to seat 2,500, and would show both silent and the new talking pictures, as well as "anything that can be seen on Broadway." The five buildings on the site of the theater were razed in the winter of 1927. Excavation of the site was started on April 17, 1928 by B.S. McCarey of Rome. Construction of the theater was under the auspices of the construction firm of Stofflet & Tillotson, Philadelphia. Although the apartments were not in the final construction, and the number of store-fronts was reduced to two instead of four, the auditorium design remained largely intact. In the auditorium, seating came to approximately 2,000 seats. Spanish-Moroccan plasterwork was incorporated into the theater's design, and colors of gold, green, blue, and browns were dominant in the lobby, foyer and auditorium's paint scheme. A marquee and vertical blade over the entrance greeted patrons, flanked with 2,000 incandescent bulbs. A heating system was installed under the stage and an air ventilation system in the roof. Installed in the Capitol's orchestra pit was a 3/7 Möller, Style-70 Theatre Organ. Originally planned to be on the left-hand side of the orchestra pit, the console was placed in the center of the orchestra pit on a lift. The Capitol's projection booth was ready on December 7, when it was tested. It contained two projectors with both Vitaphone and Movietone equipment for talking pictures. A third, auxiliary projector was silent only. The two spotlights and one slide projector made by the Chicago Equipment Company and installed in the booth are still there in the 21st century. The Capitol opened on Monday, December 10, 1928. More than fifty people lined up in the cold an hour before the box office opened at 5:30 PM to be sure to get a ticket. Accompaniment on the organ was by Robert S. Bancroft. The opening night program consisted of Mrs. Arthur Seth Evans singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" while a slide-show of the lyrics were projected on the curtains. The six Capitol pages were introduced on the stage, and the dedication of the theater by the management followed. Following the dedication was the film show of a newsreel accompanied by Mr. Bancroft, and two Vitaphone shorts—"The Lash" and "Those Pullman Porters". Bancroft gave a short recital at the organ, "playing a medley of popular airs." The feature film was Lilac Time, starring Colleen Moore and Gary Cooper. It had a