Capitol Theater

Opened as the Capitol Theater on 24th November 1924, with 1,200-seats. It was operated by Capitol Filmtheaterbetriebs GmbH. It was designed by architect Oscar Rosendahl. The colours of the foyer were red, green, gold & silver. The screen was 14 x 7 meters. Silent movies were presented with a big live orchestra or an organ by the Welte & Sohne company. In 1931 it was equipped with a Tobis/Klangfilm sound system. In 1944 the building was badly damaged by Allied bombs during World War II.

On 6th February 1954 a ‘new’ Capitol Theater was opened. It was designed for movie presentations and live performances by architect Arthur Gerhard. The colour of the walls was white and the velvet curtain was red. The size of the stage was 14 x 12 meters. In front of the stage was space for a large live orchestra. The size of the auditorium was 22 x 34 meters. The theatre had 1,100 seats in orchestra and balcony levels. It had a very large foyer. The Capitol Theatre was operated by Karl Weskamp Alhambra Theater AG. He also operated the Alhambra Theater at Friedrichstrasse in Dusseldorf. Between 1954 and 1956 the Capitol Theater was used for live performances by the Stadtische Buhnen theatre company.

On 2nd August 1956 the Capitol Theater was reopened for movie presentations. A 15 x 7 meter CinemaScope screen was added and a 4-channel stereophonic sound system by Klangfilm was installed. The FP 6 projectors were by Phillips. Later two 70mm film projectors by Fedi were installed and a 6-channel stereophonic sound sytem was added.

From 1962 programming was a mix of live theatre and movies. The Capitol Theater was closed in 1969.

After that it was in use as a store. In 2010 the foyer was in use as a discotheque named Foyer and later it became a live theater named Botschaft. In 2020 there were discussions taking place to demolish the theater and build a micro-apartment house.

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