Today the theatre has been converted to a two screen venue and has been upgraded to screen digital movies. Outside, what appears to be the original marquee and neon sign still shine brightly in the evenings, beckoning potential movie goers to come hither. The neon appears to be complete and in working condition, though it was daytime when we visited so we can't say for sure that it does work.
Built in 1949 as a single screen theatre seating 528 moviegoers, the Capitol Theatre building is a subdued mix of Art Deco and International Style. At the time the theatre was built Art Deco was going out of style, being slowly replaced by the post world war International Style. The theatre was designed by Edmonton Architects Martland and Aberdeen and built by Western Builders Ltd. of Red Deer. For the first years of its operation the theatre received competition from the 1912 Empress Theatre, a venue for live stage performance as well as movies.
Opened on Boxing Day 1949 with much fanfare, the theatre even received a congratulatory telegram from Bob Hope. The fare on opening night was
Oh What a Beautiful Doll, starring June Haver and Mark Stevens, in Technicolor.
Ponoka Capitol Theatre
Description of Historic Place
The Capitol Theatre constructed in 1949 is a large rectangular plan flat-roofed cast-in-place concrete structure whose principal façade is divided by an aluminum band with a block of windows and stucco finish on the front upper level and spandrel glass and stone veneer cladding with a recessed theatre entrance with double doors at street level. Located at 4904 50 Street at the edge of Ponoka's heritage commercial core, it features a projecting backlit marquee and neon sign.
Heritage Value
The Capitol Theatre, valued for its historical association with the progression of entertainment in Ponoka, was constructed in 1949 on the site of a demolished house and millinery store owned by the HeadleyFs who ran the Empress Theatre constructed in 1912 on the adjacent lot. The two theatres, representing different eras in movie entertainment, sat side by side for a number of years. Privately owned by entrepreneur Hector La Brie, the Capital Theatre signified the shift from black and white to color, opening on Boxing Day 1949 with great fanfare and a congratulatory telegram from Bob Hope in Hollywood, with
Oh What a Beautiful Doll, starring June Haver and Mark Stevens in Technicolor. The thoroughly modern interior with 528 upholstered seats, an 18 x 13 foot screen, and for the hearing impaired and mothers in the cry room, earphones connected to the modern sound system, reflected the improvement of theatre facilities in the post war period. With the best stage in town, the Capitol Theatre was also used for school plays and reviews to the mid 1950s. For more than 60 years generations of movie-goers have appreciated the Capital Theatre's traditional ambience as they watch the latest movie releases available for small town audiences.
The architectural significance of the Capital Theatre, designed by Edmonton Architects Martland and Aberdeen, and constructed by Western Builders Ltd. of Red Deer, lies in its inherent functionalism and stark lines influenced by International Style, evident in the rectangular moulded outline of the block of recessed windows on the upper part of its principal façade, and the horizontal division of the upper and lower levels by a wide aluminum band. The use of the use of up-to date building materials including cut-stone veneer and carrara glass on the lower level provides a contrast to the stucco finish of the upper level. The design features a central recessed entrance with stepped columns that continues the emphasis on sharp edges, flanked by aluminum poster display panels on the north side, and a storefront window with associated separate street entrance to the retail bay, which for decades housed a barber shop, on the south side. A third entrance on the north side provided street access to the upper level residential suite and projection room. The Capital Theatre is also particularly valued for its illustration of cast-in-place concrete construction technique, evident in the wood board impressions visible on the walls of the unclad south, west and north elevations.
From the Ponoka Municipal Heritage Inventory