Capitol Theatre
43 Bank Street,
New London,
CT
06320
43 Bank Street,
New London,
CT
06320
8 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 28 comments found
This 2010 article in The Day gave the name of the architect of the Capitol Theatre as W. H. Lowe. I’ve been unable to find anything about Connecticut architects named either W. H. Lowe or W. H. Lane on the Internet, but I suspect that the author of the article got the name right.
The 2002 article about the Capitol Theatre published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to which I linked a few years ago, has been relocated this link. It has two photos, neither of which can be enlarged, unfortunately.
Dismal news about the Capitol appeared in this newspaper article published on January 26, 2011. The company which bought the theater from the City of New London for one dollar in 2006 not only failed to carry out the promised renovations, but has lost the building due to non-payment of taxes. The Capitol has been sold at auction to a New York City developer whose intentions are unknown.
Growing up in the area, I attended the Capitol to see movies as a youth. My first recollection was Its A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. I remember entering the lobby, going up marble steps with brass railings. When Jimmy Durante crashed and kicked the bucket it scared my little brother who was 3 or 4 and he started crying. He wouldn’t stop and my mother (unlike anyone today) gathered us up and took us home. Social courtesy at one’s expense. Can you imagine? Another memory I have is going to see Mark of the Devil in the early ‘70s in my early teens. Ushers handed out vomit bags, which really worried me (I STILL have mine!) because I thought it would be horrible and I didnt want to throw up! Glad to say it went unused. I recall a few people running out during the movie. Grossing audiences out is now de rigueur, sorry to say. It wasnt too long after this the Capitol closed down.
I always go by the theater when Im back in New London. Bank St. and State St. are loaded with history. Many theaters have been there the last century and more.
Article in today’s paper View link
That organ, now in the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, is the only one remaining in a theatre with a Symphonic Registrator (40 combinations labelled by the mood they are intended to accompany in a silent movie, such as Love, Mysterious, Children, etc. It works wonderfully when accompanying a picture.
That organ is now unplayable, but the new theatre owner is interested in having it restored.
A Marr & Colton theater organ size 2/8 was installed in the Capitol Theater in 1926.
Beautiful facade.
Some 30 odd years ago I toured the interior of the Ca[ital with the dream of creating what the Garde has become. It would have made a better choice of venue. However even then the restoratiom costs would have been signifacantly more then the Garde.
When I toured the building there was significant water damage from a leaky roof. Plaster damage on one wall was evident.
All the deats on the main level would need to be replaced, but the balcony was in great shape. The balcony had not been in use for years before the place closed. The “private” boxes on the balcony level had no seats.
The projection booth still had its equipment. There were even spools of adult films there. The lobby concession still had popcorn in them.
The decor of the building outshines the Garde. In its day it was a jewel among theaters. Restoration today would run in the millions. Heatin, ac plumbing, electric service, sound, lighting, new seating God knows what else would make it almost impossible. I hope I’m wrong I would love to see it restored. Maybe someone could convince the Pequots that it would be a good idea.
I look forward to seeing it as well.
But the developer has already missed a number of deadlines promised in negotiations and agreements with the cityfor the $2.5M renoavation. Missed dates include start demolition of the interior, remediation of the asbestos within 30 days of transfer, and the purchase of the windows mentioned above by Evan. It was sold for $1 plus tax abatements. See <<http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=146bb48a-3d39-40b7-aaa1-b5acf0fa9814>> for more details. The article includes a picture of its very ornate boxes, walls, and ceilings.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
I can’t wait to see this one when it reopens!
The Theater is now getting new windows that were specially designed for the theater. The first phases of the face lift are will be completed by the end of the year. The theater will feature probably less than 1500 seats, recording studios, internet studios (for videos , concert feeds etc…) and could become the focal point of Bank Street.
Evan
www.onemilliondollarsforpreservation.com
Vacant since 1974, the vaudeville venue-turned-movie theater was sold by the City of New London in July to Plainfield, N.J.-based Maxim Development Group LLC. Maxim principals Salvatore Carfaro Jr. and Patrick Gawrysiak plan a two-year, $2.5 million renovation of the building into a live-music venue. Renovation has begun with restoration of the facade.
No other details or schedule have been released.
The page mentioned above by Joe Vogel, View link has a good picture of its exterior as well as the interior, and good background information.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
It is supposedly going to reopen as a 1500 seat live concert venue in 2008.
This page at the web site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation has an article from 2002 which features a picture showing the water damage in the auditorium of the Capitol Theatre.
I saw on Channel 3 that it is going to be renovated. Yay!
The National Trust Website says that it seated 2,500 and that it was Neo-Classical. She has some water damage too. I googled Capitol Theatre New London and I found one picture of the inside, I saw something that looked like balconies, it looks like she needs a lot of work.
Does anyone know who owns the theatre?
Who is behind the R&R restoration?
I’d like to get in touch.
Its a beautiful theatre and it would be great to see it serving the community once again.
This is reputed to be the place George Burns met Gracie Allen while they performed Vaudeville. New plans have surfaced for restoration as a performing Rock and Roll theater in the last month.
The organ from this theatre is now in the Jane Pickens Theatre in Newport, RI, where I was House Organist for 10 years.
That would be such a nice idea.
Is this the theater with the best acoustics or is that the Garde?
Couldn’t The Capitol be restored and used as a vaudeville museum? They could have performances associated with the museum and a theater school for local children. Wouldn’t there be grant money available for such a purpose? The public could come and tour the museum and see a vaudeville show. And children could take classes and perform in an historic theater. I would love to see something like that done with The Capitol.
“asbestos abatement” causes one to pause and I just wonder how much of this exists in restoring and/or renovating old theatres of yester-year!?!
I fell in love with this theater last week while roaming around New London waiting for the ferry.
Two huge issues: 1. It is a designated landmark so it needs to be restored, not just renovated; and 2. Any major construction will require asbestos abatement, which could double the construction costs of the project.
We could look to the Times Square Rehabilitation project in NYC to see what was done with those old theaters, but unless there’s a niche for a B.B. King’s House of Blues in New London, I fear that the Capitol requires too much capital.
Robert, it has been abandoned for nearly 30 years, so restoration would cost many millions of dollars. Also, the problem would be in finding a niche for it. To use as a cinema it would have to be carved up as one large auditorium is not feasible these days. It could not make it as a performing arts center because the renovated Garde Theatre a couple of blocks away has already fulfilled that need in downtown New London. Also, some genius decided to build directly behind the theatre’s stage area leaving no room to expand the stage which is too small for modern productions.
Wow this place looks like it could still be restored. What is the neighborhood like?