The curtain of the historic Teatre Capitol will rise again after more than five years of inactivity. The emblematic venue located on La Rambla will reopen under municipal ownership, thanks to an agreement between the Barcelona City Council and the building's owner. The forecast is that the renovation works will last "at most" until the Mercè festivities in 2027, 101 years after its inauguration, as detailed by the mayor, Jaume Collboni.
The management of the Teatre Capitol will be decided by public tender, following the formula already used in other cultural spaces in the city, such as the recently reopened El Molino or Paral·lel 62. Thus, the project's objective is to maintain the original structure of the theater, with two halls, which will have a capacity of 402 and 198 seats. Even so, it will be the new private manager of the theater who will have to decide whether to maintain comedy as the central theme of its programming, as it had done until its closure, as well as whether to keep the name of comedian Pepe Rubianes, who had performed until the end of his life in this theater, to designate its main hall.
The recovery of this venue is part of the city's commitment to reopen cultural spaces that had been closed for years, such as the Sala Muntaner or the Teatre Arnau, as well as the City Council's determination to recover La Rambla "not only as a citizen promenade, but as a cultural axis," according to Collboni.
The agreement with the property includes changes in the qualification of the Capitol building and also of the building known as Telefónica in Plaza CatalunyaThe Capitol Theater originally opened as a cinema in 1926, and at that moment he began to be known by the nickname ofCan Pistoles,since it often programmed action movies andwesterns. It was not until the end of the last century, in 1997, when it was converted into a theater. A flood in the adjacent building, the Hotel Continental, forced the temporary suspension of performances.
The last time its curtain rose was on March 12, 2020, coinciding with the start of the pandemic. Even so, the theater did not close as a result of the lockdown; rather, the decision had already been made at the end of 2019, when the owner of the premises announced that he would not renew the rental contract with Grupo Balañá, which had managed the venue since 1962.
In its new phase, the building will combine theatrical activity with administrative functions, as the offices of the central services of the City's Library Consortium will be moved to the top two floors of the building. These offices are currently spread across two rented premises in a building also located on La Rambla. With this move, the city council expects to save the 200,000 euros per year currently paid for their rent.
The change of ownership of the theater, which will become municipal, has been possible thanks to an agreement with the building's owner. The agreement includes a double change of classification: on the one hand, the Capitol building ---on Santa Anna street---, which will become a public facility, and on the other hand, the building at number 2 Fontanella street, which also belongs to the same owner.
The Fontanella property, known as the Telefónica building and next to Plaza Catalunya, will be reclassified as office and commercial space, whereas it was previously considered a facility. With this urban planning change, the owner transfers ownership of the theater to the Barcelona City Council. Furthermore, with the capital gain generated by the operation, which has been estimated at 37 million euros, the owner will be able to pay for the renovation works of the venue.