Capitol Theatre (Port Hope)
Encyclopedia
The Capitol Theatre is located in Port Hope, Ontario
, Canada
, and is the last fully restored atmospheric movie theatre
still in operation in Canada. Constructed in 1930, the interior of the auditorium was designed to resemble a walled medieval courtyard surrounded by a forest. It was also one of the first cinemas in Canada built expressly for talking pictures
. It opened on Friday, August 15, 1930 with the film "Queen High" starring Charles Ruggles and Ginger Rogers.
The theatre was operated by Famous Players
until 1987 when declining audience numbers made it no longer financially viable and it was left to sit empty.
In 1994, a small group of local individuals formed the "Capitol Theatre Heritage Foundation", a not-for-profit group and subsequently raised $1.6 million dollars for the initial restoration of the Theatre. Another $3 million dollars was raised in 2002 for an expansion and further renovation and the Capitol Theatre now operates as a performing arts venue and movie house.
The Capitol is one of those rare architectural gems that only Hollywood could inspire. In 1930 after the closing of Port Hope's only movie theatre, Stuart Smart lobbied Famous Players to build a new theatre, one specifically for talking pictures. The building was designed by the former President of the Ontario Association of Architects, Murray Brown, who oversaw the construction by Thomas Garnet and Sons, a local firm responsible for many landmarks of the area. Built at a cost of $80,000, this was the first building in town to use steel girder construction.
Common in theatre design at the time of the construction of the Capitol theatre was the layout of a small entrance frontage and a long narrow lobby with the auditorium opening out behind street-front stores. This was because taxes were based on street frontage, land for the larger auditorium was cheaper on back lots and a long narrow lobby connecting the entrance to the auditorium worked well for ticket line-ups. as a theatre built exclusively for talking pictures, it had a small stage, low rake to the floor, no back-stage facilities, a minimal number of washrooms and limited lobby space.
Built at the beginning of the "depression", the capitol was designed as an "Atmospheric" Theatre, a low cost, highly visual Theatre design.Twilight sky, hanging vines and castellated battlements are all part of the "another world of time" outdoor illusion, enhanced by clouds projected on to the seamless ceiling by a Brenograph. (an innovative illusionary machine of the 1930s)
The facade begins the illusion that one is approaching a medieval castle with its leaded, diamond paned windows. The exterior Egyptian-motif "capitol" sign is original to the theatre, if inconsistent with the interior medieval courtyard theme. It was, apparently erected on instructions from Famous Players, and was not in the original designs. The projecting marquee emulates a drawbridge to the outer lobby with its stencilled detail, faux painted walls and original terrazzo floor, show boards and ticket window.
The Art Deco
influence of the 1930s construction period is most evident in the paint colours and stencils used in the lobby and auditorium. From the inner lobby with its original furniture, one ascends the steps to the auditorium where frescoed walls and ceiling suggest one is sitting in a medieval castle courtyard, which was created with the use of faux plasterwork walls that are finished in 17 different colours. Ceiling plaster was applied in one continuous operation by recruiting a large team of plasterers from miles around, who worked around the clock standing on cedar pole scaffolding, to obtain a seamless sky before the plaster had a chance to dry. Much of the artwork was rendered not in paint but in wet coloured plaster, according to the traditional fresco method. In the trade, these theatres were sometimes called "soft tops" since the illusion was of no ceiling—of being out of doors. Stencils on the proscenium arch are original, as are the wall lanterns.
Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and is the last fully restored atmospheric movie theatre
Atmospheric theatre
An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace which has an auditorium ceiling that is intended to give the illusion of an open sky as its defining feature...
still in operation in Canada. Constructed in 1930, the interior of the auditorium was designed to resemble a walled medieval courtyard surrounded by a forest. It was also one of the first cinemas in Canada built expressly for talking pictures
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
. It opened on Friday, August 15, 1930 with the film "Queen High" starring Charles Ruggles and Ginger Rogers.
The theatre was operated by Famous Players
Cineplex Entertainment
Cineplex Entertainment LP , is the largest film exhibitor in Canada and owns, leases or has a joint-venture interest in 130 theatres with 1,351 screens. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Cineplex operates theatres from British Columbia to Quebec...
until 1987 when declining audience numbers made it no longer financially viable and it was left to sit empty.
In 1994, a small group of local individuals formed the "Capitol Theatre Heritage Foundation", a not-for-profit group and subsequently raised $1.6 million dollars for the initial restoration of the Theatre. Another $3 million dollars was raised in 2002 for an expansion and further renovation and the Capitol Theatre now operates as a performing arts venue and movie house.
The Capitol is one of those rare architectural gems that only Hollywood could inspire. In 1930 after the closing of Port Hope's only movie theatre, Stuart Smart lobbied Famous Players to build a new theatre, one specifically for talking pictures. The building was designed by the former President of the Ontario Association of Architects, Murray Brown, who oversaw the construction by Thomas Garnet and Sons, a local firm responsible for many landmarks of the area. Built at a cost of $80,000, this was the first building in town to use steel girder construction.
Common in theatre design at the time of the construction of the Capitol theatre was the layout of a small entrance frontage and a long narrow lobby with the auditorium opening out behind street-front stores. This was because taxes were based on street frontage, land for the larger auditorium was cheaper on back lots and a long narrow lobby connecting the entrance to the auditorium worked well for ticket line-ups. as a theatre built exclusively for talking pictures, it had a small stage, low rake to the floor, no back-stage facilities, a minimal number of washrooms and limited lobby space.
Built at the beginning of the "depression", the capitol was designed as an "Atmospheric" Theatre, a low cost, highly visual Theatre design.Twilight sky, hanging vines and castellated battlements are all part of the "another world of time" outdoor illusion, enhanced by clouds projected on to the seamless ceiling by a Brenograph. (an innovative illusionary machine of the 1930s)
The facade begins the illusion that one is approaching a medieval castle with its leaded, diamond paned windows. The exterior Egyptian-motif "capitol" sign is original to the theatre, if inconsistent with the interior medieval courtyard theme. It was, apparently erected on instructions from Famous Players, and was not in the original designs. The projecting marquee emulates a drawbridge to the outer lobby with its stencilled detail, faux painted walls and original terrazzo floor, show boards and ticket window.
The Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
influence of the 1930s construction period is most evident in the paint colours and stencils used in the lobby and auditorium. From the inner lobby with its original furniture, one ascends the steps to the auditorium where frescoed walls and ceiling suggest one is sitting in a medieval castle courtyard, which was created with the use of faux plasterwork walls that are finished in 17 different colours. Ceiling plaster was applied in one continuous operation by recruiting a large team of plasterers from miles around, who worked around the clock standing on cedar pole scaffolding, to obtain a seamless sky before the plaster had a chance to dry. Much of the artwork was rendered not in paint but in wet coloured plaster, according to the traditional fresco method. In the trade, these theatres were sometimes called "soft tops" since the illusion was of no ceiling—of being out of doors. Stencils on the proscenium arch are original, as are the wall lanterns.