History:
Designed by architect John Eberson and built by Henry Vander Horst’s construction company out of Kalamazoo, FIM Capitol Theatre first opened its doors on January 19, 1928. It was the largest and most lavish theater in Flint, MI at the time, seating 2,000 and designed to bring the outside in. Eberson, who moved to the United States in 1901, was a prolific designer, and created an entirely new movie theater concept based on his exposure to European opera houses and patio performances: The Atmospheric Theater.
The inside of Capitol Theatre is breathtaking. In the lobby, the vaulted ceiling, with its painted gold blooms, welcomes crowds to gaze up. The hallways are intricately designed, with stucco walls and elegantly patterned details. As theater-goers enter the auditorium, they step into what Eberson described as an “Italian patio.” An azure sky sparkles overhead, with tiny twinkles of starlight, and faux-marble columns frame the stage. Watching over the theater from above the stage sit 10 vibrant peacocks. The architecture transports audiences to another place and time, to a cool, breezy evening in a Mediterranean garden.
The Capitol Theatre building covers three blocks, on land originally stewarded by the Sauks (Sacs), and then by the Chippewa and the Ojibwe. After changing hands throughout the 1800’s, the land was purchased by Hiram J. Bachtel for $5,000 in 1886. Bachtel tore down blacksmith shops on the property to build “Ten Cent Sheds,” shelters for off-duty carriage horses. Within decades, however, horse-drawn carriages became a thing of the past, and the automobile gained in popularity. Bachtel sold the land and eventually the Flint Building Corporation purchased it in 1923. The theatre was completed in 1928, and was purchased by Col. W. S. Butterfield of Butterfield Theater, Inc. He had worked for almost 20 years to open a theater in Flint, designating Capitol Theatre as just the place to present touring acts on their way to Chicago from Detroit.
