What's Gone - Thanks For The Memories!
Places -
Capitol Cinema

Circa 2001
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The Capitol Cinema
(Shaws Building) in Stamford Road was completed in 1931 by the
architect Keys & Dowdeswell. The style of the building is
eclectic neo-Classicism, characterised by somewhat ponderous
detailing.(1) |
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It was one of the very
few air-conditioned theatres. It was built by the Namazie family
to host live shows.(4) |
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By the mid-1930s,
there were 10 cinemas, of which the Capitol was the largest and
the newest. It opened in 1930 and was followed by the Alhambra,
Marlborough, Pavilion, Roxy, Wembley, Tivoli, Empire, Jubilee and
Gaiety. (3) |
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During the Japanese
Occupation, the Capitol operated under the name Kyo-Ei Gekkyo
until 1944, when a bomb planted by the anti-Japanese resistance
damaged it. The theatre's English-language movies were later
forbidden by the Japanese who replaced them with their own films.
After 1946, the Capitol was purchased by Shaw and rebuilt. It
became the organisation's flagship theatre (1,686 seats). The
patrons had "the choice of gallery, stalls and circle seats
which were priced at S$1, S$2 and S$3 respectively from the early
post-World War II years until the 1970s. (4) |
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It was listed for
preservation in August 1983 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)
and acquired by it in 1983-1984 so that it would be preserved as
part of a future development. |
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Its career as a movie
theatre ended on 29 Dec 1998 when Shaw Organisation, its tenant
since 1984, returned it to the Urban Redevelopment Board (URA).(4) |
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More
pictures..... |
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Credits: |
(1) Page 369,
Singapore - A Guide To Buildings, Streets, Places by
Norman Edwards & Peter Keys. (ISBN 9971 65 231 5)
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(2) Keys
& Dowdeswell was also the architect for Fullerton
Building, Heeren Building, Nedlloyd House, &
Singapore General Hospital (General Hospital &
Medical College & Bowyer Block). - Page 598
Singapore - A Guide To Buildings, Streets, Places by
Norman Edwards & Peter Keys. (ISBN 9971 65 231 5) |
(3) Page 181,
Singapore - A Pictorial History 1819 - 2000 by Gretchen
LIU. Published by Archipelago Press, an Imprint of
Editions Didier Millet. ISBN 981 3018 81 X. |
(4) Page
152, Latent Images: Film In Singapore by Jan Uhde &
Yvonne Uhde. Published by Ngee Ann Polytechnic 2000.
ISBN 0 19 588714 X |
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