Capitol Theatre
542 State Street,
Salem,
OR
542 State Street,
Salem,
OR
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The Capitol Theatre closed in the early 1990’s and was later demolished…
Contributed by
Louise-Annette Burgess
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Recent comments (view all 15 comments)
Here is a 1925 photo from the Oregon Historical Society:
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Hello – I am trying to find more information on the Bligh family that at one time owned and operated the Capitol/Bligh Theater in Salem, Oregon. I am a descendant of the Bligh family and am anxious to find more relations. Please e-mail me at if you have any information for me.
Here is a 1939 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/okltt
Here is a 1928 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/m5vv2
Here is a 1927 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/vo2ay
I saw and photographed what remains of the Capitol week-before-last. A beautiful theatre was sacrificed for a handful of parking spaces. The facade could have been retained without losing any parking, but it made way for a row of pathetic little bushes.
The stagehouse remains, with the proscenium opening closed-off by cement blocks. One sidewall of the auditorium still mostly stands—bare concrete with some fragments of textured decorative plaster and the stepped outline of the balcony risers. One Corinthian column in white-glazed terra cotta stands as the sole remainder of the theatre facade proper. To the right of this, an ornamental doorway surmounted by a niche containing an urn now serves as a storage place for dumpsters. Originally, this passage lead from the balcony fire escape out to the street. The office and retail portion of the Capitol building remains intact and functioning, and continues all around the corner to the facade of the separate Elsinore Theatre. The Capitol’s still-standing stagehouse backs up to one end of the Elsinore’s stagehouse.
Here is a photo circa 1952.
P.S.This is a 1940 interior view.
Ah, I fondly remember the Capitol at the place “not quite as good as the Elsinore.” I saw Star Wars, Raiders, Platoon, The Mission, etc. at the Elsinore. What I remember most from the Capitol was “Gremlins.” Still, sad to see it’s now gone.
The year given for this photo is 1980.