The Old Capitol Theatre
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
1937 to 1965
The Old Capitol - The Nice One The Old Capitol Auditorium With The Drapery Closed The Old Capitol Auditorium With The Drapery Opened The Old Capitol Auditorium Looking From The Stage
Charlie At His Film Inspection Bench Rewinding A Reel Of Film Dad Standing In Front Of The 6 Sheet Poster Board The Old Capitol Fire - The Early Stages The Old Capitol - The Capitol Is Dying

 

Ads From 1943 For Films That Played At The Old Capitol
And A Couple Other Things Of Interest

My Mum had a diary she kept in 1943.
In it were ads for films that played at the Old Capitol.
To view the ads click on it and it will open in it's own window.
Have also added an account as to how the Old Capitol burned.
It is from Eileen Henry's Column, "Around Town & County"
The final newspaper clipping is from the Casket and involves Charlie
And Francis LeBlanc, Member of Parliament for Antigonish at the time.

Movies Playing At The Old Capitol Movies Playing At The Old Capitol Movies Playing At The Old Capitol Movies Playing At The Old Capitol Movies Playing At The Old Capitol Eileen Henry's Around Town & County Charlie & Francis LeBlanc

I should mention here that some of the account of how the fire started is incorrect. The Capitol burned on 21 October, which in 1965 fell on a Thursday, not on a Monday as the article says. As for it being gas that was floating around the Theatre itself this is ruled out as back in 1965, the Lamphouses in the booth at the Capitol were of the Carbon Arc type. As soon as Bob Emery struck the first arc to light the Lamp to show Mary Poppins, the Capitol would have went up in a "Loud Boom" they would have heard in Livingstone's Cove out near Arisaig.

Another thing to keep in mind is the gas was to knock folks out so Dr Morrison could do his job and tend to people's teeth. If Doctor Morrison had left the gas on as claimed and the gas did leak into the theatre, a lot of folks would have been asleep as it would have been Wednesday Evening 20 October, 1965 and a lot of people would have been in the Capitol waiting for Mary Poppins to start. And if this gas did cause an explosion and fire, I would not be here right now with my site on the Old Capitol, as I would have no doubt have been killed by the blast that would have happened as I was in the Old Capitol the Night before it burned. By looking at the pictures on the last page, you can see the fire is in definitely in the front where Dr Morrison and the Hair Dresser had their businesses.

I know there are is a lot of myths surrounding the burning of the Capitol, some have you believe it is God who burned the Capitol as "Fanny Hill - Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure" was supposed to be opening on Thursday. If this is true, then God had more than one occasion to burn the Capitol. God in his "Infinite Wisdom" would have smote the Capitol and it would have burned in 1956 or 1957 when the Capitol played "Baby Doll". And what about the film Charlie himself says played at the Capitol the first time a film with nudity was showm. You can read about it and what Charlie had to say about the Capitol being SRO for 4 performances on two nights on the last page to the Old Capitol. Another thing to remember, God's rules never change. If God did burn the Old Capitol because of Fanny Hill, then the New Capitol would have went up in a "Blaze of Glory" a long time ago, that would have made the fire at the Old Capitol look like a bonfire for a weenie roast. I worked at the New Capitol, and if some of the trash I ran didn't make for some form of "Divine Intervention", then we know The Good Lord didn't end the Old Capitol

No one really knows what the next movie to play at the Capitol was going to be. Some folks say it was "Forever Amber" that was to play. Could have been as this is how Legends start. About the only ones who could shed some light on what was going to play would be John Broderick the Manager at the time, or Bob Emery the Projectionist. But both are gone now so we cannot ask them. One way to know for sure what was scheduled to play would be to go to the Casket Office, get out the volumn year 1965 and check to see what was advertised. But then we would know for sure, and then we couldn't surmise if it was Fanny Hill and the "Will of God" that finished the Capitol. But I do know it wasn't "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" as this movie was not released until 1966, though one or two good folks would like you to believe this was the film opening on 21 October, 1965.

The Truth to the Capitol Burning is poor Dr Morrison went to the Post Office to get his mail and left the sterlizer on and it boiled dry. Aunt Hopie told me when I last visited her at the R K MacDonald Nursing Home the Summer of 1995 that this is what happened. I was visiting Charlie, and he told me Hopie Landry was also in the R K. Aunt Hopie tole me Poor Dr Morrison was never the same after the fire. 1995 would be the last time I visited Charlie.

But now it is time to visit the Old Capitol. Lets go back to the main page of the Old Capitol and give your ticket to the Doorman Huey and he will let you past and let you step back in the past and into the Lobby of The Old Capitol "Antigonish's Movie Palace". Thankyou for visiting and come please back again.