The Capitol Theatre
PALACE OF SPLENDOUR
The Capitol Theatre exterior photographed in October 1947.
North Bay Museum Collection
The Capitol Theatre owes its founding to the Sturgeon Falls businessman Louis Rosenbaum who, with his company Famous Players, recognized the need for a modern theatre in North Bay. When doors opened on 1 June 1929, the 1455 seat theatre was regarded as a “palace of splendour.”
The Capitol Theatre soon became the centre of entertainment and cultural events in North Bay. By the 1980s, dwindling audiences led Famous Players to announce plans to convert the Capitol into a series of smaller cinemas.
Capitol Theatre, October 1947
North Bay Museum Collection
Snack Bar at the Capitol Theatre, October 1955
North Bay Museum Collection
The North Bay Theatre and Arts Community Centre (TACC), an organization formed in the 1970s, decided that the Capitol was too wonderful to get chopped up into small rooms, and that it was the perfect facility for their dream arts centre.
The TACC bought the theatre from Famous Players in 1986 and renovated to include a reception hall and the WKP Kennedy Gallery. Doors reopened in 1987 and the building was renamed the Capitol Centre in 1997.
The North Bay Arts Centre Grand Opening Pamphlet, 2 April1987
North Bay Museum Collection
The Capitol Theatre, 1952
North Bay Museum Forder Collection
Did You Know…
Roy Thomson, Lord Thomson of Fleet, started his media empire within the Capitol Theatre with the opening of his (and Northern Ontario’s) first radio station CFCH on March 3, 1931—this later became CKAT radio.
The Dionne Quints enjoyed many Friday night movies at the Capitol Theatre when they could get away from their celebrity lives.
The Capitol Theatre wasn’t always the only theatre downtown; there was the Bay (Club 151), the Odeon (Northern Tikes), the Crystal Palace (next to Guardian Drugs), and the Royal (Royal Office Suites).
The Capitol Theatre’s seating arrangement and interior.
Photographed by J.A. Noel, October 1930.
North Bay Museum Collection
Rose of the Danube Programs, 1965
This production by the North Bay Choral Society is one of the many live theatre events that the Capitol Theatre has hosted.
North Bay Museum Collection
Remeber When…
“I was on the board of the Capitol Centre when Barry Burniston was writing a book on the history of the theatre. He contacted me because my dad’s name, Tom Palangio July 17 1929, had been found in chalk on a steel beam high above the Capitol Theatre. After talking to Barry, I saw a photo he had of the ushers on opening night of the Capitol Theatre. My dad was in the photo! We believe he climbed up to write his name because of a dare from another usher.
“As a kid, I used to pay 25 cents to go to a movie in the 1960s, and you could watch movies all day. My family supported the TACC and I remember when Betty Spears would go on CFCH radio every week to make announcements and acted as the voice of the theatre.
“When North Bay’s City Council voted to support the TACC the vote was split evenly, and it was Stan Lawlor who broke the tie in support of the theatre.”
Rob Palangio
Former Board Chair
The first Ushers at the Grand Opening of the Capitol Theatre, 1929 (Tom Palangio second from the right).
Photo Courtesy of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 23