CAPA Theatres FREE Open House Walking Tour

This event is FREE!

When Robert Karlsberger, Lawrence Fisher, Jean Whallon, and Scott Whitlock formed CAPA on May 21, 1969, its immediate mission was to save the historic and stunning Loew's Ohio Theatre from being destroyed. The 1928 Spanish Baroque-style movie house, designed by architect Thomas Lamb as “a palace for the average man,” was closed by Loew’s on February 24, 1969, and sold to a local development company with plans to raze it, and the adjacent RKO Grand Theatre, to build an office tower. The newly formed non-profit leapt to rally the community in a “Save the Ohio” campaign that ultimately raised more than $2 million in less than a year. The unprecedented effort met its mark, and the glorious and beloved Ohio Theatre was safe. Today, the Ohio Theatre is proudly listed on the National Register of Historic Places, been declared a National Historic Landmark, and is the State Theatre of Ohio.

In 1986, the Southern Theatre was donated to CAPA. The 1896 jewel box opera house had closed in 1979 and needed extensive repair. CAPA again rallied the community and raised $10 million to fund a 14-month, total restoration. Reopened in 1998, the thriving Southern Theatre is Columbus’ oldest existing theatre and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1989, Katherine LeVeque gifted CAPA the Palace Theatre, a 1926 vaudeville house (also designed by Thomas Lamb) with an interior design inspired by France’s magnificent Palais de Versailles. CAPA immediately assumed responsibility of the venue’s care and management, and in 2018, completed a $6 million renovation that included the installation of a high-efficiency heating system, a new roof, and a full facelift of its magnificent auditorium.