Capitol Theatre

Worked at the Capitol from 1964 to 1967, first as an usher then the Manager. Theatre was owned by the Fenyvessy Family who previously had owned about eight theatres in the heydey of movies including the Strand. The theatre was only opened on Saturday and Sunday and was the home of “Action Packed Proven Hits”. From 1965 to 1967 I booked the movies for the Capitol. the top grosser was “King Kong vs Godzilla”. The theatre was the first to show talking pictures. It started out as a vaudville house. The dressing rooms were in dismal shape, not having been used for over forty years.

Hey everyone…I am new to “Cinema Treasures” but not unfamiliar with the Capitol Theatre. I have some fond and not so fond memories of the place…I do remember going there in the 60’s without the need for a parental unit…now days you can’t even send your child to the bathroom by themselves…I’ve been trying to locate several movies I saw there, but my title recall skills weren’t honed…I think one of the movies was “The Man in the Iron Mask” released in 1939? I’ve placed an order on Amazon for it, but it’s the other movie I haven’t seen anything remotely like it(remake of course)…for as much of the movie that I remember seeing ,from between my fingers…This man bought and won a lottery of sort, he died and was buried with the ticket in his pocket.His son dug him up and his face was disfigured just like his father’s face…Moose, anyone, that by chance, know the name of this movie plz, plz, plz contact me with that info…Thanks

Rochester’s Downtown, by Donovan A. Shilling (Google Books preview) says that this house opened as the National Theatre on May 18, 1903. However, the January 3, 1903, issue of the Lockport Journal mentioned a play that had opened at the National on New Year’s Day. I don’t know if that means the house opened earlier, or if Rochester had an earlier theater of the same name.

The July 15, 1902, issue of The Plumbers' Trade Journal said that the construction contract for the National Theatre called for completion of the structure by October 1. If that goal was met, and assuming at least another month for outfitting and decorating, the National Theatre could have opened as early as November, 1902.

The magazine also noted that the National Theatre had been designed (not surprisingly) by Rochester’s own noted theater architects, Leon H. Lempert & Son.

This circa 1908 photo of Main Street shows that the National Theatre was fronted by a building that, judging from its architectural style, was probably built in the 1850s or 1860s. A new auditorium was most likely built behind the existing commercial building, though it’s also possible that the existing building was gutted and its interior rebuilt as a theater.

According to “History of Rochester and Monroe County” by William Peck (1908), The National opened Dec. 22, 1902 on the site of the old Odd Fellow’s Hall. According to “Its Showtime in Rochester”, by Donavan Shilling, the theater became Fays in 1916. That same book poinbts out that the located to the left of the theater entrance (as seen in the first picture under this heading) is the Rochester Fruit and Vegetable Company, managed by John F. Wegman (as in Wegmans).

The National was renamed the Sam S. Shubert Theater in 1910, opening under that name in 1910. Sam S. Shubert was the late brother of Lee and J. J. Shubert, heads of the Shubert organization (Democrat and Chronicle 8/8/1910 p. 11). The theater was renamed the Avon Theater in 1916. The patrons of the theater were polled as to a preferred name change, and Avon was most popular, probably due to the Shakespeare revival in 1916, the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death (Democrat & Chronicle 2/27/1916 p. 31).

Fires almost destroyed the theater in 1924; another fire in 1930 was arson. The theater was renamed the Capitol and extensively remodeled: the boxes and gallary removed (the balcony remained) and the building fire-proofed. The newly-renamed theater, under the management of the Comerford organization, reopened October 25, 1930 with the film “Three Faces East” (Democrat & Chronicle 9/4/1930 p. 13, 10/13/1930 p. 15, 10/24/1930 p. 16)

The last pictures shown at the Capotol were “Iron Finger” and “Call Me Dragon”, two Kung Fu movies New Year’s Eve 1979, The theater was torn down for a parking lot shortly thereafter. (Democrat and Chronicle 3/10/1980 p. 1)