Capitol Theater Building

The Capitol Theatre is one of the city’s most unique and intriguing buildings, rich in colorful Flint history. Unfortunately, it’s fallen on some hard times over the years and has been open for events intermittently over the last few years.
There is hope, however, for this beautiful old landmark to shine once again. There are plans for reinvestment into the Capitol Theatre, although over the years, there have been numerous stalled attempts at redevelopment and renewal.
It’s still gorgeous and the interior, while fading a little bit each passing year, still shows what this Art Deco era theatre was like back in its heyday. The Will Ferrell fllm, «Semi-​Pro,» was shot on location here about a decade ago. I have fond memories of going to a few concerts here before it closed when I was in high school. It was in a state of decline then, but it was still something to be seen.
Shortly before it closed, there were attempts at improvements and renovations, and the Captiol Café (a cute little coffee shop) was open late nights upstairs, past the winding, spiral staircase. We used to hang out up there after shows on the weekend back when I was still in high school. Sadly missed. Any longtime Flint native should have some memories of the Captiol Theatre at some point.

The Capitol Theater is a beautiful building in downtown Flint that currently has a restoration project in the planning. It was built in the 1920’s thanks to the teaming of W.S. Butterfield and John Eberson. What they designed together was a lavish theater with Italian influences. It is a historic building that has been preserved with hopes of re-​opening. Recently, the lighting got re-​done thanks to the movie «Semi-​Pro» which was filmed in Flint. It hoped to reconstruct the feel of downtown Flint in the mid 1970s.
I remember coming here when I was little and thinking it was a palace. In the early 90’s I know that some shows were played here by different bands, and my friends who were in local punk bands got a chance to play here before it closed. Kudos to them, that’s pretty cool. I hope the restoration project is successful because it would be an amazing spot for Flint to have open in its downtown.