Capitol Theater
5827 Foothill Boulevard,
Oakland,
CA
94605
5827 Foothill Boulevard,
Oakland,
CA
94605
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This is a medium rare photo of the Capitol Theater and here is a close-up view. Text with photo:
“BEAUTIFUL ART DECO ARCHITECTURE CAPITOL MOVIE THEATER -JUST AFTER IT OPENED IN 1924. YOU CAN READ THE MOVIE POSTER IN THE WINDOW, "FLOWING GOLD”. THE TICKET BOOTH IS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ENTRANCE. THERE IS A CANDY SHOP ON THE LEFT SIDE. GREAT MARQUEE! LOCATED IN OAKLAND CALIFORNIA ON THE INTERSECTION OF FOOTHILL BOULEVARD AND SEMINARY AVENUE. THE CAPITOL THEATRE OPENED IN 1924 AND CLOSED IN 1952. Capitol Theatre: 5829 Foothill Blvd. became Capitol Bowling Alley in 1952 and the building was demolished in 2001".
The Capitol’s architects were the Reid Brothers; it was originally built for Gabriel and Lenore Moulin, who owned a major photographic studio in San Francisco.
Crime in October 1946:
In another theater robbery in Oakland, between $50 and $100 was taken at the Capitol Theater, 5827 Foothill Boulevard. Miss Marjorie Maginot, 19, a University of California student working as a cashier at the theater, said two men approached her and told her it was a “stickup.“ “I don’t believe it,” she said she replied. “Give us that box,” one man ordered, and she did after he feigned having a gun in his pocket.
Curiously, in many old newspaper theater listings (seldom known for their exactness to begin with), the Capitol’s location was stated as “Bancroft and Seminary” (Seminary Avenue being the nearest cross street to the Capitol; Bancroft Avenue being one block parallel to Foothill here). Possibly this was because one could easily see a prominent corner of the Capitol (“The Best in Photoplay Pictures” [which, as Gary Parks pointed out, could still be seen to its final days of existence even decades after it closed]) from that intersection. The above-listed address (as stated by William) is correct, however.
The Capitol Theatre was located at 5827 Foothill Blvd., it seated 952 people.
Although its facade was completely modernized in the 60s when converted to bowling use, the side and back walls of the auditorium exterior were another story. Up until the end, one could see (and in my case photograph) original painted signs on the concrete reading, “Capitol Theatre… Photoplays.”