Capitol Theatre Turns 100 on December 30

The Capitol Theatre in Windsor is turning 100 on December 30, Windsor Star reports.

The theatre survived the wrecking ball and its employees worked to restore and transform the historic building, says Sheila Wisdom, executive director of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra which now manages the theatre.

In the 1990s the theatre was a deteriorated movie theatre that was slated for demolition. At the same time, the city's people were looking for a performance venue.

"And someone said, 'Why don't you look at the Capitol Theatre?'" Wisdom recounts. "I was a really green city councillor and I remember (then-mayor) John Millson looking at me and smiling and saying 'Sheila, this is the most hare-brained idea I've ever heard of, but if you want to do it, I'll support you.'"

It has been a premier performance venue ever since.

"When I think of the Capitol Theatre, I think of it as emblematic of what a lot of people in our community value. It's here because the community mobilized to save it," Wisdom said. "And they did that more than once."

The City of Windsor has made investments in recent years to the theatre, including new seating in 2016 and improvements to the Pentastar stage to better accommodate orchestral concerts. The theatre has also become the headquarters for the Windsor International Film Festival.

Wisdom said that they had plans to celebrate the 100th birthday, but they had to adjust due to the pandemic.

"We had events planned throughout the year and pretty much all of it went south," she said, due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Wisdom said. "But just because it's turning 100 on Dec. 30 in the midst of a lockdown doesn't mean the celebration can't be held some time later."

Read more on Windsor Star.