I have sent an email to the journalist/reporter, Denise Jewell who wrote the Niagara Gazette Capitol Theatre article last December as I wanted to know what the latest renovation information was on this former theatre. Perhaps she will let Mr. McNabb know that someone on CT was inquiring about his project and wishes him the best. Her email is
LOUB: After reading about the domed ceiling I really would like also like to see several interior photos of this theatre. You mentioned seeing “a sign on the exterior of the building with a website”. Is that sign still there as the website might have renovation photos, etc. on it.
“McNab, who bought a house on 13th Street behind the Capitol Theatre with his mother, has been piecing together bits of history about the venue, which first opened in 1925 by C.R. Phelps as a cinema.”
“McNab, 51, has cleared piles of construction materials left from the years the former Capitol Theatre was used as a storage building. He has pulled up a portion of the wooden floor that was installed in the 1950s when the cinema was transformed and used for several decades as the New Skateville Roller Rink.”
“Then he intends to add a 40-by 20-foot stage in the cavernous concrete theater that had nearly been forgotten. The building still has a solid, second-floor balcony and a domed ceiling in the center of the room.”
He is hoping to find a marquee he believes once adorned the outside of the building. An image of the sign is in several advertisements he has found for the theater in old issues of the Niagara Gazette. In one, the theater boasts “three big attractions,†including “A Lady’s Morals â€" the romantic, dramatic hit of the season.â€
“Dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, McNab toured the theater on Friday to show off the site, which still has remnants of its days as a theater. An upright piano with broken keys and a label that says it was last tuned in 1906 by A.B. Hastings sits on the first floor near where McNab plans to install new restrooms. Upstairs, the metal skeleton of the original projector is in an empty room.”
LOUB: Thanks for posting the Niagara Gazette site as the article and photos were interesting. I would like to see an exterior photo and good luck to all those involved with the project.
Lou and richsaff: Thanks for the verbal tour of the Paramount that was once in Nashville. I just went back and viewed some photos posted by Jack and was reminded again that this theatre was an EBERSON theatre which makes demolition an even harder pill to swallow.
I just came upon an article in a magazine called Lake Wylie Living and a featured article called The Spirit of Sylvia. The actual structure is over 100 years old and has been home to everything from a hardware store to a teacher’s supply warehouse but current Sylvia Theater owner Paul Finnican has taken careful steps to preserve its rich history while keeping pace with the city’s ascent toward something unmistakably modern. Finnican is a New York transplant and is a resident of Charlotte. He purchased the Sylvia Theater in 2001 after randomly stumbling across it during a business meeting in York SC. So began a 10 month renovation punctuated by weekend trips with his wife and two young sons.
Well, I couldn’t help notice this theatre in Mexia TX listed under recent comments and realize this is the same Mexia TX that one Anna Nicole Smith was from!
Thanks for the informative newsletter. My thoughts are with the Owosso Community Players and their gallant efforts to bring back this theatre after a devastating fire.
Having lived in South FL for over 30 years I can relate to 2 words in the above post…….“heavy humidity”. Nice to read that Key West did have another theatre on the opposite side of Duval Street though it is now “a store”.
I don’t know about it being haunted, but there certainly is no renovation being done, to date, to this theatre. I was in Shelby NC over the weekend and a marquee has been erected called the Don Gibson Theatre yet when I walked underneath the marquee it was peeling and in need of TLC though most of the small lights were along the edge of the marquee were there. The lobby was a neglected mess and the theatre didn’t look like anyone had entered its doors in recent days/months/years! BTW, Don Gibson is a deceased country music singer from Shelby NC so maybe he is haunting the theatre.
I have sent an email to the journalist/reporter, Denise Jewell who wrote the Niagara Gazette Capitol Theatre article last December as I wanted to know what the latest renovation information was on this former theatre. Perhaps she will let Mr. McNabb know that someone on CT was inquiring about his project and wishes him the best. Her email is
LOUB: After reading about the domed ceiling I really would like also like to see several interior photos of this theatre. You mentioned seeing “a sign on the exterior of the building with a website”. Is that sign still there as the website might have renovation photos, etc. on it.
“McNab, who bought a house on 13th Street behind the Capitol Theatre with his mother, has been piecing together bits of history about the venue, which first opened in 1925 by C.R. Phelps as a cinema.”
“McNab, 51, has cleared piles of construction materials left from the years the former Capitol Theatre was used as a storage building. He has pulled up a portion of the wooden floor that was installed in the 1950s when the cinema was transformed and used for several decades as the New Skateville Roller Rink.”
“Then he intends to add a 40-by 20-foot stage in the cavernous concrete theater that had nearly been forgotten. The building still has a solid, second-floor balcony and a domed ceiling in the center of the room.”
He is hoping to find a marquee he believes once adorned the outside of the building. An image of the sign is in several advertisements he has found for the theater in old issues of the Niagara Gazette. In one, the theater boasts “three big attractions,†including “A Lady’s Morals â€" the romantic, dramatic hit of the season.â€
“Dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, McNab toured the theater on Friday to show off the site, which still has remnants of its days as a theater. An upright piano with broken keys and a label that says it was last tuned in 1906 by A.B. Hastings sits on the first floor near where McNab plans to install new restrooms. Upstairs, the metal skeleton of the original projector is in an empty room.”
LOUB: Give us your memories of when it was a skating rink since you posted that you recall skating there. I picture it as a rink with a balcony?
This is the first theatre that I’ve found on CT that was also a skating rink!
LOUB: Thanks for posting the Niagara Gazette site as the article and photos were interesting. I would like to see an exterior photo and good luck to all those involved with the project.
Hopefully Tim will be able to fill in the blanks via my email address. Thanks for the info you did provide though as you both have Regent memories.
Lou and richsaff: Thanks for the verbal tour of the Paramount that was once in Nashville. I just went back and viewed some photos posted by Jack and was reminded again that this theatre was an EBERSON theatre which makes demolition an even harder pill to swallow.
Paul: Do you or Tim know if the clock is for sale and still in the Dunkirk area?
Was the clock lighted in an art deco style and hung in the lobby?
Is the Leeds Jewelers clock for sale? If so, please let me know where it is located as I’d love to see it and meet the current owner. My email is
I just came upon an article in a magazine called Lake Wylie Living and a featured article called The Spirit of Sylvia. The actual structure is over 100 years old and has been home to everything from a hardware store to a teacher’s supply warehouse but current Sylvia Theater owner Paul Finnican has taken careful steps to preserve its rich history while keeping pace with the city’s ascent toward something unmistakably modern. Finnican is a New York transplant and is a resident of Charlotte. He purchased the Sylvia Theater in 2001 after randomly stumbling across it during a business meeting in York SC. So began a 10 month renovation punctuated by weekend trips with his wife and two young sons.
Well, I couldn’t help notice this theatre in Mexia TX listed under recent comments and realize this is the same Mexia TX that one Anna Nicole Smith was from!
Yes, grander than before!
Thanks for the informative newsletter. My thoughts are with the Owosso Community Players and their gallant efforts to bring back this theatre after a devastating fire.
Having lived in South FL for over 30 years I can relate to 2 words in the above post…….“heavy humidity”. Nice to read that Key West did have another theatre on the opposite side of Duval Street though it is now “a store”.
Such a shame that this theatre didn’t remain a theatre rather than another Walgreens. Was this the only theatre in Key West?
We’d all like to see a photo of the Falls.
Great photo of a beautiful theatre exterior.
Lost Memory: Couldn’t view the photo when clicking on the word HERE.
This theatre has historical value and should be restored though it is sad history resulting in the death of President Kennedy.
Wonderful Alaskan sunset photo with the lighted 4th Avenue marquee.
It’s always fun to see and read about this quaint PA small town theatre. The summer photo with the flower boxes is just plain quaintness at its best.
I don’t know about it being haunted, but there certainly is no renovation being done, to date, to this theatre. I was in Shelby NC over the weekend and a marquee has been erected called the Don Gibson Theatre yet when I walked underneath the marquee it was peeling and in need of TLC though most of the small lights were along the edge of the marquee were there. The lobby was a neglected mess and the theatre didn’t look like anyone had entered its doors in recent days/months/years! BTW, Don Gibson is a deceased country music singer from Shelby NC so maybe he is haunting the theatre.