Cine Capitol--Madrid

When I was in Madrid for my recent vacation my hotel was right next door to the amazing Cine Capitol. Finished in 1933, this Art Deco movie palace is still playing films and was showing a dubbed version of Iron Man while I was there. When I found out it was a dubbed version and that I wasn't going to be able to watch a film at the Capitol I was crestfallen.

One afternoon on the trip I saw the theatre emptying out and decided I'd try to enter and at least look at the theatre for a bit. I got to the concessions in the lobby when a young kid in a broom stopped me and started in with some rapid fire Spanish. I told him I only spoke a little bit of Spanish and tried to ask if I could just go in and look at the theatre. He went and got another person--this time a young woman--and I asked her about looking inside for a few seconds. She said no. Only for a minute I said to her. "No," was her response. "Porque?" I asked. "No," she said again. I'm not sure her English was actually better than the kid before but I left the gigantic lobby without getting to go any further than the lobby.

So, I stayed in a hotel that let me see the top of the marquee from my window. I walked by the Capitol every day for four days but it just teased me as I didn't get to go into the auditorium once. Heartache! I did get some nice photos of the marquee including these two--one taken by The Hidden Staircase with me standing underneath the massive, neon-lit marquee and one from across the street with the subway entrance sign.