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What is an "Atmospheric" Theatre?

The Capitol’s illusion of a medieval courtyard begins outside of the theatre, where the facade adopts the character of a Norman castle, complete with leaded glass, diamond-paned windows, and a marquee which emulates a drawbridge, supported by heavy iron chains. The neon "Capitol" sign is the one item which is inconsistent with the Norman castle theme. It has a clearly Egyptian motif, and so it was probably designed for an Egyptian-style atmospheric theatre. However, it was available at the time of the Capitol’s construction, and Famous Players instructed Murray Brown to install it. All of the original facade details are still in place today.

The recessed, double entrance doors and the poster boxes located at the entrance of the theatre have been restored and reproduced from original drawings and photographs (the hardware on the front doors have been reproduced and donated by Port Hope Patterns), but the terrazzo floor of the entrance area is the original, and is still in perfect condition.

The foyer, or outer lobby, of the theatre is 15 feet wide. The walls were painted in art deco colours, and the beams on the ceiling bore stenciled motifs of Cornish roses, Scottish thistles, and Fluer-de-lys created by Toronto decorator David Stewart. The lobby is still undergoing restoration, and the original stencil detail, which has all been uncovered, copied, and replicated, will be accurately replaced when funds permit. The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO) branch in Port Hope has generously committed itself to funding the restoration of the lobby.

Ornamental details which once adorned the tops of the poster boxes in the foyer have been stripped off over the years, the boxes which once enclosed the radiators are gone, and the original chandeliers are missing (although there is reason to believe that they are still in existence somewhere in Port Hope). The foyer chandeliers are to be replicated based on patterns of other ones still in the building.

Beneath layers upon layers of paint lies the original texture of the wall, which is a type of "ragged on faux" finish to give a mottled appearance. There are various patches on the wall now, where testing has been done to determine the kinds of paint and colours originally used.

Between the entrance hall and the main auditorium lies an inner lobby, furnished with the original sofa and wing-back chairs, as well as the original chandelier. There are a few pieces missing, such as a group of paintings that once adorned the walls, that can hopefully be acquired. The plaster molding has been recreated in the inner lobby, based on samples of the original, as this part of the building was severely water damaged at one time.

The steps which ascend from the inner lobby to the landing above are still in place today, however in the original theatre configuration the floor sloped straight down from the landing to the existing level of the front of the auditorium. Today there exists a raised section in the middle of the auditorium, which was put in place in order to accommodate the live theatre patrons, who prefer to look down on the action on stage, rather than up at the movie screen. The auditorium now has a compromised configuration that suits a multi-purpose facility.

The Capitol Theatre is a superb example of an "atmospheric" theatre, a Hollywood-inspired genre of architecture. Unlike conventional theatres, the Capitol is a building rich in fantasy decor, designed to divert the audience away from everyday cares and set the stage for the show to come on stage and screen. The architectural design and decorative scheme in an atmospheric theatre were planned to evoke the illusion that patrons were seated outdoors. This effect was achieved by projecting images of stars and moving clouds onto a grey painted, seamless ceiling, using a brenograph, which is a special type of projection equipment designed expressly for this purpose. The employment of projected images is the key element in an "atmospheric" theatre. The auditorium appeared to have no roof, and patrons seemed to be sitting outside under a starry summer sky. The notion of a projector with clouds and stars was a very clever and innovative idea in the 1930’s, as most other theatres would utilize a pianist or a pit band to entertain the patrons before a film screening or production.

To create the mood, "atmospheric" theatres were modeled after certain romantic themes. Some took their inspiration from Spanish Mediterranian villages; others borrowed from ancient Egypt. The image created for the Capitol was one of a walled medieval courtyard surrounded by a forest. Once seated inside of the auditorium of the theatre, the full effect of the medieval courtyard "atmosphere" is achieved. The sides of the theatre, faced with plaster scored to look like ashlar masonry, were painted to resemble Caen stone.

Murals of tree tops, intended to create the effect of looking over the walls into a forest, covered the top half of the side and rear walls of the auditorium. Much of the artwork was rendered not in paint, but in wet coloured plaster, according to the traditional fresco method. An army of plasterers was on hand to get the work done before it had a chance to dry. The painted fresco tree scene was completely lost in terms of restoration because tempera paint had originally been used to create it, and it had been eroded with water damage from a leaking roof over the years. Luckily, the tree scene was still good enough to record, and with the aid of the original historic photographs, Canadian theatre scene painter Bill Chesney was able to authentically reproduce the entire mural.

The rectangular proscenium (the rectangle that defines the stage space/screen opening), which was decorated with a shingle pattern, was also framed with Caen-stone plasterwork and was surmounted by a cornice decorated with stencil motifs of Cornish roses, Scottish thistles and fleurs-de-lys, three Norman-era symbols.

The emergency exits located on each side of the stage were framed by gabled facades, punctuated with leaded-glass windows covered with awnings and hanging vines. Medieval-styled pennants which hung from attractive wrought iron rods were displayed along the walls. Banners hung from both side wall of the auditorium, and curtains were once draped over the doorways.

The original auditorium seated approximately 684 patrons. The seats - advertised as "the latest type of opera chairs" - were made of wood and the rows were spaced a cramped 30 inches apart. during the 1994 renovations, seat capacity was reduced to 380 with wider more comfortable seats and increased legroom.  

Today the Capitol is one of only two surviving operational "atmospheric" theatres in Canada. The other is the The Lido Theatre in The Pas, Manitoba. www.lidotheatre.ca

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