The Capitol Theater in Moncton, New Brunswick, offered its old seats to the public on Monday. All were swept away within a few hours. The new seats will be installed during the summer.
The formula was simple: First come, first served. Free
. The goal was to get rid of the 773 seats in the large hall of the Capitol Theater.
Monday around 10 a.m., the time distribution began, a line was already forming near the boarding platform, behind the theater. The donation of seats, which was to be done over two days, was finally completed in a few hours.
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Some Greater Moncton residents had reserved moving trucks so they could pick up their seats.
Photo: Radio-Canada / OCEANE DOUCET
The general director of the Capitol Theater, Kim Rayworth, said she was surprised by such enthusiasm. She didn’t expect to see so many people.
break. People work hard, they smile. There are trucks. It’s almost a festival spirit, people are happy to take home a little souvenir of the Capitol Theater”,”text”:”The team works hard, they don’t take a break. People work hard, they smile. There are trucks. It’s almost a festival spirit, people are happy to take home a little souvenir of the Capitol Theater”}}”>The team works hard, they don’t take any break. People work hard, they smile. There are trucks. It’s almost a festival spirit, people are happy to take home a little souvenir of the Capitol Theater
she says. It touches us a lot.
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The seats that were offered were attached together, the vast majority in rows of four. They are tilted and do not stand up on their own. Their new owners will therefore have to fix them to the ground.
Photo: Facebook: Capitol Theater
Among those who came to collect seats, the Moncton resident Kevin Campbell, who had attended a dance performance on the theater stage the day before. His 11-year-old granddaughter was on stage for the first time.
I’m here to bring home a piece of Moncton’s history
he explained. We will keep this in the family, and [ma petite-fille] will one day be able to say that these seats were there during his performance.
30 year old seats
The seats that were offered to the public are not the originals from the Capitol Theater. They were installed in 1993.
This is because the establishment has had several vocations. In 1908, the TheaterEmpress was built, then, in 1922, the Capitol was built. The two rooms are in the same building, but it was destroyed by fire in 1926.
L’Empress and the Capitol were rebuilt in the following months, and both venues became an important entertainment center for the community.
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The Capitol Theater in Moncton, New Brunswick opened in 1922.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Guy LeBlanc
10-cent vaudeville shows were presented there, then silent and talking films, then finally in color. The building was a movie theater from the 1960s until the late 1980s.
The building was then abandoned until the City bought it to renovate it in 1993. It is the Capitol Theater that we know today.
The first show that was presented in the new restored hall — and therefore with these seats for the first time — was in August 1993 as part of a golf event, the Peter Gzowski Invitational (PGI).
The era of new seats
The old seats were unbolted the day after the last show before September. The administration will take advantage of the summer to redo the theater floor, change the carpets and touch up the paintings.
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The interior of the Capitol Theater in Moncton, June 10, 2024.
Photo: Facebook Capitol Theater
Replacing the seats had been considered for a long time, since they were one of the only negative points that customers had highlighted for several years.
The new seats will look like the old ones, but promise to be more comfortable and have cup holders.
Furthermore, a slight reconfiguration of the room will take place, but the Capitol Theater will only lose around ten seats in total.
According to Océane’s report Doucet
