Capitol Theatre (Rome, NY)
Encyclopedia
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.
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 accommodated 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.
and early talkie
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 1,788 people, with seating in the balcony
, mezzanine
, house, and orchestra
areas.
, 10-rank Möller
theatre organ
, with restoration efforts to return the organ to working condition starting in 2002, including adding three additional ranks. 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."
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
operating in Rome, New York
Rome, New York
Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States. It is located in north-central or "upstate" New York. The population was 44,797 at the 2010 census. It is in New York's 24th congressional district. In 1758, British forces began construction of Fort Stanwix at this strategic location, but...
. It opened December 10, 1928 as part of the Kallet chain of movie houses
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
, presenting first run films
First run films
A film is said to be in its first run when it has been just released. In North America most new films earn most of their theatrical viewers in the first few weeks after their release. In North America different movie theatres pay different rates to show films depending on how recently they have...
until it closed in 1974.
The Capitol re-opened in 1985 as the non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
Capitol Civic Center
Civic center
A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building...
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 accommodated on the stage, however, including Art Kahn's Orchestra, and Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys (including Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
) 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
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
and Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
.
In 1939, the Capitol received an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
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
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
. 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 filmSilent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
and early talkie
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
, Capitolfest, a major ongoing event at the theatre since 2003. Films at the Capitol are shown from 35mm prints
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
on the theatre's carbon-arc, variable-speed movie projectors.
The theatre is able to seat up to 1,788 people, with seating in the balcony
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
, mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
, house, and orchestra
Orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
areas.
Restoration projects
Still in place is the theatre's original historic 3-manualManual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
, 10-rank Möller
M. P. Moller
Mathias Peter Møller was a prolific Danish organ builder. He was a native of the Danish island of Bornholm. He founded the M.P. Moller Pipe Organ Company in Greencastle, Pennsylvania in 1875...
theatre organ
Theatre organ
A theatre organ is a pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra. New designs have tended to be around some of the sounds and blends unique to the instrument itself....
, with restoration efforts to return the organ to working condition starting in 2002, including adding three additional ranks. 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"