Capitol Theater
896 Main Street,
Willimantic,
CT
06226
896 Main Street,
Willimantic,
CT
06226
4 people
favorited this theater
The Capitol Theatre was opened on January 21, 1926. The town of Willimantic has renovated and reopened the long-shuttered Capitol Theater as part of a rebirth of its downtown.
Since around 2001, the Capitol Theatre has become a regional school for the arts.
Contributed by
Cinema Treasures
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Recent comments (view all 18 comments)
Does the Capitol back up to the railroad tracks in Willimantic? I am a railfan and have seen several books which feature color rail photos taken in the 1940s and 1950s. In those taken in Willimantic there is a big theatre with a tall stage-house in the immediate background. The rear stage wall overlooked the railroad yard. Is it the Capitol Theatre??
It sure does back up to the tracks – but the pictures you have seen might not be the Capital. In the 50’s there were two movie theaters side by side: facing them, the Gem was on the left of the Capitol. Both used to border an alley in back where the tracks ran behind a tall chain link fence. Willimantic was such a great place to be a kid until the mills started having union problems. When I was only 10 or 11 my mother would give me .45 on Saturday afternoon and my friend Pam and I would head for the Gem. (We weren’t allowed at the Capital: that’s where the ‘dirty movies’ were ;)
Looks like they are open and showing movies
View link
ConnSwampYankee- thanks for responding to my question regarding the rail tracks. In the photos I have seen, some in color, the theatre had a big stage, the roof of which towered over the auditorium. I didn’t realize that there were two theatres there, side by side.
The address that I found for this theater is:
896 Main St
Willimantic, CT 06226
Here is some history that I found on the Capitol Theater:
“Capitol Theater
This building is one of Willimantic’s most famous buildings. Constructed during the vaudeville era, movies were shown, then vaudeville acts would entertain the crowds. The Capitol Theater opened its doors to the public on January 12, 1926 and was a grand theater boasting a marble staircase, brass lighting fixtures, a balcony and promenade, and a ladies retiring room and gentlemen’s smoking room. The 1,224 leather seats, 800 on the main floor, 400 on the second floor, were all designed to give a good view. There were also four private boxes, six seats in each. The stage is 80 feet wide and 36 feet deep. The luxurious Capitol Theater was so popular it was often the cause of other theaters closing. The back of the stage (see bottom picture to the left) rose higher than the rest of the building so the sets could be hoisted out of the way when not in use. In 1930 the Capitol stopped doing vaudeville acts, just showing movies. The first movie shown at the Capitol was “His Secretary”. The last movies to show at the Capitol were “Paper Moon” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. The American Thread Company rented the theater annually for their Christmas parties. The theater closed its doors on October 20, 1973".
Should be listed as open now.
This architectural website has some photos:
http://tinyurl.com/4ot4yr
Here is a website. The address is 896 Main Street.
The year given for this photo is 1986.