The Capitol Theatre was a movie palace located at 1645

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, 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 most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, 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, 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 through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

(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 theaters 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 stud ...

' first production, ''

His Majesty, the American ''His Majesty, the American'' is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Douglas Fairbanks. It was the first film produced by United Artists. It was released in the U.K. as ''One of the Blood''. Prints exist ...

''. The theater was acquired in 1924 by the entertainment magnate

Marcus Loew Marcus Loew (May 7, 1870 - September 5, 1927) was an American business magnate and a pioneer of the motion picture industry who formed Loew's Theatres and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio (MGM). Life and career Loew was born in New York City, ...

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 started as an usher at the theatre. After having been converted for the presentation of

Cinerama Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporati ...

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 Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and Johnny Carson. 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 rename ...

) 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 The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Comp ...

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 Lev Mordukhovich Tseitlin (russian: Лев Цейтлин, yi, לייב צייטלין "Leyb Tseytlin", born 1884, in Pinsk – July 8, 1930, in New York City), known as Leo Zeitlin, was a Russian-Jewish composer. In 1923, he emigrated to the ...

(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 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 The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{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