Misplaced Pages

#683316

46-548: Before the establishment of the Capitol Shopping Centre, a military social club known as Union Jack Club was open in 1924 for British sailors and servicemen on the other end of the area, which later became a large open-air car park for the Capitol Theatre 's patrons in 1930. By the 1950s, the car park was converted into a bus terminus, which make it a popular place for locals due to its accessibility to

92-532: A cartoon Finding His Voice demonstrating the workings of the sound system; and the recorded inaugural announcement by the Capitol's managing director, Joe Fisher. However, during the first screening at 6.15 pm, there was a mechanical fault from the faulty sound projection, which was then corrected by the 9.15 pm show. Joe Fisher, who became a pioneer in the Malayan cinema industry along with his brother Julius,

138-410: A conglomerate of theatres throughout the nation could buy or produce and distribute its own films. In 1917 Tally and J. D. Williams formed First National Exhibitors' Circuit. The first film released through First National was the 1916 British film The Mother of Dartmoor . Between 1917 and 1918, the company made contracts with Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin , the first million-dollar deals in

184-580: A few inches wider than normal British cinema seats, and the upholstery was supplied by a New York company. The theatre had a large projection room located below the balcony and ran the length of the building instead of being traditionally sited in the rear. It housed the latest Simplex projector installed with fireproof protection shutters. The theatre's acoustics and soundproofing were said to be exceptional at that time. Special expensive sound installations costing at least 40,000 Straits dollars were imported from Western Electric Company . The theatre's stage

230-549: A few months and the theatre would only screen Japanese feature and propaganda films as well as orchestras. The theatre operated until 1944, when a bomb planted by the anti-Japanese resistance fighters exploded, damaging its facade and the Mansions as well. After the war in 1945, Capitol Theatre and Namazie Mansions had since put under mortgage by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation . Later in 1946, Shaw bought over

276-590: A luxury hotel and retail shops, with a total size of 21,000 square metres (230,000 sq ft). In November 2011, Shimizu Corporation was awarded the contract to develop a large scale mixed use complex called "Capitol Development". The Capitol Centre was demolished by 2012, with the new shopping component Capitol Piazza and residential component named Eden Residences Capitol been built on its former site and were officially opened in May 2015. Capitol Theatre, Singapore Capitol Theatre , briefly Kyo-Ei Gekijo ,

322-758: A majority interest in First National in September 1928. Warner Bros. held 42,000 shares of common stock out of 72,000 outstanding shares while Fox Pictures held 21,000 shares; 12,000 shares were publicly held. Warner Bros. acquired access to First National's affiliated chain of theatres, while First National acquired access to Vitaphone sound equipment. Warner Bros. and First National continued to operate as separate entities. On November 4, 1929, Fox sold its interest in First National to Warner Bros. for $ 10 million. The First National studio in Burbank became

368-534: A parking lot to accommodate at least 200 cars. There were several food outlets at the theatre. The main café on the first floor had a dance floor where cabaret was held at the selected nights, and adjoining the café was a restaurant known as the Capitol Restaurant . A café lounge was located at the circle. A special cooling room for making French pastries was built in the kitchen on the ground floor. Its adjoined building known as Namazie Mansions , which

414-574: A total area of about 1.45 ha (14,500 m ) with a total of 250 tenants, including offices and retail outlets. With most of the tenants moving out by May 2009, Singapore Land Authority would inform the tenants of the need to move when details of the development of the site had been finalised. Other than the Capitol Centre, the other three buildings were gazetted for conservation on 16 July 2007, meaning that these buildings' facades must be maintained. In November 2011, Shimizu Corporation

460-684: Is a historic cinema and theatre located in Singapore . It was adjoined to four-storey building known as the Capitol Building . The Capitol Theatre was considered one of Singapore's finest theatres in the 1930s during that time. In 1929, Mirza Mohamed Ali Namazie , a Persian businessman of the Namazie family, commissioned the theatre to be built in Singapore, with S. A. H. Shirazee, an Indian-Muslim merchant and community leader, and

506-645: The Singapore Government gazetted the two buildings for redevelopment and later acquired the buildings from Shaw in 1987, for which the Shaw Organisation became the leasee for the use of the theatre and the building. In 1989, the theatre closed for a two-week renovation with the cost of S$ 700,000 with rewiring, reequipped with the new sound system and projectors and painting of the cinema hall and reopened 26 October 1989 with Lethal Weapon 2 . The Shaws Building also underwent renovations and

SECTION 10

#1732794407684

552-419: The 1951 to the 1960s, the theatre was also the venue for hosting Miss Singapore and Miss Malaya beauty pageants. The Variety show Musical Express and Singaporean musical group The Quests were held at the Capitol from the 1960s onwards. In 1978, Shaw Organisation put up Capitol Theatre and Shaws Building for sale, however no deal had been reached. Shaw Organisation later revealed plans to acquire

598-481: The Capitol Piazza. The Theatre having left vacant for more than 10 years, it was infested with rats, its plaster was falling, ornaments were missing, and water had seeped into its floors. During the restoration process, original design details were uncovered such as "the gilding on the plaster mouldings, and the fine features of the two ‘Pegasus’ reliefs" that were painted over multiple times. Additionally,

644-692: The Capitol Shopping Centre, which was built to accommodate about 114 retail shops and had 92 car park lots and 62 motorcycle lots. Upon its completion in 1976, the centre temporarily housed food stalls from Hock Lam Street, which was expunged to make way for the construction of the Funan Centre , and food stalls from High Street which was also expunged for the High Street Centre. In 1978, The Shaw Organisation put up Capitol Theatre and Shaws Building for sale, however no deal had been reached. The Shaw Organisation later revealed plans to acquire

690-469: The Capitol stretch will end by May 2009, and to have their businesses relocated elsewhere. Authority had finalise the eviction notice of the timing and details for the development plan of the site, three of the buildings except for Capitol Centre have been gazetted for conservation. With Grant Associates working closely with the project's lead architect, Richard Meir and Partners Architects, the project consists of Singapore's largest cinema cum theatre complex,

736-500: The Independent Producers' Association declared war in 1925 on what they termed a common enemy—the "film trust " of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Paramount, and First National, which they claimed dominated the industry not only by producing and distributing motion pictures but also by entering into exhibition as well. The financial success of The Jazz Singer and The Singing Fool enabled Warner Bros. to purchase

782-501: The South African brothers Joe and Julius Fisher from First National Pictures , joined in to form Capitol Theatres Ltd as its operator. Namazie would serve as the theatre company's chairman with Shirazee as director, Joe Fisher as managing director and his brother Julius Fisher as the publicity manager. Joe Fisher travelled overseas to acquire the materials for the theatre's furnishings, decorations and design. The Capitol Theatre

828-469: The Theatre to turn into a multi-functional venue to accommodate a large variety of events. The system would allow for up to 800 seats with 452 seats transformable. Additionally, half of the season would be used by Golden Village (GV) to screen movie blockbuster premieres, and it had also installed servers and projectors in the venue, allowing the venue to host red carpet events as well. The other half of

874-488: The United States. It eventually controlled over 600 cinemas, more than 200 of them first-run houses (as opposed to the less lucrative second-run or neighbourhood theatres to which films moved when their initial box office receipts dwindled). First National was the brainchild of Thomas L. Tally , who was reacting to the overwhelming influence of Paramount Pictures , which dominated the market. In 1912, he thought that

920-472: The buildings for $ 3 million and made the Capitol Theatre as its flagship cinema and renamed its adjoined Mansions as Shaws Building. In the late 1948, renovation of the buildings started which included repairing the damaged structure and new ballroom and restaurant known as Capitol Ballroom & Restaurant with a function room named Capitol Blue Room on the first floor. Its supposed reopening of

966-532: The centre itself. In May 1995, the centre was converted back into a shopping centre and renamed as Capitol Centre . On April 3, 2008, the Singapore Land Authority announced that the Capitol Theatre , Capitol Building , Capitol Centre and Stamford House would be redeveloped in 2009. The 4 adjoining buildings occupied an area of about 1.45 hectares with a total of 250 tenants, including offices and retail outlets. Tenancy with retailers along

SECTION 20

#1732794407684

1012-646: The colonial government requisitioned Capitol Theatre, which was closed after one show and also the closure of the Capitol Restaurant to serve as a food depot while the Mansions continued as the residential flats. Following the Japanese Occupation of Singapore from 1942, the theatre was taken over by the Japanese to serve as a food deport and operated under the name Kyo-Ei Gekijo , its English-language movies would later be forbidden after

1058-511: The competitions with other theatres which hurt its operations financially. In 1933, Joe and Julius Fisher started The Mickey Mouse Club to attract business. They later brought in the Marcus Show , a revue with a chorus line of 60 dancing girls, thus making the theatre and its various eateries a popular hangouts for the local youths. Early movie stars such as Charlie Chaplin , Ava Gardner , Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks visited

1104-423: The film industry. In September 1928, control of First National passed to Warner Bros. , into which it was completely absorbed on November 4, 1929. A number of Warner Bros. films were thereafter branded First National Pictures until July 1936, when First National Pictures, Inc., was dissolved. The First National Exhibitors' Circuit was founded in 1917 by the merger of 26 of the biggest first-run cinema chains in

1150-531: The food stalls and retail shops had been moved to the two new buildings by January 1985, in August 1985 the Capitol Shopping Centre was converted into a car park called the Capitol Car Park Station at a cost of S$ 542,000. The converted centre had 284 car spaces and 150 motorcycle spaces. In April 1992, the centre was converted again into Design Centre Singapore , where exhibitions were held at

1196-440: The history of film. Chaplin's contract allowed him to produce his films without a set release schedule. However, the production of the feature film The Kid ran so long that the company started to complain. To address their concerns, Chaplin invited the exhibitors to the studio, and they were so impressed by the project and charmed by the players, especially co-star Jackie Coogan , that they agreed to be patient. That patience

1242-463: The land of nearby Capitol Shopping Centre and to demolish Capitol Theatre and Shaws Building and redevelop the site into a shopping complex and a multiscreen cinema with commercial and residential apartments. However, under the Control of Rent Act 1953 of Singapore penal code, the Shaw Organisation had to provide compensation to its current tenants which proved a challenge to them. In February 1984,

1288-414: The land of the Capitol Shopping Centre and to demolish it along with Shaws Building and Capitol Theatre in order to redevelop the site into a shopping complex and a multiscreen cinema with commercial and residential apartments. However, under the Control of Rent Act 1953 of Singapore penal code, the Shaw Organisation had to provide compensation to its current tenants which proved a challenge to them. After

1334-472: The official home of Warner Bros.–First National Pictures. Thereafter, First National Pictures became a trade name for the distribution of a designated segment of Warner Bros. product. 45 of the 86 Warner Bros. feature films released in 1929 were branded as First National Pictures. Half of the 60 feature films Warner Bros. announced for release in 1933–1934 were to be First National Pictures. Although both studios produced "A" and "B" budget pictures, generally

1380-420: The original Persian Zodiac ceiling mural as was not salvageable, it was recreated instead. The original fly tower was taken down, and a whole new basement was excavated as well, while having to maintain the structural integrity of the building and the surrounding buildings as well. New technology was incorporated into the Theatre to modernise it. An automated, rotational seating system was installed, allowing

1426-446: The prestige productions, costume dramas, and musicals were made by Warner Bros., while First National specialized in modern comedies, dramas, and crime stories. Short subjects were made by yet another affiliated company, The Vitaphone Corporation (which took its name from the sound process). In July 1936, stockholders of First National Pictures, Inc. (primarily Warner Bros.) voted to dissolve the corporation and distribute its assets among

Capitol Centre, Singapore - Misplaced Pages Continue

1472-523: The season would be dedicated to local performing arts groups. The redevelopment of the Capitol Singapore complex had since completed and its topping out ceremony was held on 3 April 2014. The Capitol Theatre was reopened on 19 May 2015 after the 17 years hiatus with the world premiere of Singapura: The Musical . First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It

1518-471: The site of the former Capital Centre, a shopping mall, Capitol Piazza and residential tower, Eden Residences Capitol, with an approximate GFA of 29,000 m (2.9 ha). As it was common to jaywalk on the roads between the St Andrew's Cathedral and the Capitol Centre prior to the redevelopment, the new development was connected to the nearby City Hall MRT station via an underpass stretching towards

1564-751: The theatre on 30 March 1951 was delayed for 24 hours, due to the late arrival of the equipment needed for the Scandinavian Ice Revue to install the ice rink in the theatre. The theatre was officially reopened on 31 March 1951 at 9.15 pm to host the first ice show in Singapore. On 23 December 1952, the Capitol Chinese Restaurant was opened in the Capitol Blue Room in the evening, which specialised in Shanghai and Sichuan food prepared by cooks from China. From

1610-415: The theatre to promote their movies when they were in Singapore. In September 1939, the theatre was refurbished, seats were replaced with new upholstered ones, installed an air-conditioning system and had its vestibule redesigned and was completed by 31 January 1940. On the following day the theatre screened The Wizard of Oz to mark the occasion, and gained ahead of its competitors. On 19 December 1941,

1656-410: The theatre's walls' and ceilings' detailing. Although installed with ventilation system, the theatre's roof was able to slide open which leave a 40-foot aperture for more ventilation. The first layout of the theatre could accommodate at least 1,600 people, with 1,100 seated on the ground floor. Another 500 seats were available at the circle that could be accessed via lifts or staircases. The seats were

1702-595: The theatre. In 1963, a large neon advertisement tower known as the National Showroom Neon Tower was opened on 1 June 1963 by S. Rajaratnam . The Union Jack Club was later renamed to Commonwealth Services Club in 1964. The National Showroom was dismantled in 1974, and later the demolition the Commonwealth Services Club building and the bus terminus in 1975 for the construction of the three storey resettlement centre known as

1748-460: Was also designed for stage productions, with changing rooms and organ chambers built into the theatre. It was also the first to equip multihued lighting system using concealed lamps with a dimmer function, which was never used in other existing theatres in Singapore at that time. Besides having the floodlit main entrance at the junction of Stamford Road and North Bridge Road, there are also two side entrances from Stamford Road and North Bridge Road, with

1794-425: Was awarded the redevelopment project to develop into a large scale mixed use complex called "Capitol Development". With Grant Associates working closely with the project's lead architect, Richard Meir and Partners Architects, the project consists of Singapore's largest cinema cum theatre complex, 6 stars luxury hotel & retail shops, with an approximate Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 21,000 m (2.1 ha), and on

1840-517: Was designed neoclassical architecture by British architects Keys and Dowdeswell , with its general plan, seating arrangements and lighting inspired from the Roxy Theatre in New York , United States . Builders Messrs Brossard and Mopin began construction of the foundation around July 1929. Messrs Sherwin-Williams Paint Co. in collaboration with local partner Messrs Lohmann and Co., designed

1886-443: Was exorbitant and was commercially unfeasible. On 3 April 2008, plans of redeveloping the Capitol Theatre, Capitol Building, Capitol Centre and Stamford House as a single integrated site was first publicised in a news report carried by The Straits Times . By redeveloping the 4 developments as one, it would allow for the Theatre to run as a "loss leader" among the other 3 commercial developments. The 4 adjoining developments had

Capitol Centre, Singapore - Misplaced Pages Continue

1932-502: Was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc. , an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the country's largest theater chain. Expanding from exhibiting movies to distributing them, the company reincorporated in 1919 as Associated First National Theatres, Inc. and Associated First National Pictures, Inc. In 1924 it expanded to become a motion picture production company as First National Pictures, Inc. , and became an important studio in

1978-572: Was named after the Chairman Namazie, was completed in the early 1930. On 22 May 1930, Capitol Theatre officially opened on the evening with much fanfare with musical comedy film Rio Rita , the theatre was hailed as having the most modern auditorium with the largest capacity in the Far East. Several specially prepared short films were screened to demonstrate the quality from its installed sound system. These were an overture, Capitol March,

2024-552: Was relaunched on 30 April 1992 as the Capitol Building for commercial purposes. On 29 December 1998, the Capitol Theatre screened its last film Soldier , and was officially closed on the following day. In 2000, the Singapore Tourism Board took over the two buildings to explore alternative uses for it, but plans to turn it into a home for an arts group was languished and the cost of refurbishment

2070-544: Was responsible for purchasing films' rights for the theatre, which was able to gain exclusive first-screening rights for Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios productions, along with exclusive distribution rights for Radio Pictures . The theatre would also screened the British Pathé Sound News, as well as a new film for every week. Capitol Theatre soon faced with issues, including the sudden death of Namazie on 26 July 1931, strict censorship laws and

2116-785: Was ultimately rewarded when The Kid became a major critical and box office success. First National's distribution of films by independent producers is credited with launching careers including that of Louis B. Mayer . First National Exhibitors' Circuit was reincorporated in 1919 as Associated First National Pictures, Inc., and its subsidiary, Associated First National Theatres, Inc., with 5,000 independent theater owners as members. Associated First National Pictures expanded from only distributing films to producing them in 1924 and changed its corporate name to First National Pictures, Inc. It built its 62-acre (25 ha) studio lot in Burbank in 1926. The Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America and

#683316