In 1980, Gordon and Marlene Madison were living in California when they saw a for-sale ad that read, "For Sale – Organ with a building wrapped around it." The building was the Capitol Theatre at 159 South Main Street in Chambersburg. The Madisons moved east, bought it, and did most of the restoration work themselves.
The Capitol is now in its 100th year. It opened to the public on February 3, 1927. Over the past century the building has changed hands several times, and each owner kept it going by filling the seats. The centennial follows the same pattern. It runs through the season's regular shows, with the anniversary label attached to a handful of returning favorites. If you want to celebrate the theater's 100th, the way to do it is to buy a ticket.
A building that has always lived on its calendar
The Capitol started as a movie house and later staged vaudeville. At its opening it was considered the most technically advanced theater in the area, and it had the largest movie screen in south central Pennsylvania. According to the history Paul Cullinane presented at the kickoff, the first film on that screen was "The Waning Sex," a 1926 silent comedy starring Norma Shearer. The two carbon arc projectors that showed films in those days are still in the projection booth above the mezzanine. Films were silent then, so the organ supplied the sound.
That organ is the instrument from the 1980 ad. It is a Möller theatre pipe organ installed when the theater opened in 1927, and it was the first theater pipe organ in the area. It is Opus 4800, with 14 ranks of pipes and a three-manual console. A fourth manual and computerization were added in 1989. Its pipes range from pencil-size to 16 feet tall. The Cumberland Valley Theatre Pipe Organ Society owns and maintains the organ, on the condition that it stays in the theater. It is still played by the society's president, Robert Eyer Jr., who has been organist at Trinity Lutheran Church in Chambersburg for nearly 50 years.
Each era of the Capitol has had its own steady programming. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Appalachian Jubilee Company rented the theater for Saturday night country and western shows that drew big crowds. In 1996 the building passed from private ownership to Downtown Chambersburg Inc., and in the 2000s it was reborn as a cultural arts hub, as the Chambersburg Public Opinion recounted from Cullinane's kickoff remarks. Cullinane was president of Downtown Chambersburg Inc. from 1994 to 2011. In that role he was responsible for the care and preservation of the theater, and he now serves as a volunteer ambassador for it. The full account he gave on stage was published by the Franklin County Free Press, and it includes his story that Wilford Binder, the theater's first organist, still haunts the building in a friendly way.
How the 100th year began
The centennial year opened on Thursday, October 1, 2026, with a ribbon-cutting and community reception. The Franklin County Free Press announced a 4 p.m. start with guest speakers, local arts displays, refreshments, ballet and live music, and said more centennial-season events were planned. According to the Public Opinion, dozens of people came "down to the Capitol" for the occasion, borrowing a popular local saying that one speaker repeated.
After the kickoff, the anniversary moved into the regular schedule, and the holiday season is where it starts.
The holiday stretch on South Main Street
This is the Capitol's calendar from mid-November through the week before Christmas, as posted on the theater's events page.
| Date | Show | Time | Tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Legends of Sun Records: Tribute to Roy Orbison & Elvis Presley | 7 p.m. | $43 adults, $39 seniors 60+, $35 active or retired military |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | The Polar Express Pajama Party & Movie | Party 11 a.m., movie noon | $20 per person |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Wilson Fairchild: A Family Christmas | 3 p.m. | $43 adults, $39 seniors 60+, $35 active or retired military |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 19–20 | The Nutcracker, Chambersburg Ballet Guild | 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. | $25 adults, $20 seniors 60+, $20 students age 6 through college, $15 children 5 and under |
| Tue., Dec. 22 | White Christmas Movie & Holiday Social | Films 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., social hour 5 p.m. | $5 per person, at the door |
The Sun Records tribute, starring Jesse Aron & the Spin-Outs, is on Saturday, November 14. The rest of the schedule clusters in December.
The Nutcracker, with local dancers
The Chambersburg Ballet Guild's Nutcracker has the longest run of the season: four performances over the weekend of December 19 and 20. The cast includes more than 50 local dancers under Artistic Director Brian Grant. It is the Capitol's only partner production listed for December. In a building that started as a movie palace and survived on rentals, a homegrown ballet company filling the stage for a whole weekend fits the theater's history.
Two films in the old movie house
Two of the five holiday dates are films. The Polar Express morning on December 5 starts with a pajama party at 11 a.m. and the movie at noon. The White Christmas social on December 22 brackets a 5 p.m. social hour with screenings at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and tickets are $5 at the door. That is the lowest ticket price on the Capitol's winter calendar. It is also a chance to see a film in the theater that was built for film in 1927.
Where the anniversary label shows up
After the holidays, the calendar turns to IceFest. The Glacial Glow Dance Party on Friday, January 29, 2027, is part of IceFest 2027, with admission at $10 for adults and $5 for students with ID.
Three days after the theater's 100th birthday, the centennial starts appearing on the posters. Three returning shows are billed as coming back for the 100th anniversary:
- Galentine's Day IV with 90's Kids Superfly Tribute Band, Saturday, February 6, 2027
- Mountain Music & Moonshine 2027, headlined by Appalachian Road Show, Saturday, February 27, 2027
- Sail On: The Beach Boys Tribute, Saturday, April 17, 2027
All three use the same price tiers as the November tribute: $43 for adults, $39 for seniors 60 and older, and $35 for active or retired military. The theater's anniversary is being marked by bringing back shows its audiences already know, much as the Saturday night shows of the 1980s and 1990s brought back the same crowds week after week.
The work behind the walls
Some of the centennial work happens out of sight. In June 2026, the Capitol Theatre Center Foundation received a $30,000 Keystone Historic Preservation grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The money will replace the underground water and sewer lines that run between the theater and the street, according to the Public Opinion. abc27 reported that the award came from a $2.2 million state round covering 38 projects in 19 counties, and that recipients must match the grant 50/50. The theater has to raise an equal amount on its own to use the state money.
The Capitol also has a standing donation appeal, the Bridging the Gap campaign, which asks for support for programming, building care and arts access. Earlier restoration of the main theater's walls and crown moldings, along with the lobby and entryways, was made possible with help from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, as Visit Franklin County reported in December 2024. Grants, donations and ticket sales pay for a 1927 building to keep running into its second century, and the holiday calendar on South Main Street is the part of that funding any resident can join. Check the Capitol's events page before you go, since dates and prices on the theater's listings can change.
The Capitol has kept Chambersburg's downtown busy on winter evenings for close to a century, and the Main Street homes around it share that history. At Lisa Mack, we pay attention to what keeps these blocks lively. If you're curious what your own Chambersburg home is worth in its neighborhood today, request a free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
