[2] The theater closed in March 1977, the final showing was the Stephen King horror classic Carrie.

The auditorium was decorated in acoustic tile of colors with rich ornamented side wall and ceiling panels, including a cornice at the junction of the side walls and ceiling decorated in deep colors.

[5] Due to management decision, the opening date was postponed for another month to finish cleaning up and decorating.

[6] The first movie that was premiered on opening day was The Prince and the Pauper, starring Errol Flynn.

The last movie screened in the theater before the closing was Carrie, starring Sissy Spacek and John Travolta.

After successfully raising funds the Capitol Theater's marquee was relit in December 2005 after decades of being dark.

The foundation engaged Metzger Johnson Architects of Burlington, Iowa to design a plan to create a performing arts center by joining the Capitol Theater with the adjacent ISU building.

After receiving an IJOBS grant for $1,000,000, historic tax credits and raising over a million dollars locally; planning began in 2010 for extensive renovations, which included all new seats, a new, larger stage, the use of the former ISU building as an annex for dressing rooms, restrooms, and loading of props, and backdrops, as well as an art gallery.

The renovations on the building itself retained the original walls in the outer lobby, the exposed the original terrazzo floor, repainting the auditorium, installation of 370 new seats, a fifteen-foot extension of the stage, a new picture screen, state-of-the-art digital projection equipment, as well as a digital surround audio system, new lighting fixtures, and scrubbing of the outer facade of the building, at a cost of over $3 million.

The Capitol Theater Foundation owns all property associated with the two buildings, as well as all rights for scheduling events.