cine Capitol

The Cine Capitol opened in October 1933, showing Paramount films. The movie palace is located on the ground floor of a large 15-floor Art Deco style building (the awad winning Carrion Building), which also contains the Capitol Hotel, apartments, office space and retail. In accordance with a 1926 plan, architects Luis Martinez Feduchi and Vicente Eced were hired to design the building in 1927. The building was constructed between 1930 to 1933. The Carrion Building combines various 20th Century architectural styles including Expressionist and Art Deco. Following Art Deco themes, the building is shaped like the bow of a luxury ocean liner. Everything was specially designed from the door-knobs to furniture, and it was Madrid’s first building to have air conditioning in the entire building.

The exterior of the Cine Capitol is brilliantly lit with neon which looks especially outstanding at night. The auditorium is three meters high, and at 32 meters wide, was built with the widest span in the world at that time. The accoustics are excellent, one reason being that except for the ceiling and stage, the auditorium’s interior was covered with cork that was overlaid with velvet. The cinema opened with 1,864 seats. The magnificent Art Deco style auditorium features a stepped ceiling which has troughs of backlighting. The movie screen is huge and the surround sound is excellent. Just as the building was hailed when it was first built for being so modern, the cinemas’s design still appears futuristic and state of the art today. The Cine Capitol has always been one of Madrid’s premier, flagship movie palaces showcasing the latest movies.

The main auditorium with its orchestra floor and two balconies survives intact. Two extra screens have been installed in the last decade in adjacent spaces in the building. The building was used in the Spanish movie “El Dia de la Bestia” (The Beast’s Day), in which a group of actors get down the building through the famous Schweppes neon advert which is located on the top of the facade.

As of 2007, the main auditorium seated 1,367. Auditorium 2 has 217 seats and auditorium 3 has 213 seats. Events other than movies are also held at the Cine Capitol

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