Capri Theatre
4115 University Avenue,
Des Moines,
IA
50311
4115 University Avenue,
Des Moines,
IA
50311
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Dubinsky Brothers, Fridley Theatres, Tri-State Theaters
Functions: Office Space, Retail
Previous Names: Uptown Theatre
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Dec 9, 2012 — Happy 50th, “Lawrence of Arabia”
- Oct 19, 2011 — Happy 50th, "West Side Story"
- Mar 2, 2010 — Happy 45th, "The Sound Of Music"
- Nov 18, 2009 — Happy 50th, "Ben-Hur"
- Apr 9, 2009 — Remembering Cinerama (Part 26: Des Moines)
The Uptown Theatre opened October 31, 1935 with Francis Lederer in “The Gay Deception” (aka “April Folly”). On November 10, 1960 it was renamed Capri Theatre, opening with Charlton Heston in “Ben Hur” presented in 70mm & Todd-AO. It was a neighborhood theatre located on the west side of Des Moines, Iowa. Its site was the 4100 block of University Avenue. The Capri Theatre was closed on August 26, 1990 with Harrison Ford in “Presumed Innocent”.
Contributed by
Lon Peterson
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Recent comments (view all 19 comments)
I saw “The Sound of Music” at the Capri in 1965, when my family drove down from Ames. I was five years old. It was my first movie and I thought it was the biggest place I’d ever seen. Pure theatrical magic. I remember an upstairs loge area (for smoking?). We moved to Des Moines in 1969, and I later saw movies there during high school. It wasn’t as big as I remembered, but it still had style and class — a certain “chic.” It was a small gem of a theater, and to me looked like a place right out of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
It was a terrible shame when it was turned into a video store that is now close. I would love to see returned to an art theater similar to the Varsity but to redo it to look like it did as the Uptown.
The building has been remodeled again, now with a bland front, and it houses an animal hospital and a State Farm insurance agency. I would expect that the floor has been leveled, so there probably won’t be a theater here again. At least that appalling diagonal wood front from the 1970s is gone.
Among dozens of vintage photos on this web page are two shots of the Midcentury Modern Capri Theatre front of 1960, which the diagonal wood covered up later. I like Midcentury design, and the Capri was nicely done, but my personal preference would have been to see the original 1935 Streamline Modern facade preserved and restored. Hardly anybody valued Streamline Modern in 1960, though.
It was 50 years ago today that “The Sound of Music” premiered at the Capri. With a reserved-seat run of 113 weeks, it’s surely the long-run record holder for this venue. (Anyone know of something that ran longer?) It was one of ten runs in the United States and at least 24 globally that ran the movie continuously into a third year.
Linkrot repair: The 1950 Boxoffice article about the Capri Theatre (and other Des Moines houses) is now here:
Page one
Page two
Page three
Page four
October 31st, 1935 grand opening ad as Uptown in photo section.
November 10th, 1960 grand opening ad in photo section as Capri.
I think the world record run of a movie was Emanuelle at a theatre somewhere in(Paris, France i think?), about 18 years(i think?).
A chronology of 70mm presentation history in Des Moines has recently been published. The Capri is mentioned numerous times.
The art deco Capri Theatre closed at the end of its lease on August 26, 1990 with “Presumed Innocent.” Its long-standing neighbor as the Uptown Theatre, Boyce’s, served as its de facto concession stand in its formative years. Likely the most significant event in the venue’s history was when screen legend Gloria Swanson made a personal appearance on July 20, 1950 escorted by local DJ Al “Rocky” Rockwell at the Uptown in support of “Sunset Boulevard.”