Capitol Theatre

These days Sydney’s Capitol Theatre is regarded as one of the finest theaters in the country, but this wasn’t always the case. The site on which the theater now stands has over 100 years of history.

Located in the historic Haymarket district, the Capitol Theater began its life in 1892 as the Belmore Markets, which closed in 1916. The building was then converted into a hippodrome designed for the Wirth Bros circus. Within ten years the circus became financially unviable and the building was again converted, this time into a movie theatre. Its manifestation as a ‘picture palace’ lasted until the 1980s, when is was scheduled to be demolished. Luckily, a Heritage Council conservation order rescued the theatre and it was eventually restored to create the world-class lyric theatre that is today.