Empire Theatre (New York City)

The Empire Theatre in New York City was a prominent Broadway theatre in the first half of the twentieth century. It opened in 1893 with a performance of The Girl I Left Behind Me by David Belasco. The Empire continued to present both original plays and revivals until 1953. Its final show, in May 1953, was a performance of The Time of the Cuckoo. In the same month the theatre hosted a benefit celebrating sixty years of the Empire. ^[1]

Ownership and management

Frank Sanger and Al Hayman were the owners and developers of the uptown vacant lot that became the Empire Theatre. Hayman suggested that theatre producer Charles Frohman have the Empire Theatre built there, believing everything theatrical was moving uptown at the time.

The original lessees were listed as Charles Frohman and his partner William Harris of the firm Rich & Harris who were set to take possession of the building on January 23, 1893 which was also set to be the theatre's opening night.

The Empire Theatre's business manger was Thomas F. Shea for over 20 years from its opening till the death of Charles Frohman. After Frohman died on the RMS Lusitania in 1915, Al Hayman took over ownership of the Empire Theatre.

The theatre was sold in 1948 to the Astor estate; in 1953 it was announced that the building would be torn down to make way for an office tower.

The theatre community reminisced and performers gathered to celebrate the venue in a retrospective farewell performance.

Building

Charles Frohman hired architect J. B. McElfatrick to design the Empire Theatre; it was the first of the seven theatres designed by McElfatrick. The Empire was the first theatre to have electricity and was said to be thoroughly fireproof. The building was the only stock theatre at that time to be on the ground floor and to have no steps entering from the street.

December 2, 1892 it was reported in the New York Times that the building had been completed and was in the hands of the plasterers and decorators.

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