The Capitol Theater was located at 542 State Street in Salem,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Part of the Bligh Building, it was built in the 1920s for

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

. During its heyday, it housed a

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

, which is now in private ownership in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. The theater was demolished in 2000, but the retail portion of the building, now known as the Pacific Building, still stands.

Bligh Building and Capitol Theater

The building, constructed in 1926 for owner Frank D. Bligh, covered a quarter of a block. At the time it was built, it had twelve storefronts and thirty-five rooms designed for offices, as well as what was known at the time as the New Bligh Capitol Theater, with 1,200 seats. Bligh owned several theaters in Salem, including the original Bligh Theater built in 1912 and closed in 1927. For a time Bligh owned the Klinger Grand Theater, which he also renamed Bligh Theater. The Capitol Theater's brightly lit marquee was constructed of stained glass in the shape of the dome of the second

Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the Oregon Legislative Assembly, state legislature and the offices of the Governor of Oregon, governor, Oregon Secretary of State, secretary of state, and Oregon State Treasurer, treasurer of t ...

building, which was destroyed in a 1935 fire.

Decline and demolition

The theater converted from vaudeville to movies. By 1952 the glass dome marquee had been replaced. By the 1980s, it was one of only two pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

theaters left in downtown Salem, which had once hosted as many as eight. Like its neighbor, the

Elsinore Theatre The Elsinore Theatre is 1,290-seattheatre located in Salem, Oregon, United States, that first opened on May 28, 1926. Early years Owner George Guthrie enlisted the firm of Lawrence and Holford to design the theatre in a Tudor Gothic style me ...

, the Capitol declined to a second-run movie house. It was closed in 1990. The Capitol Theater was demolished in May/June 2000 because of structural decay. The location is now a parking lot, however, the adjoining office and retail space remains. This retail building, known as the Bligh Building and currently as the Pacific Building, is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

of the Salem Downtown State Street-Commercial Street Historic District, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Theater organ

The theater's 3/8 (3- manual/8-rank) "Mighty Wurlitzer"

theatre organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements of ...

was installed in 1926. In 1941, the organ was moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Civic Ice Arena Mercer Arena, previously known as the Exposition Building, Civic Ice Arena, and Seattle Center Arena, was a performing arts venue situated in Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington. Constructed in 1927 next to the Seattle Civic Auditorium (now th ...

. In 1964–65, the organ was moved to the

Seattle Center The Seattle Center is an entertainment, education, tourism and performing arts center located in the Lower Queen Anne, Seattle, Lower Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Constructed for the Century 21 Exposition, 1962 W ...

Food Circus. It was sold at auction in 1976, and is currently installed in a private home in Washington, combined with parts from

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

's Majestic/United Artists Theatre organ to make a 3/18 Wurlitzer.

References

External links

*
Capitol Theater
from Cinema Treasures
Historic images of Capitol Theater
from Salem Public Library
Facade of theater in 1980
from Salemoregon.com * {{National Register of Historic Places Oregon 1926 establishments in Oregon Buildings and structures demolished in 2000 Buildings and structures in Salem, Oregon Commercial Style architecture in the United States Culture of Salem, Oregon Demolished theatres in Oregon Former cinemas in the United States Historic district contributing properties in Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Salem, Oregon Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon