Capitol 6 Theatre
820 Granville Street,
Vancouver,
BC
V6Z 1K3
820 Granville Street,
Vancouver,
BC
V6Z 1K3
5 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 40 of 40 comments
There were shots of the lobby, but none of the actual theater itself.
No…the ones I took were only of the exterior. I believe on Cinema tour there are interior shots of the Capitol 6
Tim Elliot;
You wouldn’t happen to still have those pictures from the Capitol 6 #1? I tried to take a photo during a screening of Return of The King, but the low light level made the picture to dark to develop.
If you still have these photos and if you can scan them PM me PLEASE!
I was able to save that one, so if it goes down I can repost it.
Those crafty Canadians won’t let me copy this photo so the link won’t fail. Here is the third version of the 1934 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/5zvpcl
The demolition video reminded me of those time-elapsed shots on the Discovery Channel where they show a dead zebra turning into a skeleton.
What a great (but very sad) video. I wonder if the original Thomas Lamb designed facade & lobby part of the building survived (again)?
I was an usher at the Capitol 6 in the very early 1980s. The place was unionized and pay started at $4.24 per hour (a small fortune back then). Management supplied the jacket, shirt and bowtie and weren’t shy about getting angry at ushers and doormen for slouching or spending too long in each theatre. But once you were there long enough to join the union, your job was quite safe (a few staff were so difficult that management wished those folks could be terminated) and it was the best-paying, do-little job in town (all those free movies, too!) I made lots of friends there and dated a cashier.
I guess theatres have long since become de-unionized, and that’s a shame. Can you imagine getting $13 per hour today just to wander around and open doors? That was the greatest job any high school or college kid could have asked for. Back then, the Capitol 6 and other movie houses were inundated with applications; you could grow old and die waiting for an interview.
“This theatre still exists and it is own by Empire Theatres. The theatre is pretty lucky not get demolished.”
The former Cineplex Odeon Granville 7 across the street has been bought by Empire Theatres and is still up and running, although attendance there has been sparse due to the construction on Granville and everyone would rather see a movie at the Paramount a few blocks away.
Capitol 6 is in the process of being demolished as the new Skytrain line is being built right beneath it. The property next to it has been cleared and you can see the back of the theatres from Granville now.
Really sad as the Capitol had the best location.
Jason
As far as I know, this theatre closed last year when the new Paramount opened nearby. I know that the Capitol 6 in Victoria is now an Empire theatre and is still open but the one in Vancouver was to be demolished after it closed. It’s never listed in any showtimes for Vancouver in Tribute, Empire Theatres website or anywhere.
This theatre still exists and it is own by Empire Theatres. The theatre is pretty lucky not get demolished.
Hasn’t Empire Theatres taken over this cinema?
Here is an article about the closing of the Capitol 6:
http://tinyurl.com/kzsso
The architect of the original Capitol Theatre was Thomas Lamb and it opened on 12th March 1921. The original seating capacity was for 2,153.
The auditorium was demolished in January 1975 and a new 3,000 seat 6 screen multiplex built on the site which retained the orginal facade and lobby.
Actually the original Capitol was demolished to make way for this new Capitol 6 in the mid seventies. I went to Vancouver in ‘74 and saw “The Parallax View” at the old Capitol and then went again in '77 and saw “Walking Tall” at the new theatre. Very impressive and the largest theatre holds over 1000 seats. I thought the architecture was great and the fact that the largest Capitol 1 was on the first level with Capitol 2 & 3 on the next level up and then the Capitol 4,5,6 up on the highest level. I took several pictures of the front and the back of the theatre. Too bad it will be demolished. That will only leave the Cineplex Odeon Granville 7 as the only movie theatre left on what was once “theatre row”. Too bad.