Capitol Theatre
45 East Side Square,
Canton,
IL
61520
45 East Side Square,
Canton,
IL
61520
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Kerasotes Theatres
Styles: Romanesque Revival
Previous Names: Canton Opera House, Grand Opera House, Princess Opera House, Princess Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Canton Opera House opened on the town square in dowtown Canton in 1891. It was housed in the Masonic Temple Building which was designed in sturdy Neo-Romanesque style, including a large arched entranceway. It was gutted by fire on September 21, 1892. It was reconstructed and reopened as the Grand Opera House, which became the Princess Opera House followed by Princess Theatre which began screening movies. On September 9, 1922 it was renamed Capitol Theatre. In July 1935 it was gutted by fire. It was rebuilt internally in a Streamline Moderne style, reopening on December 3, 1936. It was taken over by Kerasotes Theatres in 1948. It was closed as a sub-run discount house on November 3, 1983 with John Friedrich in “The Final Terror”. After closing the former lobby space was converted into retail space as a record store, and the auditorium was used as a storage area.
In 2000, the historic building was converted into offices, and its exterior restored, including the removal of the boxy Capitol marquee and the addition of awnings over the ground floor level windows. The building became known as the Opera House Professional Center.
A gas explosion on November 16, 2016 badly damaged the building and it was demolished in October 2017.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
Would the owner of this theatre or someone they know be interested in purchasing the theatre I have listed in Havana, IL? There is possibly money available from the city for restoration on this property. I have it listed at $79,900. Please email me if you would like more info. Thanks. Rhonda Howard, Jim Maloof/REALTOR.
The Opera House in Canton IL is listed in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. Unfortunatly, there are no street addresses in this guide. The theatre is referred to as “Opera House” and also as “Armory Opera House”. Is it this theatre ? The seating capacity was 800 and it was on the second floor. C. N. Hinkler was Mgr. The proscenium opening was 20 feet high, and the stage was 25 feet deep. The house had both gas and electric illumination. There was a piano, but no orchestra. Hotels for show folk were the Canton House and the Churchill House, and local papers were the Register, Cantonian, and Ledger. Railroads were the TP&W and the CB&Q. The 1897 population of Canton was 10,000.
When the Capitol’s lobby—with no serious remodeling; how cool!—was being used as a record store, the auditorium was used for storage. During the restoration of the Opera House building, the auditorium was demolished—but the building still looks the same from the front.
This building, recently housing offices, was badly damaged in a nearby gas explosion. According to the Chicago Tribune:
“Among buildings damaged by the blast was a historic century Opera House that now houses offices; it was among three buildings condemned because they are beyond repair, Canton police chief Rick Nichols said.”
The Opera house was demolished in October of 2017 it is an empty lot now.
The Masonic Temple Building housed the Opera House in downtown Canton opening late in 1891. Less than a year later, the entire structure was gutted by a fire on September 21, 1892 when sparklers used in a stage play led to a fatal fire. The building was reconstructed and the venue became the Grand Opera House and then the Princess Opera House before becoming the Princess Theatre. The latter occurred when films became more profitable than live programming.
Charles Kuchan, Sr. had run the IdylHour Theatre from 1912 to the end of its ten year leasing agreement in 1922 elsewhere in downtown Canton and decided to move to the larger Princess Theatre - itself, likely at the end of a 30-year leasing agreement. Kuchan changed the venue’s name to the Capitol Theatre on its September 9, 1922 relaunch. The Capitol added sound to remain commercially viable.
In July of 1935, the Capitol was gutted by fire. It was rebuilt to a streamline moderne structure at its December 3, 1936 reopening. Kerasotes Circuit took on the venue in 1948. On July 23 1975, an F3 tornado damaged the rear wall of the venue closing it. But repairs were made and the operation continued on October 31, 1975. It ran successfully until economic downturn in the area occurred in the 1980s.
Kerasotes reduced the theater to sub-run discount dollar status in September of 1982 instead of closing the theater. That policy ended a year later with the Circuit closing the Capitol Theatre permanently on November 3, 1983 with “The Final Terror.” Employees liked the title so much that they let it be the forever title on the marquee past the Capitol’s closing date.
Capitol Music opened a record store in the lobby and used the auditorium for storage. A deadly Nov. 16, 2016 gasline explosion shook the building and led to the demolition of the former movie house auditorium in 2017.