Capitoltheater

The Capitol Theater, now the home of the Olympia Film Society, was the crowning achievement of the Zabel family, who owned several movie theaters downtown. It includes terra cotta decorations, stained glass windows depicting each of the five muses, and marble flooring.  Anticipating some of today’s theater design features, Zabel installed special seating for parents of small children, assisted-hearing devices, and even an extra-wide seat to accommodate a larger patron. This photograph from 1931 shows the ornate lobby. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. Vibert Jeffers photograph, 1931, Susan Parish Collection, Southwest Regional Archives