Capitol Theatre
2 Elm Street,
Danbury,
CT
06810
2 Elm Street,
Danbury,
CT
06810
1 person
favorited this theater
Showing 19 comments
The September 1, 1923 issue of Moving Picture World said that the new Capitol Theatre in Danbury had opened August 11 with the Goldwyn production “Three Wise Fools” as the feature attraction. The wording of the article makes it clear that the house, which was owned by the Taylor estate, was entirely new and had not been seem by the public before.
The appearance of the name Taylor Theatre at the Capitol’s address in the 1923 city directory was likely the result of the fact that the directory went to press while the theater was still in the planning stage or under construction and the name Capitol had not yet been chosen, so the publisher used the name of the owners of the project. There’s no evidence that the house ever operated under the name Taylor Theatre.
From a Danbury News Times article I just posted in the photos section, the building was still standing in May ‘1971 when the lot went up for sale.
Posting a new pic from 1948 with what Elm Street used to look like.
Here they are:
1) what the property looked like before http://yfrog.com/h2tcd1j
2) Exterior http://yfrog.com/h6ieb5j
3) Lobby http://yfrog.com/h69p83j
4) View of orchestra/balcony http://yfrog.com/h205pzj
5) Stage (from balcony) http://yfrog.com/h2sg26j
I struck gold! I was researching today for a doc I’m producing and Diane at the Museum showed me photocopies of pics (the person didn’t want to donate) of the Capitol’s exterior and INTERIOR! Not ornate at all.
I’ll post them later today. (I also have one of the 1934 blizzard with the Empress and Palace marquees visible).
From the up close view of the Capitol that I have, it says “New” just above the Capitol sign. Therefore, it was also known as the New Capitol Theatre.
Thanks Dave.
I have great shots of the marquee AND the stagehouse of the theatre. This was virtually impossible on the traditional photos I’ve seen of the Capitol, so now I know what it looks like. Nowadays, of course, it’s the parking lot behind DaSilva Realty and across from Cousin Larry’s Cafe.
Even though the City Directory says they closed in 1959, I have picture proof that the stagehouse and lobby remained safe and sound until at least 1964.
I’m very happy today. I was doing research at the Danbury Museum for an unrelated project the last few days and found many pictures of the Palace, Capitol and Empress Theatres, and not just the traditional “Images of America” book pictures. I’ve found countless viewspoints including aerial!!!
Unfortunately, I cannot post pics still, so I’ll send them over to Roger Katz. For folks interested in these great black and white and some color photos, I’d be happy to email them to you in a zipped file. They are great.
The Capitol Theatre was the “bargain movie house” when I lived there. Priced much lower than the other two house, the Palace and the Empress, the Capitol was always good for a cheap double feature and during the depression days of the 30s – they had their “dish nite”
According to the Film Annual Review of 1936, the Capitol had 1,497 seats.
Correction from an earlier comment I made, the old mall was not where the Capitol was located, that was the old Amphenol building behind HART’s “The Pulse Point” which will be condos shortly.
well, according to my above comments, the theater opened under the name “Capitol” in 1924 (1923 as the Taylor), so i presume it was the 1925 version.
There is an advertisement in the Centennial Edition of the News-Times in the local history room at the danbury library, volume 1 part one on page 102 that advertises for the Capitol Theatre’s showing of “The Unwritten Law”.
I found a great pic of the Capitol, from page 3 of the Centennial Edition of the News-Times, Volume 2, 1933-1983, from the local history room of the Danbury Public Library. It shows the old News-Times building and the building next to it (still open) and the Capitol next to it on the corner of Main and Elm, but that’s now a parking lot. Its marquee had Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney’s movie “Boys Town” plus “Blockheads” with Laurel and Hardy.
According to the 1959 Danbury City Directory and confirming the above information, it was demolished in 1958 and wasn’t listed in the 1959 directory.
Also, according to the 1923 Directory, the Capitol was known as the Taylor Theater at the same address, 2-4 Elm Street which showed motion pictures). The owner was most likely the operator of the Taylor Opera House in Danbury. World famous opera singer Marian Anderson was from Danbury and lived in Danbury until her death in the late 1950s.)
I am writing a book, and was doing research at WCSU’s University Archives. Anyway, i was looking at the old city directories, and found info on the Capitol Theater. From the 1924 Directory (publishers, Price and Lee, New Haven), The Capitol Theatre first appeared in the 1924 Directory and showed motion pictures and was located at 2-4 Elm, now a parking lot across the street from Cousin Larry’s Cafe (my stomping ground) at 1 Elm Street. The directory makes note that motion pictures were shown at this time. In the 1925 directory the address is changed to 2 Elm. I am up to the early 1940s and will update again on Tuesday.
This was located on 2 Elm Street, across from what is now 1 Elm Street, Cousin Larry’s Cafe. This set of buildings is now a bunch of storefronts but was the original mall in the 50s and 60s before the present Danbury Mall took over the old fairgrounds. Info is found at http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=21440