History of the Capitol Theatre

Photo by Bowman Photography

... now home of The Little Theatre of Greeneville ...

The building which houses The Capitol Theatre was originally the three-story brick home of William Dixon, an Irish immigrant who was the Town of Greeneville's first postmaster. No records are found of what became of Mr. Dixon or his home between the time it was built and when it became Greeneville's finest movie theater.

The property came into the hands of Crescent Amusement Company of Nashville, which owned a number of movie theaters. Crescent employed Thomas S. Mar and Joseph W. Horman of Nashville to build the art-deco style Capitol Theatre, which opened August 12, 1934. Mr. Harry Beekner of Nashville was employed as Manager. It was a grand showplace for cinema and live performance. The theatre was the center of entertainment for Greeneville until Mr. Beekner's death in 1974.

Mr. and Mrs. Claude "Tiny" Day and country music star Buddy Rose reopened the theatre in late 1974. Mr. Rose died in 1977 and the Days continued to operate it until Mr. Day's death of a heart attack in 1990. The theatre appeared to be destined for destruction. Margaret Parks of Knoxville owned the building, was going to sell it, and rumors were about that it would be demolished and the property used as a city parking lot.

Main Street: Greeneville bought the vacant theatre and deeded it to The Little Theatre of Greeneville, Inc. on the condition that Little Theatre would raise the funds necessary to completely refurbish it and nurture it back to life. The Little Theatre, established in 1963 by Budd and Betty Haberstick, had been headquartered in the former Roby School Building (Greeneville's first high school).

Harrison Lamons, who for many years had been active with The Little Theatre, latched onto that dream and brought it to completion. The renovations cost $2.2 million dollars, and took nine years to complete. All but $850,000 of that amount was raised by donations and grants.

Mr. Lamons untimely death of cancer just weeks before the opening was a shock to the community and to those involved in the theatre, but he was honored on opening night when the auditorium was named the Harrison Lamons Auditorium in his memory.

The new Capitol Theatre, home of The Little Theatre, opened on May 15, 2002. Several hundred guests attended what surely was the largest gathering of black ties and formal gowns downtown Greeneville had ever seen. Throughout the evening the opening gala was a showplace for Greeneville.s nine-year effort to restore and refurbish The Capitol and to thank the people who provided the money that done so much to help bring back The Capitol Theatre. Special performances every night for a week made the opening of The Capitol one to remember.