Capri Theatre

mplskdr on March 30, 2007 at 9:39 am

Thanks to the University of Minnesota’s Northwest Architectural Archives, we are able to piece together more details about the history of the Capri Theater. Among the papers of the Liebenberg and Kaplan collection: the 1925 ink on linen blueprints for the “Herman Jeub Store & Theater Building, Oliver & West Broadway.”

Eleven linen sheets (20” by 24”) outline the plans for this building created by Henry Orth and Charles Buechner … architects who in the 1920s designed a number of theater, retail and government buildings in the Upper Midwest.

In 1932 the theater was remodeled by Jack Liebenberg, Liebenberg and Kaplan, Architects, and Liebenberg designed the marquee for the Paradise Theater. The giant sheet metal marquee on West Broadway was designed to have 837 light bulbs … 21,700 watts total! The letters spelling out the name Paradise used 101 of those bulbs.

The theater has more than 500 seats, and in one variation of the plan second floor offices were to be removed to accommodate a balcony with more than 100 seats. The restrooms were also upstairs, with a larger “powder room” for the ladies.

The next major renovation occurred in 1965 … when Liebenberg & Kaplan moved the lobby to the corner of the building at Oliver and West Broadway. There are many sketches of marquees with an updated “Paradise” sign … and among those sketches is one with the name “Capri” as it currently exists on the marquee. It appears that the name was changed during the process to move the marquee to its new location on the building.

The retail space was removed from the first floor, and the lobby was expanded … including a large concession area, mirrored walls and a large light fixture hanging from the lobby ceiling. Inside the theater the orchestra pit was filled in, and the final seating configuration settled at 507 seats.

The next major renovation of the Capri was in 1993 … when PCYC transformed the building into the “Capri Arts & Learning Center.” Jafvert, Mueller Architects, Inc., modified the second floor for use as classrooms, including the balcony. The main floor of the theater was also reduced in size to accommodate a dance room. At this time the windows on the second floor were replaced. The windows on the first floor were replaced in 2006.

KNWEJE on April 11, 2007 at 9:50 am

As a producing, performing, and teaching artist and proud affiliate of the Plymouth Christian Youth Center, I view the Capri as a valued venue for connecting community-based, youth-oriented artists and organizations with the community at large. It has also enabled the artists in our organization, IZORA Productions, to connect with like-minded artists and organizations. Please join us at the Capri on Friday, May 11 and on Saturday, May 12, 2007 (8 pm) for our upcoming arts event, BlackArtsFusion. For more information on the event and on classes, please visit us at www.realartistry.com

Joe Vogel on January 15, 2015 at 7:36 pm

This web page says that the Capri opened in 1927 as the Logan Theatre and was renamed the Paradise after a renovation in 1933.

The Federal Cement Tile Co. of Chicago published a promotional booklet in the 1920s featuring photos of theaters that had roofs made of the company’s materials. The caption for the photo of this house (bottom of this page) calls it the Logan Theatre.

AnnieD1662 on February 23, 2018 at 9:05 am

The name change from the Logan to the Paradise actually had happened by June 1930, as there is an advertisement in the Minneapolis Star Tribune for the news reel of the Sharkey-Schmelling fight showing at the Paradise.(“Tonight,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 20 June, 1930, p22) Later in a July article, it’s also The Paradise as one of three independent movie theaters closed by the motion picture machine operator union strike. (“3 Movie Houses Closed by Strike,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7 July, 1930, p1) The renovation came in 1933, but the theater was renamed before that.

rivest266 on October 6, 2021 at 2:49 pm

Website: https://thecapri.org/