Capitol Center
123 Summers Street,
Charleston,
WV
25301
123 Summers Street,
Charleston,
WV
25301
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Architects: P. Norwood Wiggins
Functions: Church
Styles: Neo-Classical, Streamline Moderne
Previous Names: Plaza Theater, Capitol Theater, Capitol Plaza Theater
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
304.342.6522
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Jun 18, 2010 — "Jaws"... Happy 35th!
- May 14, 2010 — Please Post Today, May 14 --- "Jaws," Happy 35th
- Mar 2, 2010 — Happy 45th, "The Sound Of Music"
- Nov 18, 2009 — Happy 50th, "Ben-Hur"
Built circa 1912, the Plaza Theatre presented 10-20-30 cent vaudeville and stage plays. Destroyed by fire around 1922, it was extensively redesigned and rebuilt with movies in mind. For many years, as the Capitol Theatre, it was noted for its exceptional sound and picture (the screen was carefully curved to counteract distortion). The last major film to play the Capitol Theatre was the premiere of “Star Wars”.
The theater closed a few years later, in the mid-1970’s. A private group began restoration in the 1980’s with the intent of opening the theater as a performing arts center, but capitalization was insufficient. The building was donated as a tax loss to West Virginia State University, which now calls it the Capitol Center.
The only regular performances are the Sunday services of River Ridge Church, which lacks a building of its own. In March 2018 the church purchased the theatre.
Contributed by
Charlie Cooper
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
In the Fifties the Capitol Theater, and other properties in Charleston, were owned by the Middleberg family. Their nephew, Kelly Reed was my best friend in High School. We would see free movies and explore backstage. The, then new, CinemaScope screen was awesome. What a wonderful old movie palace. I’ll never forget it. Thanks Kelly.
Jack Whittaker
Palm Springs, California
Here is a June 1950 ad from the Charleston Gazette:
http://tinyurl.com/yqgemf
I’ll never forget my father taking me to The Capitol Theater for the premier of Star Wars over 30 years ago.
Here are my photos of the interior and exterior of the theatre. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nessachan/sets/72157626951557681/
Here are my pictures from August 2011.
I’m looking right at it, and this theater is open for business. The Nutcracker Suite is playing.
Here is another early view of the Plaza Theatre, circa 1915.
Sold to a church in March 2018 with services expected to start in September of that year.
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/business/church-buys-capitol-center-theatre-says-it-will-remain-available/article_e2491e69-bca4-54a5-884e-c9525421b62a.html
The Silent Era has a brief history of the Plaza/Capitol Theatre. The Plaza era ended in 1919 when the house was bought by United Theatre Enterprise, which would control the house for the next forty years. On acquiring it, United closed the Plaza for extensive remodeling, reopening as the Capitol Theatre on December 26, 1921.
On November 15, 1923 the Capitol was ravaged by a major fire, leading to the collapse of the auditorium roof. The rebuild took about a year, and the Capitol reopened in November, 1924. The rebuilt and expanded house had a Wurlitzer organ, but no information about it is available. The Aaron family’s Sharon Lee Corporation acquired the Capitol in 1959, making it one of ten theaters they operated in the city. They closed the house as a movie theater in 1981.