Capitol Theater, Movie theater in Olympia, United States

The Capitol Theater is a single-screen movie palace in downtown Olympia, Washington, built in 1924 to a Beaux-Arts Revival design by Olympia architect Joseph Wohleb. It seats 1,500 and shows independent, international and classic films, and also hosts concerts, comedy, plays and workshops. Stained glass muses, hidden for over 70 years, were uncovered when the 1940 marquee was removed in 2008.

The Capitol Theater was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by Olympia architect Joseph Wohleb and built in 1924 for partners William Wilson and theater director E.A. Zabel. It opened with 762 seats and drew 1,000 people on opening night. A fire destroyed much of the building in April 1937; it reopened that August and was remodeled again in 1948. The Olympia Film Society bought the theater in 2010.

The Olympia Film Society has run the Capitol Theater since 1986, showing independent, international and classic films alongside concerts, comedy, plays and workshops. Its stage hosted the International Pop Underground Convention in 1991 and Yoyo A Go Go in 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2001. In 2023 Bikini Kill announced a benefit show there for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund.

The theater sits in downtown Olympia and is run by the Olympia Film Society, which sells tickets for films, concerts and plays. For sold-out shows, a few pay-what-you-choose seats have been held back and released one hour before showtime. The 1940 marquee was replaced in 2008 by a replica of an original 1930s marquee.

The marquee added in 1940 was removed in January 2008 and replaced with a replica of an original 1930s marquee; the work revealed stained-glass muses that had been hidden for more than 70 years. The theater's 2025 centennial brought the Olympia Film Society the Stewardship Award from the Olympia Historical Society and the Bigelow House Museum.