Staff Submits Plan to Alter Seating Alignment in Capitol Theatre Auditorium
By Paul Wetzel, Tribune Staff Writer
Salt Lake Tribune, 12 January 1979, page 16D
The staff of the Capitol Theatre has come up with a plan to alter seating arrangements in some portions of the auditorium to provide patrons a better view of the stage.
Steve Horton, manager of the Capitol Theatre, told the Salt Lake County Center for the Arts Advisory Board Thursday the plan has been submitted to the theater's renovation architect, Steven T. Baird, for review.
Mr. Horton and theater stage manager Doug Morgan have proposed that every other row of seats in the center section on the theater's main floor be realigned so that the seats on one row are not directly behind those of the row in front of them. This staggering of the seats will cause the loss of eight seats in the auditorium's center main floor section, Mr. Horton said.
The second row of seats on the theater's grand tier (loge) also would be altered under the plan. They will be placed eight inches higher above the floor through construction of a platform and the alteration of steps in the grand tier section.
Mr. Horton said he has received numerous complaints about view of the stage from these two sections of the hall since the theater opened in October. He added that the main floor alterations can be made by the end of January. He was unable to estimate the cost of the alterations.
He said the original seating alignment was dictated by the presence of heating and air conditioning vents below the seats, however, he has been assured by the building's mechanical engineer the proposed alterations will not drastically affect the air circulation in the hall.
Mr. Horton also told the committee that renovation of the theater is now 99 per cent complete and all work there should be finished within the next 20 days.
Turning his attention to the other buildings of the county's new arts center, Mr. Horton reported that construction of the visual arts center, located northeast of the Salt Palace, is on schedule. Public areas of that building should be completed in time for the scheduled March 12 opening, he said.
He also said that by June 1 construction of the concert hall will have progressed to the point the building and correction of any construction errors can begin. The Utah Symphony is scheduled to open the hall next fall.