The Capitol Theatre was a

movie palace A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 192 ...

located at 1645 Broadway, just north of

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, across from the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

. Designed by theater architect

Thomas W. Lamb Thomas White Lamb (May 5th, 1870 – February 26th, 1942) was a Scottish-born, American architect. He was one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas in the 20th century. Career Born in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom, Thomas W. La ...

, the Capitol originally had a seating capacity of 5,230 and opened October 24, 1919. After 1924 the flagship theatre of the

Loews Theatres Loews may refer to: * Loews Cineplex Entertainment, formerly Loews Incorporated, a defunct North American cinema chain which formerly owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer **''United States v. Loew's Inc.'', a United States Supreme Court case involving Loews ...

chain, the Capitol was known as the premiere site of many

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

(MGM) films. The Capitol was also noted for presenting live musical revues and many jazz and swing bands on its stage.

History

The Capitol was one of the first of the large lavish

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

s that dominated the film exhibition business for the next 40 years, built by Messmore Kendall as one of New York’s first cinema palaces, through his realty company, Moredall Realty Company. It opened on October 24, 1919 with the New York premiere of

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

' first production, '' His Majesty, the American''. The theater was acquired in 1924 by the entertainment magnate Marcus Loew and became the flagship of his deluxe Loew's Theatres chain. The Capitol was the frequent site of the world premieres of films made by the Loew's-owned

studio. '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) had its first New York run at the theatre.

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...

started as an usher at the theatre. After having been converted for the presentation of Cinerama wide screen films in 1964, the theater's last engagement was MGM's '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', which opened on April 3, 1968. The Capitol closed September 16, 1968 with a live all-star benefit featuring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

and

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

. The theatre was replaced by the Uris Building (now

Paramount Plaza Paramount Plaza, also 1633 Broadway and formerly the Uris Building, is a 48-story skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Emery Roth and Sons, the building was developed by the Uris brothers and was renamed ...

) office tower.

Radio

Airing for the first time in November 1922, ''The Capitol Theatre Family Show'' was a 45–60 minute program broadcast Mondays on the NBC Blue Network March 7, 1927 – July 27, 1931.Hickerson, Jay. ''The Ultimate History of Network Radio Programming and Guide to All Circulating Shows''. Hamden, Connecticut: Jay Hickerson, Box 4321, Hamden, CT 06514, second edition December 1992, page 346. Leo Zeitlin (1884–1930) was a violinist, violist, conductor and impresario who was active in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

's Society for Jewish Folk Music. In 1923, he emigrated to New York, where he became the violist and arranger for the Capitol Theatre. In 1925, he began arranging orchestral and small ensemble pieces for the Capitol's radio program on WEAF, which became the flagship station of the

NBC Radio Network The NBC, National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network it was ...

in 1926. Beginning in 1926, the series of light classical concerts titled ''Capitol Theatre'' was broadcast by the NBC Red Network on Sunday evenings from 7:20pm to 9:15pm. This series continued until 1929, not long before Zeitlin's death.Howard, Aaron
"Finding Composer Leo Zeitlin"
''Jewish Herald-Voice'', February 26, 2009.

References

External links

Capitol Theatre
at ''Cinema Treasures''
Capitol Theatre scrapbooks, 1920-1956
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts {{Authority control Movie palaces Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Former theatres in Manhattan Theatres completed in 1919 1919 establishments in New York City Buildings and structures demolished in 1968 1920s American radio programs Demolished theatres in New York City Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan American classical music radio programs Loew's Theatres buildings and structures Broadway (Manhattan) NBC radio programs NBC Blue Network radio programs Thomas W. Lamb buildings 1968 disestablishments in New York (state)

History

Radio

See also

References

External links