File:Capitol Theater, State Street, Madison, WI (52733355107).jpg

Built in 1927-1929, this Spanish Renaissance Revival-style former movie theater was designed by Rapp and Rapp. The theater has seen massive modifications to the rear of the front facade with the construction of the Overture Center for the Arts on the block in 2006, with the only vestige of the historic theater being the original auditorium space, which has been restored, and the original facade, which was partially restored, but with major modifications to the first floor and the absence of the marquee and large blade sign that were once mounted on the facade. The building is now one of two historic buildings that have had their facades incorporated into the Overture Center for the Arts, a fine and performing arts center designed by César Pelli, which also includes a contemporary art museum and a several live performance venues. The theater became part of the Madison Civic Center in 1980, becoming known as the Oscar Mayer Theatre, by which point the interior had been extensively modified and modernized to keep up with more modern trends and tastes, removing almost all original detail from the lobby and heavily altering the auditorium. The auditorium originally sat approximately 2,300, and the lobby featured a setup similar to the Orpheum Theatre across the street, with two staircases flanking a hallway to the auditorium on the first floor, and a balcony on the second floor, with decorative finishes, murals on the walls, and a tile floor, done in a Spanish-Moorish style, which was removed in subsequent renovations in the mid-20th Century when the building was being utilized as a concert venue. The interior of the building behind the facade today no longer functions as an entrance to the original auditorium.

The facade features buff brick cladding, a Spanish gabled parapet, terra cotta trim with intricate carvings and decorative Spanish motifs, an arched surround with decorative chamfered corinthian pilasters flanking the face arched windows on the second floor, a decorative terra cotta cap on the parapet, a large arched niche on the front of the parapet with a decorative mural featuring an urn and floral motifs, framed by decorative terra cotta trim, and stone panel cladding at the base around the bronze doors. The interior of the theater, which was heavily renovated and restored visually to its original appearance in 2006, features many Moorish arches, balconies with decorative plaster railings, arches under the balcony around the light fixtures, decorative plasterwork, a decorative plaster medallion in the middle of the ceiling, a Spanish-style proscenium arch with simple trim in a complex shape, chandeliers over the boxes flanking the stage, and recessed cove lighting. The theater has had its systems fully modernized with the 2006 renovation, with the original structure being intact but re-clad and encapsulated within the new complex.