Submitted History : Capitol Theatre Project

Stories featured in the local media:

June 23, 1010 - The Tennessean : A 'Capitol' Idea

Like many downtown areas throughout the country, Lebanon's square is long on history but short on visitors after 5 p.m. Preservationists hope that the restoration of the historic Capitol Theatre will bring people back to the city's center.
          ...read the full story here
From The TENNESSEAN | by: Deborah Highland


Personal stories & comments submitted by our viewers:

I remember waiting in long lines just to see movies,I was very heartbroken to see the RKO and Capitol go...my father Maynard Nice in Illinois will be so happy when the life of RKO Capitol Theatre is brought back.
Thanks & God Bless,
Debbie
June 25, 2010


I am sure that your mistake in the currant history page of the theater has been pointed out to you many times. However the theater did not survive the fire of the OLD LEBANON HOTEL, it survived the fire of the OLD WEST SIDE HOTEL.I have heard several people get those two hotels confused.
Thanks,
Cliff
June 10, 2010


This looks good.  There will be many stories.  I remember standing in line wrapped around the corner past the men's store (Draper and Darwin I believe) waiting to see the movie "Bigfoot".  As a youth, I love the myth and mystery surrounding the story.
What a great project!
Chris Crowell
June 10, 2010

Some personal history and stories from CinemaTreasures.org:


My brother and I had just listened to Alice Brock's commentary on "This I Believe" on NPR. My brother sent me this note about a memory of his at the Capitol.

I'm definately an Arlo fan and I did know that Alice did exist. It was a true (sort of) story. I went to see it at the old Capitol right off the square. The song had been out for a while and I was really looking foward to seeing the movie. About a third of the way through the movie I got to feeling kinda sick. I went to the restroom and puked my guts out. I went back to my seat and told Wynne that I was really feeling bad and we should probably leave. We did just that, and I puked again before I got to the car. We finally made it back to the apartment and I was sitting on the toliet in great distress and puking at the same time. She called dad and he said it sounded like I had something really nasty.........he said he would call the Dr. and they met me at the old McFarland Hospital. Dr. Bone was on call..........he gave me a shot and sat me down in a wheel chair and started rolling me down the hall. .............I don't remember anything after that. I had food poisoning. I woke up in the hospital the next morning with my arm strapped to a board and an I/V in my arm. My arm was really hurting because I couldn't bend it. Finally they came in and unhooked me. What a relief...............So my memory of Alice's Restaurant is VIVID ....................ha ha ha ..............I finally did get to see it all the way through, and did enjoy it. Arlo is one of the great writers, and is the son of Woody Guthrie, also one of the all time great folk song writers and lived what he wrote about.
Nov 19, 2007 at 3:05pm
As a young 4th grade cadet at Castle Heights in 1958 I went with a couple of buddies to see the movie, "The Blob" starring Steve McQueen at the Capitol. Its poster showed how the red-colored blob would be taking over everything in its path--definitely something I wanted to see.

As a native Chicagoan, it was to be the first movie I'd see in the South, and I was looking forward to it. My Southern classmates were equally excited.

When we bought our tickets, I asked the box office clerk to give us seats to the "colored balcony" because I didn't want to see the movie in black and white. Both the clerk and my buddies quickly assured me that the movie would be in color on the main floor of the theatre. When we got into our seats my buddies told me what "colored balcony" meant...

It was my first awareness of segregation.
Mar 20, 2005 at 7:39pm



The address for the Capitol is 110 West Main Street, Lebanon, TN 37087. One record I came across states the theatre opened in 1961 and closed in the 1980s, but it's architecture suggest that the theatre was probally constructed during the mid 1950s.
Feb 4, 2005 at 7:22pm



Having grown up in Lebanon during the 1960's and 70's I remember the Capitol quite fondly. Our 3rd grade teacher arranged for a special showing of Gone With the Wind as a field trip. There was a kiddy horror show with a pretty minimal stage presentation followed by Night of the Living Dead. I was afraid to go near the creek after seeing Jaws. I squirmed very uncomfortably sitting next to mom watching The Way We Were.

There was no parking lot so IF you drove, you parked on the town square (a half-block away) or across the street behind the bank. It was just as easy to walk the 7 blocks from our house.

The Capitol had no place to put it's big yellow trash dumpster so it sat out on the sidewalk under the marquee. Somehow to a little kid in a small town, that didn't seem strange.

You could (still can) see the Capitol's vertical sign all the way down West Main Street to Castle Heights. The letters were in dancing white lights with a large disk of of lights at the top. Green neon edged the triange marquee.

There was a storefront adjacent to the lobby built as part of the theater. The green neon marquee edging extended over the storefront windows. For years it was home to Western Auto who displayed their Radio Flyer wagons and Schwinn bicycles on the sidewalk next to the dumpster.

The Capitol was part of the Martin chain. It closed when they opened a tri-plex in a shopping center. There was a restriction on the deed of sale that the Capitol couldn't be used as a theater for 20 years. That time span is long past.
Apr 9, 2004 at 10:18am



The hotel next door was the West Side Hotel, the Lebanon Hotel was farther down West Main Street. Reports are that the current owner has put a new roof on the building: at least forstalling a roof collapse.

The Capitol went through a 2nd rate renovation before it closed. The "moderne" sconces were removed and the walls covered with faux-wood paneling with fake plants in a mid-height planter running the length of the auditorium.

The terrazzo lobby floor and the triangle marquee and vertical sign survive as of this writing.
Feb 17, 2004 at 3:02pm



This is a cool old theater. It is located right on the square. It is very large. Upstairs even had bathrooms for people in balcony. There is also space for apts etc.. Last time I saw the theater was about 3 years ago. It was a furniture store. Theater looked just as it did when it was built. Only the seats were removed. It has a large stage, where the owner said before shows it had a roll up screen that would reveal an automobile for advertising. Screen and stage is still there. This theater needs to be restored, It has water damage from the hotel that was destroyed by fire, that used to be next door. I think 3 years ago he wanted around $120,000 He probably would take a lot less now. Oh by the way, The lobby still boasts an original movie poster from the last movie shown there in the 70's. I thought of buying the theater, but renovations would have been to costly.
Nov 1, 2003 at 12:45pm