Detailed Information

The 648-seat Capitol Theatre was built by the Famous Players Canadian Corporation and was one of the first cinemas in Canada built expressly for talking pictures.

The $80,000 theatre was designed by Toronto-based architect Murray Brown in an Atmospheric style with a medieval courtyard theme, more specifically akin to a Norman castle.

When it opened the Capitol featured two Brenograph Junior cloud projectors, hidden from the audience’s view behind foliage high up on the castle walls of the auditorium. These projectors cast animated fleecy clouds onto the blue sky ceiling of the auditorium, affording the audience the impression of sitting within a castle courtyard under the twilight sky.

The theatre closed in 1984 and sat largely dormant until the mid-1990s, aside from a time serving as the Port Hope branch of Northumberland Fare Share food banks.

In 1994 the Capitol Theatre Heritage Foundation was formed by a visionary group of locals who aspired to raise money for the theatre’s restoration. Initially, $1.6 million was raised, which led to a restoration project being undertaken starting in 1993 and completing with the theatre’s reopening in the summer of 1995. The restoration included the installation of twinkling stars in the auditorium ceiling. Seating capacity was 380.

In 2002, a further $3 million was raised to fund a building expansion, and the neigbouring property was purchased. Construction commenced in April 2003 and the resulting new building integrated the historic Capitol Theatre with an addition that houses a spacious box office, licensed reception area, additional washrooms, the Sculthorpe Studio Theatre, and an adjacent green room. The addition also allowed the theatre to make necessary upgrades to become completely handicap accessible.