Capitol Cinema (Ottawa) - The Grand Opening

The Grand Opening

The Capitol was located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Queen Street and Bank Street, and was opened by the Loews chain on November 8, 1920. In honour of the new theatre, a special train from New York City arrived at Ottawa's Union Station, carrying Marcus Loew, Thomas Lamb, and more than a dozen silent film stars of the day, including Matt Moore and Texas Guinan. The train was greeted by the Governor General's Foot Guards band and thousands of movie fans.

A motorcade took the visitors to the City Hall on Elgin Street, where the Mayor, Harold Fisher, was on hand for an official greeting. After a short tour of the city, the visitors were greeted by James Alexander Lougheed on Parliament Hill, and then taken to their accommodations in the Château Laurier. The crowds that greeted the motorcade at each stage of its procession through the city were described by the Ottawa Citizen as "throngs" with "unrivalled scenes of enthusiasm".

The opening performance that evening consisted of two films, D.W. Griffith's "The Love Flower" and a comedy entitled "Cheer Up", and four vaudeville acts. Crowds of people who were unable to obtain tickets for the sold-out show lingered on the sidewalks outside the theatre throughout the evening.

After the performance, the revelry continued at City Hall, where the visiting celebrities and local notables celebrated until dawn, with the actress Texas Guinan reportedly orchestrating the celebrations from the Mayor's chair. News of the party erupted into a scandal over the following weeks, with many questioning the appropriateness of hosting the alleged debauchery at the seat of local government and whether city funds had been used to purchase alcohol for the event. One city councillor, Napoléon Champagne, later defended his attendance at the party in the Ottawa Citizen by claiming that he had been "looking after the married men".