Empire Theater

THE EMPIRE THEATER was built in 1912 by producer Al Woods, who originally named it the Eltinge after his biggest star Julian Eltinge—the top female impersonator in America—who never played at the theater. Designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb, the Empire is one of 42nd Street’s most architecturally distinguished theaters with a broad 80-foot, terra cotta facade, illuminated by a triumphal arch window. Although some of the most important interior elements have been lost—murals by the painter Reginald Marsh—a large part of the decorative work remains. Notable elements of the theater’s Beaux Art interior are the proscenium arch with its heavy rope-like medallions, the balcony fasciae and its elegant domed ceiling.

The theater opened on September 11, 1912, with Within the Law. The show ran for a house-record 541 performances and was followed by a string of bedroom farces and comedies. After a brief attempt at serious drama—East of Suez by Somerset Maugham, Ghost Train with Claudette Colbert and Crime with Sylvia Sidney—the management began to present The Eltinge Follies, a burlesque show which played for over a decade. In 1935, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello’s comedy act debuted as part of The Eltinge Follies. After Mayor LaGuardia’s crackdown on burlesque houses in the 1940s, the theater was renamed Laff Movie and began showing Hollywood features. In 1954, new owners changed its name to the Empire, and the theater presented second-run films for the next three decades.