| Like the Bland Theater, the Capitol was
part of the Lichtman movie chain. It was located at 608 Effingham
Street, between King and County Streets. A pot belly stove was used
to heat the 800-900 seat theater during the 1920s and 1930s. Opened
in December 1925, the Capitol was the first, the classiest, and most popular
among the Bland and Lyric theaters. It had the interior style of
an opera house. The Capitol was the only theater of the three to
have talent night and stage shows featuring famous singers and bands
such as Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, and Louis Armstrong for $1 admission.
The Capitol showed first rate movies at 15-25 cents, that is, of course,
after the White theaters had viewed them. Saturday morning “serials”
were a set of Western cowboy movies for kids such as “Lone Ranger” that
ran for about 12 to 16 consecutive weeks. The Capitol was a community
theater in that it sponsored Christmas parties for the neighborhood children,
and allowed churches and other social organizations to have food drives
and fund raisers in the building. It was ranked the top Black theater
in Portsmouth because it was more deluxe, up to date, and better kept
than the Bland and Lyric.
This picture of the Capitol Theater was taken in the
1940s or 1950s from the corner of King and Effingham Streets. From the
Lee Rogers Collection. Courtesy of Portsmouth Public Library.
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