History of the Capitol Theatre - Saving Sydney's Iconic Theatre

The Capitol Story: Saving Sydney's Iconic Theatre

Early Days
Construction of Belmore Markets begins on the current site of the Capitol Theatre in 1866 as Sydney’s first permanent fruit and vegetable market. Belmore Markets was later dismantled and re-erected as the Hippodrome. All of the features of the original market are retained in the outer shell of the theatre today.
In 1916, Wirth’s Circus and Hippodrome opens – the largest theatre in Australia.

After its conversion from the Wirth Bros Hippodrome, the ‘new’ Capitol Theatre opened in 1928 as Australia’s first ‘atmospheric’ Picture Palace. The 2,999 auditorium was transformed to an open-air Florentine garden, complete with artificial foliage, flocks of birds, statues, swirling clouds & twinkling stars.

Originally the theatre showed movies, with a Wurlitzer organ, stage band & Capitol Ballet dancers. This same organ now resides at the Orion Centre in Campsie where people can still come to hear it play.

Belmore Markets
Nestled in the historic Haymarket district, the building itself began its life in 1892 as the Belmore markets. The market’s motif of fruit and foliage may still be seen in the terra cotta decorative relief of fruit and foliage in the spandrels of the arches.

Circus Days
In 1916 the building was converted to a hippodrome designed specifically for the Wirth Bros circus. Part of the specification was the reinforced concrete water tank 12 metres in diameter and 3.6 metres deep for performances by seals and polar bears. The tank had a hydraulically controlled platform that was raised from the base to form a cover that doubled as a circus ring when the pool was not in use. This tank still exists but is covered by the new floor.

Picture Palace
Within 10 years the circus became financially unviable and Wirth Bros initiated the idea of converting the theatre to a picture palace or movie theatre. In 1927 John Eberson, a renowned American designer of theatrically themed theatres, was commissioned to create the Capitol Theatre for its new tenant, Union Theatres. The classical reproduction statues and architectural props were manufactured in the US, scrupulously numbered for shipment and reassembly – supervised by Sydney theatre designer Henry White.

Opening Night
The Sydney Morning Herald covered the opening in 1928:
“The effect of the new Capitol Theatre on the crowds which entered it on Saturday night was bewildering and a little overwhelming. One seemed to have stepped from under the dull skies of everyday life and passed into an enchanted region where the depth of the blue heavens had something magical about it and something heavily exotic, clouds passed lightly over then stars began to twinkle. Then again all was blue and clear.”

Glory Days
In 1928 people were attracted into the theatre to escape to a different world, they were captivated by the whimsical decor and the lavishness of the surroundings. They went to hear the orchestra and the mighty Wurlitzer, to watch the newsreel and soak up everything Hollywood had to offer. But for the Capitol, the glory days were over before they had started. Greater Union was hit hard by the depression and by 1933 when the theatre was converted for talkies, it was already showing second rate movies.

Changing Times
In 1945 there were 151 million admissions to Australian cinemas, the biggest year in Australian movie history, but by 1958 Australians had been seduced by television and more than 20% of Sydney cinemas had closed. It was a grim time for many theatres and without major investment the Capitol’s future looked bleak. In 1972, Harry M. Miller presented Jesus Christ Superstar which had a successful two-year run but time, lack of funds and vandalism had taken their toll and the Capitol was in ruins.

Saving an Icon
By the end of the 1970’s it seemed the only real value was the land, the Sydney City Council considered demolition to allow a new lyric theatre to be built on the site. But in 1981 Australia’s last remaining atmospheric theatre was snatched from the jaws of the bulldozer by a Heritage Council conservation order and plans were made to restore the building and create a world-class lyric theatre.

Restoration
For the first time in its history the theatre underwent a complete and thorough restoration that took two years and cost over $30m to complete. The orchestra pit was expanded with space for 110 musicians. New dressing rooms and technical areas incorporated part of the old tunnels used by the animals in the theatre's former life as a hippodrome.

The fly-tower was extended to become 30 metres high and 37 metres wide extending nine metres into Hay Street making it one of the largest in Australia. In July 1995 an acclaimed production of Miss Saigon put the Capitol back on the world stage.

Finally the Capitol had the second chance it deserved and Sydney has a theatre to be proud of.

Source: http://capitoltheatre.com.au/index.php/about-us/history-of-the-capitol

Coming to Capitol Theatre for a show?
Want to stay close to the theatre while in Sydney?

Metro Hotel Sydney Central is located directly opposite the Capitol Theatre. It is a smoke-free hotel offering free WiFi and located only minutes away from Sydney attractions such as Darling Harbour, Cockle Bay Wharf, Star City Casino, Sydney Entertainment Centre, Paddy's Markets and the city's dining and cinema districts. Public transport is conveniently close with Sydney’s Central Station and the Coach terminal less than five minutes walk.

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