Capitol Theatre
35 Bank Street,
New London,
CT
06320
35 Bank Street,
New London,
CT
06320
10 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: M & P Theaters, Paramount Pictures Inc., Theatre Management, Ltd.
Architects: W.H. Lowe
Styles: Neo-Classical
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Mar 2, 2010 — Happy 45th, "The Sound Of Music"
- Jul 15, 2005 — California Theater Now Reopened
- Apr 30, 2004 — City Council Explores Renovating Capitol Theatre
- Dec 22, 2003 — Theaters Listed for Sale on the Web
The Capitol Theatre was opened on November 21, 1921 with “The Child Thou Gavest Me” plus vaudeveville. It was equipped with a Marr & Colton organ. By 1941 it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary Mullins & Pinanski. It was closed on April 22, 1974 with the X-Rated movie Eduardo Cemano in “Fongaluli”.
The theater lobby could still be seen through the glass doors and had the ticket booth intact. It sat vacant for many years and was then converted into a hotel, which had closed by 2022.
Contributed by
Roger Katz
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 35 comments)
The 2002 article about the Capitol Theatre published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to which I linked a few years ago, has been relocated this link. It has two photos, neither of which can be enlarged, unfortunately.
Dismal news about the Capitol appeared in this newspaper article published on January 26, 2011. The company which bought the theater from the City of New London for one dollar in 2006 not only failed to carry out the promised renovations, but has lost the building due to non-payment of taxes. The Capitol has been sold at auction to a New York City developer whose intentions are unknown.
This 2010 article in The Day gave the name of the architect of the Capitol Theatre as W. H. Lowe. I’ve been unable to find anything about Connecticut architects named either W. H. Lowe or W. H. Lane on the Internet, but I suspect that the author of the article got the name right.
During its final six months until it closed after the summer 1974 season, the Capitol showed X-rated features at night, G-rated kiddie matinees on weekends, and even hosted several rock concerts, including Delaney & Bonnie. This made for some surreal advertising blocks in the local New London Day newspaper!
Again the Capitol is up for sale (June 2012). I’m International Media Manager for an international humanitarian & entertainment nonprofit.
In 2005 we tried to buy the Capitol; and the Garde blocked the sale, by saying (to a CA property owner) they wanted to buy the building and land of a theatre we just opened in Dunsmuir, CA.
Learning that the Capitol is again for sale, I have contacted my boss to see if funds are available for us to finally acquire the Capitol.
There are a few major problems that would have to be adressed 1) Asbestos 2) Back Entrance 3) restoring artwork 4) any roof repair work the city didn’t do 5) adding 1 or 2 elevators, plus electrical, plumbing, ADA Restrooms, etc. I cannot find any pictures of it with a marquee. I did have interior pic’s the city sent; but they were wiped out when my hard-drive crashed. I’m in Medford, Oregon at the moment; but we have an assistant to the CEO near New London. If my boss allows us to get the Capitol, we’ll need a lot of volunteers to help get the place in shape. If we don’t, it will cost a few $ million more than we probably can come up with. A lot of the high cost, is high dollar paid construction labor. We will gladly give regular volunteers some free admissions to events at the Capitol (again, we have to get it first). my emil is If anyone has any of those interior pic’s (when in use, or in need of restoration), please forward them to me. Thanks! Don
I was recently contacted by one of the current owners, asking me to purchase the Capitol. I told him that for it’s condition he was asking way too much. He then asked for a counter-offer; which after discussing it with several people in the know of it’s condition, I told him $0.00. I have a number of fairly recent pictures of it’s interior; plus knowing that it has a small stage, which cannot host Broadway type shows, I felt it is too far gone. Some of us estimated $12 – $15 million restoration cost. Mr. Kwan could not see that much; but he was fuguring costs to make it useable as something else (4 walls); and he estimated a fraction of what it’d cost to make it back into a 1730 seat live-stage “Grand” theatre.
Sorry folks, but it is highly unlikely that the Capitol will ever be restored as a grand theatre.
If anyone in the area is interested in raising money to acquire the Capitol, a lot of the restoration costs could be eliminated using volunteers for much of the work; and donated materials. Just buying and replacing the seats alone will cost $1.75 million. This is about ½ the cost Mr. Kwan thinks the total restoration can be done for. I produce concerts and festivals; and with local volunteer help, hold fundraisers that will raise big $’s (I have the best Jimi Hendrix or John Fogerty impersonators; and some 1960’s recording groups working for me). They often will do a show for the large tax write-off they get. If interested, get your friends involved and then contact my production company.
I have now put a GoFundMe online to raise the money to purchase the Capitol from current owners. When I talked to one a few months ago he stated $200,000.00, but asked what I’d offer. Lets get some decent funds, then recontact him. Thanks!
https://www.gofundme.com/3g675ss4
Opened on November 21st, 1921. Grand opening ads posted.
The Capitol’s history is reach and steeped in both vaudeville and motion pictures. Crown operator Walter T. Murphy built the palace launching it in 1921 to the plans or architect W. H. Low. Gracie Allen’s roommate, vaudevillian Rena Arnold purportedly linked Allen with George Burns who would form Burns & Allen. Arnold would then link herself with Murphy becoming husband and wife. Murphy installed a new $25,000 Marr & Colton pipe organ in 1926 and a $20,000 unit at his Crown Theatre. He cajoled John Hammond - formerly of the Mark Strand and Eastman theaters - to rotate with an associate organist between the two venues in 1926.
Murphy added sound to the Capitol to remain viable. He then sold out to essentially Paramount in the 1940s through the Connecticut Theatres Operating Company and Mullins & Pinanski. The theatre soldiered through the TV era by installing widescreen projection to present CinemaScope. Paramount
The Capitol closed the way many a 50-year old downtown movie palace would. Here on April 22, 1974 with Eduardo Cemano in the X-rated adult film, “Fongaluli,” playing on a continuous grind policy with the theatre already having lost its license to operate concurrently with unheeded safety issues just past action deadlines with union projectionists angry about non-union projectionists presenting the films by an out-of-town big city operator (from Boston), non-functioning toilets more prevalent than working ones, and standing water reported in its basement. That’s how you do it - with a Capitol “X”. And you close by putting the age tested “Closed for Repairs” to give folks hope for a renaissance for your cherry on top. Well played, Theatre Management Services of Boston and the Capitol!
Offered for sale for $60k in 1977, the City of New London bought it for $55,000 in 1978, sold it in 1991 on spec and re-acquired it when those plans didn’t take hold. Industrial Renaissance bought the property in 2016 for $68,000 for a potential mixed-use apartment redevelopment. U.S. Properties Real Estate Services LLC. had it listed for $375,000 in 2024.