Capitol Theatre
19 S. 3rd Street,
Yakima,
WA
98901
19 S. 3rd Street,
Yakima,
WA
98901
2 people favorited this theater
Showing 8 comments
I heard the story of how Bob Hope came to be the MC for the grand opening. In the Vaudeville Era, great entertainers would play the houses in Seattle and Spokane. Travel expenses were high and players often skipped town without paying their hotel bills. The sheriff met them the next trip. Yakima heard of this and offered free room and board if they played the CAPITOL. A minister and his wife provided lodging.
This caught on and Yakima hosted many fine shows while the players earned some travel money. When Bob Hope got the call he remembered Yakima and was happy to do the honors.
Another A.K.A LOEWS STATE.
I have a link to a color photo of the Capitol Theatre. At the bottom of the page is the photo. When you click on the photo you get a closer view of the theatre.
View link
There are several photos of the Capitol on this page. The first shows the previous incarnation as the Loew’s State:
http://snipurl.com/vwy7
recent photos:
View link
View link
This theater was also known as the State at some point. Great photos at View link
The Mercy Theatre opened on 5th April 1920 with a Shubert production of the operetta “Maytime”.
Bryan,
While searching for information on theatres I discovered the Cinema
Treasures website and our Yakima Capitol Theatre. To complete the history, the restoration architect was William E. Paddock of the firm Paddock and Hollingbery P.S. and the theatre was originally part of the Pantages chain. I was with the firm during it’s restoration.
Gary E. Bickley, Architect