Capitol Theatre
201 State Street,
Madison,
WI
53703
201 State Street,
Madison,
WI
53703
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Opened as the Capitol Theatre on 20th January 1928 with the movie “Her Wild Oats” starring Colleen Moore plus vaudeville acts. It was operated by Warner Bros. and later by RKO-Stanley Warner who sold it to the City of Madison for $650,000 in July 1974.
The firm Hardy, Holzman & Pfiefer designed the restoration when it became the Oscar Meyer Theatre.
Yes, the ornate 1927 lobby was torn out then and has been demolished again. The new lobby will be the former section under the balcony, which has had its ceiling restored, as seen in this photo.
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Targeted opening date for the new theater is in November 2005. Many original movie house items – including two chandeliers, a Barton organ and elegant balcony – remain, and Overture officials have been careful to maintain the theater’s vintage appearance.
Tattered and dusty curtains with loose tassels still hang from the theater stage’s proscenium arch to help designers recreate a similar-looking item with identical placement.
“It’ll be a new curtain,” said a representative for Overture Development Corp., “but it will be in keeping with the idea that we want the theater to have an old, familiar feel.”
The 1928 lobby was torn out in 1980…wasn’t it?
The Capitol theatre became the Oscar Mayer Theatre in 1980.