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Capitol House had a Swanston Street frontage lights. The colour scheme
of 86 feet (26.2 metres) and a depth to Howey consists of ivory for the
Place of 224 feet (68.3 metres). The entrance various ceilings, sandstone
to the theatre was 30 feet wide (9.1 metres). for the walls, pillars and
The façade of the building also featured a stairways and bronze for the
25 ton cantilevered concrete canopy. metal work and railings. The
original curtain was burnt
The grand opening was held on Friday orange with a fringe in
evening, 7 November 1924 and opened to the emerald green and black.
general public the following day. The Ten
Commandments was the opening attraction. It The Griffins designed all the
was not expected to have a long run, but the light fittings and carpet
season continued until 20 March 1925. The throughout the theatre. The
theatre seated 2137, which comprised 1306 in carpet was in tones of
the stalls and 831 in the balcony. During the orange and apricot, with
1930's this was reduced a little to 2115. arrowheads in black and
green. The light standards in
The opening of the Capitol was not covered the foyers had rods of cast
by the architectural press except for the iron and the shades were
Australian Home Builder (Nov 1924, Pages made of plaster and glass.
61-2). The art deco light fixtures
were composed of triangular
The theatre entrance contained ticket boxes panels of coloured leaded
decorated in cubes and squares of bronze glass which were held in a
plaster and metal which formed frames for the geometric ribbed wood and
large sheets of grained glass that form the plaster framework.
walls of the ticket boxes. A glass chandelier
was suspended from the roof above the central A description of the Capitol
box office. The foyer has multi-sided was featured in the 1934
sandstone pillars with the tops and bases publication by Paramount
relieved by broad dual shoulders in brown and Pictures for the tenth
bronze. Let into the faces of these pillars are anniversary, which was The Capitol, shortly before opening night 1924
risen squares of plaster, with the spaces titled "The Theatre
between the squares decorated in gold leaf. ln Magnificent ". was later painted white with gold
the auditorium, the ceiling rises to a height of ornamentation. Ian Davies was the last
80 feet (24.4 metres) above the stalls. The side The Wurlitzer organ was the largest to come resident organist from 1953 until 1958.
walls are buttressed by arrays of square cut to Australia at the time and was a style 260 Horace Weber returned for a final recital on
supports and, above these, the walls break into with 3 manuals and 15 ranks. Horace Weber 17 November 1963. The Victorian Division of
the ceiling in cubes, triangles and stalactites of played the instrument on opening night. the Theatre Organ Society of Australia
fretted plaster. The ceiling has serrated lines Originally on a hoist, it was moved to a fixed purchased the organ for £1250 in 1963 and it
of fretted plaster, broken into little cubicles position to the left of the stage in the 1940's. was later installed in the Dendy Theatre
through which shine a series of coloured The console was in stained woodwork, but Brighton, where it remains to this day.

CINEMARECORD # 93 7