An architectural jewel of Québec City adorns a square named Place D’Youville adjacent to Porte Saint-Jean. The Auditorium of Québec opened in 1903 as a venue for concerts, plays and vaudeville shows. 25 years later, it was modified to screen silent movies and later talkies. In 1930, the name was changed to The Capitol. This was the focal point for entertainment for the next several decades. Le Capitole staged a long list of famous entertainers. Many influential guests attended including Princess Elizabeth of York six months before she became queen. The audiences began to fade away in the 1960s and 1970s until the theater closed in 1981. A decade later, the property was reborn as a boutique hotel (Hôtel du Capitole), an Italian eatery (Ristorante Il Teatro) and a modernized hall for concerts and musicals.
