On October 24, 1919, the Capitol Theatre opened at 1645 Broadway, bringing movie-palace spectacle to Manhattan on an extraordinary scale. Designed by Thomas W. Lamb, the theater originally seated 5,230 people. Its inaugural program paired the New York premiere of Douglas Fairbanks’s His Majesty, the Americanwith Ned Wayburn’s Demi-Tasse Revue, featuring Mae West—a combination of film and live performance suited to the Capitol’s grand ambitions.
The Capitol offered more than a night at the movies. Its opening attractions included Arthur Pryor’s band and an elaborate stage program, making the theater itself part of the entertainment. Audiences entered a vast playhouse where motion pictures shared the bill with music and choreography, turning a film screening into a full theatrical occasion.
Yet grandeur did not guarantee immediate success. The Capitol struggled during its first season and briefly closed in June 1920. Samuel Goldwyn took over and brought in showman S. L. “Roxy” Rothafel to direct its programming. In 1924, Loew’s acquired the theater, establishing it as a flagship movie palace and a prominent showcase for MGM films.
Nearly forty-nine years after its opening, the Capitol’s final film engagement was Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. On September 16, 1968, an all-star benefit featuring Bob Hope and Johnny Carson marked its closing. The theater was subsequently demolished and replaced by the Uris Building, now known as Paramount Plaza—ending the life of one of Broadway’s great movie palaces.
