Capitol Theatre

kencmcintyre on August 31, 2007 at 8:24 pm

Perhaps they left the organ in the middle of the lot in anticipation of a theater being built around it?

Just kidding. I remember getting those dates from a website and then realizing that they were extremely general and probably not reliable.

Joe Vogel on March 29, 2018 at 10:05 pm

The Capitol Theatre first appears in the 1927 FDY with 750 seats. It is possible that the Capitol was a project noted in the April 11, 1925, issue of The Moving Picture World. The planned house was a bit smaller than the Capitol, but a decision to expand the project might account for some delay in its construction, resulting in an opening too late for its inclusion in the 1926 FDY:

“Giesecke & Harris, architects, are erecting a new theatre at New Braunsfels, Texas, seating 600.”

The Capitol must have been in operation at least as late as 1969. That year the April 17 issue of the New Braunfels Herald published a map and list of public fallout shelters in the city, one of them being the Capitol Theatre, 351 Plaza.

I do not believe the Capitol Theatre has been demolished. If you zoom in on Google’s satellite view you can see the building near the west end of the south side of the plaza, with its tall brick stage house still recognizable. In street view you can zoom in on the front and and make out the name “Capitol Plaza” above the entrance doors. The building appears to be in use as retail and office space.