Capri V Theatre
229 E. Main Street,
Ottumwa,
IA
52501
229 E. Main Street,
Ottumwa,
IA
52501
4 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Central States Theatres Corp
Architects: Roland 'Tip' Goucher Harrison, Frank E. Wetherell
Firms: Wetherell & Harrison
Functions: Retail
Previous Names: Princess Theatre, Square Theatre, Ottumwa Theatre, Capri Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Central States Theatres was the chain for this theatre. I think the building was built for something else because on the side of the building you can see windows on each floor that have been filled in.
The Princess Theatre opened in 1912. It became the Square Theatre in June 1925. On December 25, 1930 it became the Ottumwa Theatre and was destroyed by fire on April 21, 1941. It was rebuilt, reopening on May 28, 1942 with the Midwest premiere of John Wayne in “Reap the Wild Wind”. On January 10, 1968 it was renamed Capri Theatre. It was converted into five screens on December 20, 1985 when it was sub-divided and also incorporated the adjacent Capitol Theatre, becoming the Capri V Theatre. It closed on December 16, 2004.
The marquee read:
NEW OTTUMWA 8 OPEN ACROSS FROM APPLEBEES’S
Contributed by
Bob Jensen
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Recent comments (view all 25 comments)
The Ottumwa Theatre built on this site in 1941 to replace the earlier Ottumwa Theatre, which had been destroyed by a fire, was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm Wetherell & Harrison. There is a photo of the theater in this PDF of two forms the firm submitted to the AIA in the 1940s. The photo, which also shows part of the adjacent Capitol Theatre, is about 2/5 of the way down the unpaginated document.
It is sad to see structures that have mad an impression on our lives closed and forgotten. I made Ottumwa my home for 10 years and had seen the larger companies come in and benefit from the neglect towards the smaller, older businesses. With that came the new theater…. nothing wrong with that but it is a box with no character or class. Plus it is no different then any other theater. Now this brings forth an opportunity for something with charisma and style. I am pursuing reopening the old Capri into an Experience. Dine in, bar, music, theater, and dancing within facility. I am seeking other visionaries to make this a reality. reply to
I wish you luck MasterLong, I lived in Ottumwa for a short time and watched the place just get worse and worse and even now, the place seems overrun with illegals in street gangs, drugs, violence, its a real mess down there. The place has such an interesting history, it would be nice to see it brought back.
I would think since the Square occupied the same space as the Ottumwa, it would be safe to make it an aka for the Ottumwa theater. So strange that 2 theaters were built smack dab mext to each other and managed to stay around for so many years, existing next to each other.
Perhaps there is a future for this theater after all…
http://www.heartlandconnection.com/news/story.aspx?list=194787&id=828295#.UMaroIOuky4
OTTUMWA, IOWA — With the ongoing effort of revitalizing downtown Ottumwa, the Legacy Foundation has recently purchased the two buildings on Main Street that were once the Capri and Capitol Theaters.
It was less than 50 years ago when these two theaters attracted people from all over Iowa to the heart of downtown Ottumwa.
Executive Director of the Legacy Foundation Brad Little said he wants to help bring the memories so many people had of the pristine theaters back.
But how long the restoration will take and how much it will cost is still up in the air.
“Our philosophy at the foundation has been, let’s do it right, let’s not cut corners, let’s make sure we think this all the way through and there are a million and one things we could do with that space. It’s enormous, both facilities are huge and so we want to make sure that at the end of all of this, when we cut the ribbon on those facilities that they also need to be sustainable,” Little said.
Little said the ideas that are presented have to make sense for the long term sustainability.
When the original theatre burned, Myron Blank son of A.H. Blank was in charge of building the new theatre which was quite a challenge due to all the shortages during WW II.
The Wednesday, May 27, 1942 issue of the Ottumwa Daily Courier said that the new Ottumwa Theatre would open on Friday, May 29. The original theater had been destroyed by fire on April 21, 1941.
I’ve also uncovered a bit more of the first Ottumwa Theatre’s history. A 1914 Polk directory lists the Princess Theatre at 229 E. Main Street, as does the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. The July 11, 1925, Moving Picture World said that $40,000 would be expended on remodeling the Princess Theatre. The Princess is last listed in the 1926 FDY and the Square appears in 1927, so 1926 must have been the year the name was changed, perhaps early in the year and after the completion of the remodeling that had been in the planning stage in mid-1925.
The Princess Theatre opened in 1912, renamed the Square Theatre in June 1925, and renamed the Ottumwa Theatre on December 25, 1930.
The April 21, 1941 fire occurred during intermission at approximately 6:57 PM right before a showing of Deanna Durbin in “Nice Girl” and Hugh Hubert in “Meet The Chump” with no extras. The fire estimates a total loss of $100K, typically one of the largest theater losses in Iowa. The fire started under the west stairway leading to the balcony.
John J. Johnston of 505 South Milner Street, the projectionist at the time for the 1,160-seat Ottumwa Theatre, was on-duty at the time when he smelled smoke. Johnston rushed down to the doorman of the theater, Kenneth Shipley of 620 Richmond Avenue, told him that there is smoke. Shipley replied then went to the stage at the auditorium and calmly said that there was smoke. The operator then turned off the power and left the theater. Everyone evacuated at the time right when the smoke started to worsen. Shipley said that there was a flame while looking through a view of the projection room alongside the west wall of the balcony near where the center aisle crosses. The theater’s manager at the time, Kermit B. Carr, was eating dinner in his house when he notified about the fire. He quickly got into his car and drove to the theater when he saw the flames, 14 hoses battling the flames, the marquee partially destroyed, and the side walls coming down. Over 10,000 people including Police Chief Carl M. Higdon witnessed the fire. The nearby gas company building was also impacted by the flames.
Right after the fire was extinguished at the Ottumwa Theatre, the neighboring Capitol Theatre manager at the time, Russell Hill, asked patrons to leave a few minutes after the fire.
The Ottumwa Theatre reopened its doors after reconstruction from the fire on May 28, 1942 with the Midwest premiere of John Wayne in “Reap The Wild Wind” with no extra short subjects.
It was renamed Capri Theatre on January 10, 1968 after a $30,000 remodeling project. The theater held on as a single-screener until it was converted into a 5-plex on December 20, 1985, renaming it as the Capri V Theatre.
Was for sale, now off market. A number of pictures on this real estate listing site
Closed on December 16, 2004.