Capitol Theatre
306 George Street N,
Peterborough,
ON
K9J 3H2
306 George Street N,
Peterborough,
ON
K9J 3H2
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The Capitol Theatre was opened by Famous Players on April 18, 1921 with Milton Sills in “Behold My Wife”. Famous Players closed the Capitol Theatre in July 1955 ‘for the season’. It was reopened by 20th Century Theatres in January 1956. It was closed on August 24, 1961 with James Stewart in “Winchester ‘73” & Burt Lancaster in “Criss Cross”.
Contributed by
Graeme McBain
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Recent comments (view all 14 comments)
Looking again at my postcard and the google image, I think the Capitol building still exists, but has been altered inside and out. The building that houses the Peterborough Inn & Suites, is a vintage structure that appears in the postcard photo. It is the second building from the corner of George & Charlotte. The Capitol is the third building, from the corner, beside the PI&S building.
If you look at the side wall of the third building, it appears to be old brick. You can see this wall from the front, on George St. and from the back, on Water Street. It looks like an addition has been made to the rear of the Capitol building, as well. There used to be a building, at the corner of Charlotte and Water, that extended over to (and in front of/up against) the rear of the Capitol Theatre. This building can be seen in the postcard photo. It has been demolished and has exposed the rear of the Capitol building. There is a sign (partially obscured) on the building that says: PETERBOROUGH DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT… To the left, you can see the side wall and some of the roof contour.
The above spectrum/2010 comment, mentioning the parking lot, may have been referring to the newer building to the right of the Capitol. The google image shows Brant Office Suppply in a recent building. This building took the place of two properties, between the Capitol and Odeon theatres. The business, beside the Capitol, was Comstock’s Furniture and Funeral Service.
This theatre was a run by a partner of the Famous Players Canadian Corporation.
More research/updates/corrections: The Capitol Theatre building still exists. It has not been demolished, but has been converted. Who knows if any of the original interior still exists? The Showplace Performance Centre is still active (in the former Odeon Theatre). The Vibe Nightclub is now called The Venue, and is currently operating (the former Paramount Theatre). There are web sites for both the Showplace and Venue. As mentioned before, the Centre Theatre (on George Street) has been demolished.
The Capitol Theatre in Peterborough was a Famous Players partnership situation where a local person managed and operated the theatre under Famous Players instructions and then split the profits in equal shares. I don’t know the name of the partner here because he passed away many many years ago!
I uploaded two pictures I was able to find.
Below link shows that George Street in Peterborough also had Paramount and Odeon Theatres in thei “theatre row” in 1961.
I will research those and add them to CT.
https://www.ptbocanada.com/journal/2019/4/23/peterborough-downtown-was-once-movie-theatre-row
Book in the works about Peterborough movie theatres.
https://www.peterboroughmoviehistory.com/
The Capitol Theatre opened its doors by Famous Players on April 18, 1921 with Milton Sills in “Behold My Wife!” along with two comedy shorts (one being an unnamed Larry Semon short) and a Topics Of The Day film from the Literary Digest. Music by an eight-piece orchestra was presented throughout the show under the direction of Herbert Hawthorne. Marjory Stevens, the violinist, played major roles in the opening show.
Lastly operated with 1,107 seats, Famous Players briefly closed the Capitol in July 1955 “for the season”, but reopened by 20th Century Theatres in January 1956. The Capitol Theatre closed for the final time on August 24, 1961 with James Stewart in “Winchester ‘73” and Burt Lancaster in “Criss Cross”.