Capitol Theatre (Rome, New York)

The Capitol Theatre is a theatre operating in Rome, New York. It opened December 10, 1928 as part of the Kallet chain of movie houses, presenting first run films until it closed in 1974.

The Capitol re-opened in 1985 as the non-profit Capitol Civic Center offering classic movies, live theatrical performances, and concerts as its programming.

History

Early movie theaters in Rome first consisted of nickelodeons The Idle Hour, the Casino and the Romohawk, which were located downtown. The larger Carroll was built in 1911, followed by the Star in 1914.

Central New York movie theater magnates M.J. and J.S. Kallet formed the Carroll Theater Amusement Company in 1920, when they purchased the Carroll and renamed it the Strand, making it their first theater in Rome. In the few years following, the Kallets bought the Star and the 1907 Lyric, which had been showing films intermittently mixed with live programming under various names—first the Lyric, followed by the Family, Regent and finally re-named the Family again.

In 1925, with theaters being purchased in cities other than Rome and Oneida, the Kallets changed the name of their corporation from the Carroll Theater Amusement Company to Kallet Theaters, Inc. The following year, an alliance was made with the M. E. Commerford Amusement Company of Scranton, Pennsylvania, whereby the booking facilities of the Commerford company and it's subsidiary, Amalgamated-Vaudeville, were obtained.

First announced on December 30, 1926, the deal for the new, then-unnamed Kallet theater was closed on March 21, 1927. The property for the new theater on West Dominick street was sold to the Kallets and Commerford Companies by the owner, John R. Harper. The property comprised 100 feet frontage on West Dominick street, including numbers 212 to 224, and 200 feet depth to West Willett street. The lot was previously owned by the Hager and Beck families of Rome, who sold the lot to Harper for his business.

Initial details of the newly-named Capitol Theatre were announced in August, 1927. The design of the building was designated to Leon H. Lempert Jr. of Rochester, New York, whose father had previously deigned the Washington Street Opera House in Rome. At an estimated cost of $500,000 to build, initial specifications called for four storefronts, a second floor of offices, and a third floor of apartments. The auditorium was initially designed to seat 2,500, and would show both talking and silent pictures, as well as "anything that can be seen on Broadway."

The five buildings on the site of the theater were razed in the winter of 1927. Excavation of the site was started on April 17, 1928 by B.S. McCarey of Rome. Construction of the theater was under the auspices of the construction firm of Stofflet & Tillotson, Philadelphia, PA.

Although the apartments were not in the final construction, and the number of storefronts was reduced to two instead of four, the auditorium design remained largely intact compared to initial descriptions. In the auditorium, seating came to a sum of approximately 2,000 seats. Spanish-Moroccan plasterwork was incorporated into the theater's design, and colors of gold, green, blue, and browns were dominant in the lobby, foyer and auditorium's paint scheme. A marquee and vertical blade over the entrance greeted patrons, flanked with 2,000 incandescent bulbs. A heating system was installed under the stage and an air ventilation system in the roof.

Installed in the Capitol's orchestra pit was a 3/7 Möller, Style-70 Theatre Organ. Originally planned to be on the left hand side of the orchestra pit, the console was placed in the center of the orchestra pit on a lift.

The Capitol's projection booth was ready on December 7, when it was tested. It contained two projectors with both Vitaphone and Movietone equipment for talking pictures. A third, auxiliary projector was silent only. Two spotlights and one slide projector made by the Chicago Equipment Company were also installed in the booth and are still there today.

The Capitol opened on Monday, December 10, 1928. More than fifty people lined up in the cold an hour before the box office opened at 5:30 PM to be sure to get a ticket. Accompaniment on the organ was by Mr. Robert S. Bancroft. The opening night program consisted of Mrs. Arthur Seth Evans singing "The Star Spangled Banner" while a slide-show of the lyrics were projected on the curtains. The six Capitol Pages were introduced on the stage, and the dedication of the theater by the management followed.

Following the dedication was the film show of a newsreel accompanied by Mr. Bancroft, and two Vitaphone shorts—The Lash and Those Pullman Porters. Mr. Bancroft then gave a short recital at the organ, "playing a medley of popular airs." The feature film was Lilac Time starring Coleen Moore and Gary Cooper, and was accompanied by a Movietone soundtrack of music and sound effects.

Although equipped for live acts, the Capitol operated primarily as a movie house for the next 46 years. Occasional touring groups were accomodated on the stage, however, including Art Kahn's Orchestra, and Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys (including Bing Crosby) with the California Ramblers, both in 1929. For a few years in the 1930s, Paramount and RKO unit vaudeville were added to movie shows two or three times per week. In the 1940s and 1950s, some big bands toured at the Capitol, including Paul Whiteman and Tommy Dorsey.

In 1939, the Capitol received an Art Deco facelift. New lighting fixtures, wall tapestry, carpeting, seating, and painting complimented the old Spanish-Moorish architecture. In addition, a new marquee was erected over the old framework, and the blade sign was removed.

The Capitol closed in 1974, the last film shown first run there having been The Exorcist. Leased around the same time by Cinema National, Inc., the theater remained shuttered until 1985, when it was purchased and re-opened as the Capitol Civic Center, Inc., a theater for the performing arts.

The Capitol Today

Among the various live and film shows throughout the year, the theatre hosts an annual silent film festival, Capitolfest, a major ongoing event at the theatre since 2003. Films at the Capitol are shown from 35mm prints on the theatre's carbon-arc, variable-speed movie projectors.

The theatre is able to seat up to 1,741 people, with seating in the balcony, mezzanine, house, and orchestra areas.

Restoration projects

Still in place is the theatre's original historic 3-manual, 7-rank Möller theatre organ, with restoration efforts to return the organ to working condition starting in 2002. Since then it has been used on a regular basis, providing dramatic effects when accompanying silent movies. This organ is maintained by the Rome Grand Theatre Organ Society, a chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society.

Restoration efforts by the Capitol Theatre are ongoing; the multi-year restoration will begin with an $800,000 marquee and blade installation, with efforts continuing to eventually restore the interior of the Capitol to the way it was in 1939. The newly restored 1939 Ticket Booth was installed in front of the theatre in December, 2009. The mission statement of the theatre is to provide "cultural and educational opportunities to the community through the performing and visual arts in Rome, NY's historic 1928 theater."

External links

• Official website
• Home page of the Rome Grand Theatre Organ Society
• "The Capitol Theatre" at the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce website
• "Capitol Theatre" at the City of Rome New York website
• "Rome Sentinel," 18 December 2009 "Behind the curtain: Plans for a $17 million theater facelift"
• "Rome Sentinel," 18 December 2009 "Ticket booth ‘time capsule’ returns to Capitol Theatre"