El Capitan Theatre, Movie palace in Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States
El Capitan Theatre is a six-storey building at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard whose light grey stone facade is pierced by a grid of rectangular windows; carved figures sit along the top band between small round medallions. A large arched marquee bearing the name in glowing letters projects from the centre of the base, with a vertical blade sign beside it and a screen below. The auditorium holds 900 seats on the ground floor and 730 in the balcony.
The building opened on May 3, 1926, as a stage house designed for live theatrical productions and vaudeville acts under the direction of Sid Grauman. During the 1930s, the venue shifted to motion picture screenings as live theater became less economically practical.
The theatre's name comes from the Spanish for "the captain", a nod to the Spanish Colonial Revival facade. Since 1991 it has hosted Disney premieres, and the adjacent Masonic Temple, bought in 1998, serves as a promotional venue. An organist plays the Wurlitzer before selected screenings.
The entrance hall opens directly from the boulevard into a lobby with ticket windows and access to all seating levels. The auditorium offers seating across multiple tiers, with ground-floor sections accessible for wheelchair users.
The Wurlitzer organ was originally installed at San Francisco's Fox Theatre in 1929 before being relocated here. Before selected screenings, an organist performs on the instrument as it rises from the orchestra pit.
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