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In the 1920s, two of the biggest names in entertainment came together, theater mogul W. S. Butterfield and architect John Eberson. Together they created a litany of classic theatres including the State Theatre in Kalamazoo, the Majestic in San Antonio, Texas Constellation, and Flint's Capitol Theatre.
"The Capitol Theatre is an atmospheric type theatre whose interior design incorporates diverse Mediterranean architectural elements, executed on a grand scale. The Capitol Theatre is an outstanding example of 1920s theater architecture and one that epitomizes the atmospheric theatre concept of its architecture. The Capitol was the seventy-fourth theatre in the Butterfield Theatre chain. At it's completion in 1928, it was Flint’s largest theatre and among Butterfield's most lavish. The Capitol Theatre is significant for its direct association with two of America's foremost innovators in theatre management and design and for its grandiose architectural character".
The original program opening the Capitol Theatre began with this greeting: "Welcome to the Capitol Theatre, a touch of Italy transferred in its seductive charms to the City of Flint. Here ancient culture and art rub shoulders with the ultra-modern art of the cinema. With a heavy handclasp, we bid you a cordial welcome and trust that the hours spent within the shrine of entertainment will be the means of making your days more joyful. It will even be our purpose to provide the best in music, photoplays and stage presentations of the ultra in the field variety".
The Capitol Theatre's past and future destiny is truly a shrine of entertainment. This wonderful building has been recognized and is listed in the local, state, and national list of historic places. The current owners have perfectly preserved the property over the past twenty-two years and the time has come to restore this facility. It will serve as one of the channels to the revitalization of downtown Flint.
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Sunday, September 05, 2004
By James M. Miller
jmiller@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6318
FLINT - One of downtown Flint's jewels is getting some needed repairs.
Work has started to fix weather-damaged brick walls on the east and west sides of the 77-year-old Capitol Theatre. The project will include repairs to the marquee and, if money is available, new neon.
The ornate, 2,000-seat theater is owned by George Farah and his family. Farah's son, Troy, said the work is being done with a $50,000 matching-fund grant from the downtown facade program, so the total budget for the work is $100,000.
A crew already has removed and replaced brick from an approximately 20-by-50-foot area on the east wall of the theater part of the building (which also houses office space) in preparation for major masonry repairs to the east and west walls of the building.
Plans call for restoring the canopy on the Harrison Street side of the building. The plan is to restore the vertical portion of the Capitol's marquee, which is made of galvanized metal.
"We are going to scrape, patch and paint - and then possibly install new neon," he said. A contractor is looking at the neon work, Farah said, but it's not yet clear if there is enough money in the budget to restore the neon. The brick repair is only the beginning of what should be done on the exterior, he said. "You could spend half a million on this facade," he said. "This is an irreplaceable facade - we are doing what we can to preserve it."
The downtown facade program was set up in October 2001 using a grant of nearly $1 million from the Flint-based Ruth Mott Foundation.
"That facade program has generated some major improvement projects downtown," Farah said. The facade program helped pay to renovate facades on Paul's Pipe Shop, Jewelry World, Flint Optical and other buildings.
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Capitol cameo update
posted by Michael Zoldessy on May 3, 2007 at 8:47am
FLINT, MI — The Capitol Theatre marquee is now fully functioning and now every light bulb lights and moves--even the light bulbs under the marquee. The message on the marquee reads “MEGA BOWL ON CLOSED-CIRCUIT TV”. The Mega Bowl is the championship game in the film “Semi-Pro” about an American Basketball Association basketball team called the Flint Michigan Tropics.
The theater entrance and rest of the theater building are also getting spruced up. The storefronts are getting vintage signs installed. Many of the signs are borrowed from Bob Perani’s collection from his Dort Mall. The film is scheduled to be released on February 29, 2008.
A news report (including video) from WJRT reports that the filming of scenes for “Semi-Pro” will take place at the Capitol Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday, May 2 and 3. Because the Capitol Theatre building is across Harrison Street from the Mass Transportation Authority transporation center, bus boarding and transfer locations will be moved to alternate locations for the duration of the film shoot.
On the first of two days of scheduled filming in downtown Flint, I got as close to the Capitol Theatre as I could to take pictures. East Second Street was completely closed between Saginaw Street and Harrison Street. I took these pictures across Harrison Street from the theater building. You can see the storefronts with the signs and window displays set up for the movie. One of the real storefront tenants, Flint Club, sent me the following message:
As many of you know, the movie “Semi-Pro” is being shot (in part) right
here in Flint! There have been many days of preparing and filming in
the area, including “snow” on the ground in downtown Flint in May.
Here at Flint Club, we are excited to have our world headquarters
decorated by the film’s crew to be the “Royal” woman’s clothing shop -
complete with window displays showcasing 70’s fashion and a large neon
sign above our doorway. The Capitol Theatre marquee received a face-
lift for the movie and looks great!
It’ll be great to watch the movie next year and recognize lots of
familiar places and remind us of Flint in the 70’s.