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47-658: Capitol Singapore is an integrated development located in Singapore’s Civic and Cultural District, comprising the iconic Capitol Theatre , a high-end retail mall, the Eden Residences Capitol, The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore, and the Arcade at The Capitol Kempinski—a sunlit atrium hosting several modern and classical dining establishments. It also houses three conservation buildings, namely Stamford House , Capitol Theatre and Capitol Building . Built on

94-679: A Temporary Occupation Permit was given in October 2017. The deadlock was broken by a settlement made in the High Court in January 2018 and, in March, Perennial bought out Chesham Properties for about $ 528 million. In May 2018, Perennial Real Estate Holdings appointed Kempinski Hotels S.A. as its operator, and renamed the hotel The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore . It has 157 guest rooms and suites, and an international restaurant situated within

141-532: 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,

188-549: 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

235-574: 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

282-538: A total of 250 tenants, including offices and retail outlets. Tenancy with retailers along the Capitol stretch will end by May 2009, and to have their businesses relocated elsewhere. A spokesman for the Singapore Land Authority said the Authority will finalise the eviction notice once the timing and details for the development of the site are finalised. While development plans are being made, three of

329-399: A total size of 21,000 m . There was a shopping component named Capitol Piazza and also a residential component, named Eden Residences Capitol. In April 2013, 12 residential units were sold at average price of S$ 3000 psf. The redevelopment of the complex had since completed, its topping out ceremony held on 3 April 2014, its adjoined Capitol Theatre officially reopened on 19 May 2015 after

376-461: Is a historic building at the junction of North Bridge Road and Stamford Road in the Downtown Core of Singapore . The building had since redeveloped along with adjoined Stamford House and both were reopened as a hotel The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore in October 2018. Namazie Mansions was built by the architecture firm Keys & Dowdeswell next to the existing structure of

423-558: The Capitol Theatre , which was built earlier in 1929, and was completed in 1930. It was named after the owner, Mirza Mohamed Ali Namazie . The style of the building is eclectic neoclassical , characterised by somewhat ponderous detailing. Its theatre was one of the very few air-conditioned theatres when it was built by the Namazies, a prominent Persian family to host live shows. By the mid-1930s, there were 10 cinemas, of which

470-547: The Jaya Ibrahim -designed hotel suffered significantly delays in opening due to owner-related disputes. The hotel finally opened as The Capitol Kempinski, three years after its completion, after a 528 million Singapore Dollar buyout of the property by shareholder, Perennial Holdings. Several notable food and beverage outlets were opened at the mall. The mall was also the place where the Finnish fashion store Marimekko and

517-645: 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

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564-512: The Spanish shoe store Carmina Shoemaker opened their first stores in Singapore in late March and July 2015 respectively. However, most of them had since closed down prior to the mall's upcoming renovation in late 2019. In 2020, Capitol Piazza was renovated and renamed to Capitol Singapore. Capitol Theatre, Singapore In 1929, Mirza Mohamed Ali Namazie , a Persian businessman of

611-465: The 17 years hiatus with the world premiere of Singapura: The Musical . In 2015, Capitol Building and Stamford House were refurbished and scheduled to reopen as a six-star hotel known as The Patina, Capitol Singapore by the end of 2015, however was delayed due to dispute among its owners. By 2016, the project stalled when disagreement arose within the consortium, and the hotel spread across Capitol Building and Stamford House failed to open although

658-419: 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

705-412: The 1970s. The Building was also a location where Magnolia opened its first Singapore snack bar at the building in 1946, which was a favourite haunt for school students, young couples and tourists. It had since closed on 12 July 1988 at 9 pm. In 1978, Shaw Organisation put up Shaws Building and Capitol Theatre for sale, however no deal had been reached. Shaw Organisation later revealed plans to acquire

752-481: 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,

799-824: 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 was exorbitant. On April 3, 2008, it was reported by The Straits Times that the Capitol Building will be redeveloped along with its stretch of adjoining buildings - Capitol Theatre , Capitol Centre and Stamford House in 2009. The 4 adjoining buildings currently rest on an area of about 1.45 hectares with

846-462: 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. As the Mansions fronted the theatre, the large movie billboards announcing the latest films were placed on its frontage, resulted the two buildings so closely associated that one was often mistaken for the other. The Namazie Mansions

893-502: The Mansions itself. After 1946, the Namazie Mansions was purchased by Shaw Organisation and renovated in 1948 partly to restore its damaged parts, and renamed as Shaws Building . Its adjoined Capitol Theatre became the organisation's flagship theatre with 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

940-547: The Namazie family, commissioned the theatre to be built in Singapore, with S. A. H. Shirazee, an Indian-Muslim merchant and community leader, and 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

987-554: The Shaws Building and Capitol Theatre were gazetted for preservation by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and later acquired them in 1984 with Shaw Organisation served as the lessee so that both of the buildings would be preserved as part of a future development. The Shaws Building underwent renovations in 1989 and was relaunched on 30 April 1992 as the Capitol Building. On 29 December 1998,

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1034-469: 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

1081-449: The buildings except for Capitol Centre have been gazetted for conservation, meaning that the buildings' facades and other architectural features must be maintained to ensure the buildings' historical integrity. It is believed by property analysts that the development area will attract major property developers to bid and develop the site. Grant Associates worked closely with the project's lead architect, Richard Meir and Partners Architects,

1128-407: 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

1175-646: 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

1222-511: 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

1269-669: The former site of the Capitol Centre as the part of Capitol Singapore development by Capitol Investment Holdings, the Capitol Piazza was partially opened in late March 2015. The two storey mall with four basements consists of the following sections: an Open Plaza, an Arcade, the Galleria and Neue. The complex's hotel, The Capitol Kempinski is housed in the former Stamford House and Capitol Theatre buildings. Previously destined open as Pontiac Land -branded "Patina Singapore",

1316-420: The foundation around July 1929. Messrs Sherwin-Williams Paint Co. in collaboration with local partner Messrs Lohmann and Co., designed 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

1363-399: The ground floor. Another 500 seats were available at the circle that could be accessed via lifts or staircases. The seats were 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

1410-463: 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,

1457-403: The land of the 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 in Singapore law, the Shaw Organisation had to provide compensation to its current tenants which proved a challenge to them. In August 1983,

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1504-399: 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 was also designed for stage productions, with changing rooms and organ chambers built into

1551-420: 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

1598-417: The project consist of Singapore's largest cinema cum theatre complex, 6 stars luxury hotel & retail shops, with a total size of 21,000 m. In November 2011, Shimizu Corporation was awarded the redevelopment project to develop into a large scale mixed use complex called "Capitol Development". This project consist of Singapore's largest cinema cum theatre complex, 6 stars luxury hotel & retail shops, with

1645-535: The publicity manager. Joe Fisher travelled overseas to acquire the materials for the theatre's furnishings, decorations and design. The Capitol Theatre 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

1692-489: 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 . Namazie Mansions Capitol Building , formerly Shaws Building and Namazie Mansions ,

1739-471: 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

1786-751: 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

1833-415: 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,

1880-455: 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 a parking lot to accommodate at least 200 cars. There were several food outlets at

1927-553: 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 was named after the Chairman Namazie,

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1974-425: 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

2021-467: 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,

2068-443: 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

2115-410: 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

2162-544: 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

2209-430: Was sometimes erroneously referred to as the “Capitol Theatre building”. During the Japanese Occupation , the Mansions' adjoined theatre operated under the name Kyo-Ei Gekijo , the theatre's English-language movies were later forbidden by the Japanese after a few months and replaced them with their own films and orchestras. The theatre operated until 1944, when a bomb planted by the anti-Japanese resistance damaged it and

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