Capitol Theatre papers
Scope and Contents
The Capitol Theater Collection is composed of two major parts. The first half is related to the Thatcher Theater enterprise while the second half concerns business and correspondence of various Thatcher family members. The theater portion of the collection centers on the financial and legal movements of the Consolidated Theater company, an umbrella organization covering both the Capitol and Lyric Theaters. The Consolidated Theater Company was a co-partnership consisting of B.G. Thatcher, G.W. Thatcher, and William Spicker. Much of the theater material (including contracts of repayment, notes, receipts, payment protests, and bills) is dated sometime during 1923. This reflects the fact that heavy costs were incurred in the building of the Capitol Theater that year. Non-theater materials quite diverse in content. Most of it centers around Thatcher family members and includes correspondence ledgers, and legal documents. Also included are newspapers, pamphlets, an AAA auto emblem, and even a picture of an Elephant and Rhino!
Dates
- Creation: 1868-1937
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1916-1937
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Restrictions
Open to public research.
Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.
Permission to publish material from the Capitol Theatre papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections Department Head.
Historical Note
Located in the block of Main Street and 100 South in Logan, Utah, the Capitol Theater was constructed with funding from local businessmen George and Guy Thatcher. The theater held its grand opening on March 29, 1923, with a pianist, singer, dancer, organist, and the "photo-play" Adam's Rib on the bill. Intricately decorated with "old rose and French gray" carpets, drapes, furniture, lighting fixtures, and stucco decorations, the theater was hailed by the Logan Journal as "the finest theater west of Chicago." Although the Capitol was the last theater in Logan built expressly for stage performances, by the mid-1950s it was used almost exclusively for movie showings. The city eventually purchased the aging theater, and in 1993, it was renovated by the Capitol Arts Alliance at a cost of $6.4 million. Now known as the Ellen Eccles Theatre, the old Capitol is managed by the Cache Valley Center for the Arts and is home to the Utah Festival Opera and a number of other musical and theatrical performances.
Extent
1 box (.5 linear feet)
Abstract
The Capitol Theatre collection consists of some of the financial and legal papers of the Consolidated Theatre Company of Logan, Utah. The remainder of the collection consists of owner B.G. Thatcher's personal papers.
Arrangement
All correspondence has been chronologically arranged and placed at the beginning of the collection. Material relating to the Thatcher theaters has been grouped together and follows in order after the correspondence. All other Thatcher and miscellaneous materials are held at the end of the collection.
Badly torn papers have been repaired using archival repair tape. Items damaged due to acid deterioration have been treated using Wei T'O spray, a de-acidifying agent. Several items have been encapsulated in Mylar to preserve and protect them.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Capitol Theater Collection was purchased from a private individual during the summer of 1985. The acquisition was made possible due to a generous monetary gift from the Marie Eccles Caine foundation. This collection will join several others in Utah State University's Marie Eccles Caine Archives.
Processing Information
Before processing, the collection was stored in a single, early 20th century letter file box measuring 11.5"x12"x5". The material had not originally been placed in any sort of order. It was necessary, therefore, to impose an order upon the materials during their procession.
- Title
- Guide to the Capitol Theatre papers, 1868-1937
- Author
- Finding aid created by Special Collections and Archives.
- Date
- ©2008
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding guide is in English in Latin script.
- Sponsor
- Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008
Repository Details
Part of the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Repository
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan Utah 84322-3000 United States
435 797-8248
435 797-2880 (Fax)
scweb@usu.edu