All of the above is very true AND the theatre contains a magnificent 3/25 Wurlitzer with all of the goodies on it. It makes a terrific statement in the building. There are open archways between the lodge balcony and the lobby so the sound pours right into that space! The Elsinore is like a time machine. It was never badly mangled or abused during its life and was in a pretty good state for a 70 year old building when the restoration began in earnest. Restorations like the Elsinore’s are exceedingly rare. If anybody reading this gets the chance to make it to Salem, Oregon VISIT THIS THEATRE. You WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!! If you call ahead there is a good chance the house manager/house organist Rick Parks will fire up the organ and play it for you. Not to be missed!!
I did quite a bit of research on this building years ago because it was my all-time favorite. The “Bligh’s Capitol Theatre” opened on October 5, l926 and sat 1,200 originally. It could have easily seated 1,500. There were no “knee cruncher” seats at any time in this theatre! The style was Palladian/Italian Rennaisance with ivory, simulated travertine marble, and polychrome paint schemes. Please visit www.pstos.org for some nice photos. The Capitol opened as a vaudeville/movie house with sound wired in for the movies that would soon be talking. The stage deck was very large; some 35'X70'. This stage deck was serviced by an Otis hydraulic baggage lift which descended to the dressing rooms below. Vaudeville ceased in l930 when the theatre was bought outright by Warner Brothers. Originally owned and operated by Willamette Valley theatre magnate Frank Bligh, the theatre was in debt from the start due to a $250,000 loan taken out by Mr. Bligh to build it. This was his undoing as the “Pru-dential” insurance company was looking to make good on their investment. The Bligh family liquidated their holdings and retired to Albany to “lick their wounds” as one family member put it. The theatre was equipped with an eight-rank Wurlitzer pipe organ with a double stop rail and three manuals. It was a very special instrument and survives to this day in Washington state. The instrument contained a number of unusual features for its size. Advertized as the “$25,000 Ascending Wurlitzer”, the white console rose and descended on an Otis hydraulic lift. The archetects of the building were John Tourtelotte and Charles Hummel. The auditorium featured a cry room for babies in a glass enclosed area on one side of the projection booth and a smoking room also enclosed in glass on the other side. I hope this fills things in a bit.—– Eric Schmiedeberg
The firm that built the Capitol was Tranchell and Parelius.
Oh, comments are more than appreciated!—
All of the above is very true AND the theatre contains a magnificent 3/25 Wurlitzer with all of the goodies on it. It makes a terrific statement in the building. There are open archways between the lodge balcony and the lobby so the sound pours right into that space! The Elsinore is like a time machine. It was never badly mangled or abused during its life and was in a pretty good state for a 70 year old building when the restoration began in earnest. Restorations like the Elsinore’s are exceedingly rare. If anybody reading this gets the chance to make it to Salem, Oregon VISIT THIS THEATRE. You WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!! If you call ahead there is a good chance the house manager/house organist Rick Parks will fire up the organ and play it for you. Not to be missed!!
I did quite a bit of research on this building years ago because it was my all-time favorite. The “Bligh’s Capitol Theatre” opened on October 5, l926 and sat 1,200 originally. It could have easily seated 1,500. There were no “knee cruncher” seats at any time in this theatre! The style was Palladian/Italian Rennaisance with ivory, simulated travertine marble, and polychrome paint schemes. Please visit www.pstos.org for some nice photos. The Capitol opened as a vaudeville/movie house with sound wired in for the movies that would soon be talking. The stage deck was very large; some 35'X70'. This stage deck was serviced by an Otis hydraulic baggage lift which descended to the dressing rooms below. Vaudeville ceased in l930 when the theatre was bought outright by Warner Brothers. Originally owned and operated by Willamette Valley theatre magnate Frank Bligh, the theatre was in debt from the start due to a $250,000 loan taken out by Mr. Bligh to build it. This was his undoing as the “Pru-dential” insurance company was looking to make good on their investment. The Bligh family liquidated their holdings and retired to Albany to “lick their wounds” as one family member put it. The theatre was equipped with an eight-rank Wurlitzer pipe organ with a double stop rail and three manuals. It was a very special instrument and survives to this day in Washington state. The instrument contained a number of unusual features for its size. Advertized as the “$25,000 Ascending Wurlitzer”, the white console rose and descended on an Otis hydraulic lift. The archetects of the building were John Tourtelotte and Charles Hummel. The auditorium featured a cry room for babies in a glass enclosed area on one side of the projection booth and a smoking room also enclosed in glass on the other side. I hope this fills things in a bit.—– Eric Schmiedeberg