Part of the Arlington, Massachusetts community since 1925, the Capitol celebrates its centennial with some of the century’s best and most popular films
Cheers to 100 years of movie magic as the Capitol Theatre in Arlington, Massachusetts celebrates its centennial with films from the silent era to today. Over the next 12 weeks, the theater will show 28 of the century’s most popular films, including movies you, your parents, or even grandparents may have seen at the Capitol.
Capitol at 100 programming begins this Saturday, September 6th with Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush which was released the same year the Capitol opened its doors. Travel through the decades via Hollywood classics and box-office hits such as The Maltese Falcon, 12 Angry Men, West Side Story, Psycho, Love Story, The Muppet Movie, Pulp Fiction, Titanic, and Legally Blonde.
The celebration culminates on the theater’s official centennial, Tuesday, November 25th at 7pm with a screening of the beloved classic Casablanca. The evening will include a champagne toast, music, as well as a newsreel and shorts before the feature presentation. Formal attire is encouraged, as it is not every day a movie theater reaches centennial status.
“The Capitol is here because it’s an Arlington institution that we believe in and the community believes in. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been worth it,” said Jamie Mattchen, director of operations and co-owner of the Capitol Theatre. The Arlington resident and longtime Capitol Theatre employee is part of the local ownership team that took over the Capitol and Somerville Theatres earlier this year.
She continued, “the Capitol is a movie theater, but it’s also the place to go on a first date, the spot where you get engaged, the location to hold your child’s birthday party. Sure, it’s a movie theater, but it’s also a place where memories are made.”
Members of the Capitol Theatre community are invited to share their memories of the Capitol Theatre to be included in the theater’s ongoing centennial celebration. Stories and photos can be submitted at bit.ly/CapitolTheatreMemories.
“At the Capitol Theatre, you’re just as likely to meet your neighbor at the concession stand as you are to see your senator in line for the latest blockbuster,” said Jay O’Leary, food and beverage director and theater co-owner. O’Leary has worked at the Capitol for 24 years, beginning when he was an usher in high school. “It’s a family-friendly and affordable place to escape for the duration of a film. And we love being able to provide that service for our neighbors.”
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CAPITOL THEATRE
The Capitol Theatre opened on November 25, 1925 complete with a pipe organ and a mural above the proscenium arch that incorporated the town seal of Arlington into its design. Affectionately known to Arlington residents as “Your Home Theatre,” the Capitol was the largest and most luxurious of the neighborhood theaters in the area. Today, it is one of the few that remain.
It saw the transition from silent films to talkies, black and white to color, film to digital, and the advent of streaming. It went from a single screen to six screens. It moved from first run, to a second run theater, then back again with the release of the original Avatar in 2009.
Across the decades, three families were the major stewards of the theater: the Locatelli family who built it and other neighborhood cinemas, the Viano family who ran it for decades, and then the Fraiman family who restored it and, decades later, saw the theater through the pandemic.
A group of longtime employees took the baton earlier this year, forming the company CSB Theatres, Inc. to take over operations from the Fraiman family, keeping the Capitol locally owned and operated as it celebrates its centennial and beyond.
“Anyone who grew up in the Arlington area went to the Capitol as a kid, and we strive to maintain that kind of continuity and magic for all ‘kids’ from 5 to 95,” said Ian Judge, creative director and theater co-owner.
Capitol at 100 details and tickets are available at capitoltheatreusa.com/capitol-at-100.
CAPITOL AT 100 PROGRAM SCHEDULE
THE GOLD RUSH – Saturday, September 6 at 7:30pm
THE GENERAL – Friday, September 12 at 7:30pm
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA – Saturday, September 13 at 7:30pm
CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS – Friday, September 19 at 7:30pm
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) – Saturday, September 20 at 7:30pm
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN – Friday, September 26 at 7:30pm
SHANE – Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm
12 ANGRY MEN – Friday, October 10 at 3pm
NOSFERATU (1922) with live score – Friday, October 10 at 7pm
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962) – Thursday, October 16 at 7:30pm
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE – Friday, October 17 at 7:30pm
WEST SIDE STORY (1961 – with intermission) – Saturday, October 18 at 7pm
THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM – Thursday, October 30 at 7:30pm
Double Feature: PSYCHO (7pm) and PHANTASM (9:10pm) – Friday, October 31
A HARD DAY’S NIGHT – Saturday, November 1 at 7:30pm
LOVE STORY – Thursday, November 6 at 7:30pm
THE STING – Friday, November 7 at 7:30pm
SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER – Saturday, November 8 at 7:30pm
THE MUPPET MOVIE – Sunday, November 9 at 4pm
NETWORK – Thursday, November 13 at 7:30pm
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL – Friday, November 14 at 7pm
TERMS OF ENDEARMENT – Sunday, November 16 at 4pm
PULP FICTION – Friday, November 21 at 7:30pm
TITANIC – Saturday, November 22 at 7pm
LEGALLY BLONDE – Sunday, November 23 at 4pm
MONEYBALL – Monday, November 24 at 7pm
CASABLANCA – A Capitol Theatre Centennial Celebration – Tuesday, November 25 at 7pm