The Capitol Theater debuted in the Jasper County seat of Newton on April 30, 1927 with 995 seats between the main floor and balcony. This number has decreased over the years, including when changes made to show films with sound in 1929, the installation of air-conditioning in 1937, and a new screen for widescreen shows in 1952. In March 1953, the Capitol was equipped to show 3-D movies, but the phenomenon was short-lived and only a few features were shown in 3-D.

In the spring of 1988, an announcement was made that the theater was converted into two separate screening rooms, allowing for a larger number of first-run films to be shown each week. The trend was common nationwide, and construction was completed by the end of the year.