Five years after it closed, the Capitol is set to come back under municipal ownership, strengthening La Rambla as an important cultural street in the city and adding to the range of other theatres here including the Poliorama and the Gran Teatre del Liceu

Following the reconditioning work for it to reopen, with the initial forecast for completion in the autumn of 2027, the Capital will have two halls with a capacity of 402 and 198 seats respectively, while the two upper floors will be home to the central services of the consortium for the city’s libraries. Currently housed in another building in the avenue, the move will represent an annual saving of 200,000 euros.

To make the operation possible, a new urban plan was needed to change the planning classification for two buildings: the one at C/ Santa Anna, 7 and 9, where the Teatre Capitol is located, enabling the change in classification for the facility as a whole, and one at C/ Fontanella, 2, belonging to the current owner of the Capitol. The change in planning will generate a capital gain that should materialise as the building housing the theatre being available to Barcelona City Council, plus an economic difference that will help cover much of the renovation work for the theatre and the conditioning work for the offices of the library consortium.

The Capitol thus becomes the latest in a series of city venues regained for cultural uses, including the former Sala Muntaner, El Molino, the Teatre del Raval and the Teatre Arnau. The management of the facility will be offered out to tender, as was the case with El Molino and Paral·lel 62.

The Capitol started life as a cinema in 1926 and was known colloquially at that time as “Can Pistoles” owing to its programme full of westerns, gangster films and action films. The venue was turned into a theatre in 1997 and staged some notable shows such as those by the now disappeared comedian Pepe Rubianes. A flood in the adjacent Hotel Continental on 3 July 2019 forced the theatre to suspend its programme and it was announced that it would close completely at the end of the season. The last show was on 12 March 2020, coinciding with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the start of lockdown.

During its life, the theatre hosted a total of 379 shows, with more than 14,000 functions and an accumulated audience of more than 2.7 million people.

2027: A new Club Capitol and a new Rambla

The regaining of the Capitol for cultural use will also have a key role for the future of the new Rambla and the new cultural role of this major city avenue, which after the current revamp seeks to reconnect with local people and the city as a place to stroll in, meet others and become consolidated as a major cultural and commercial avenue.