Times Square became the epicenter for large-scale theater productions between 1900 and
the Great Depression. Manhattan's theater district had begun to shift from
Union Square and
Madison Square during the first decade of the 20th century. From 1901 to 1920, forty-three theaters were built around Broadway in Midtown Manhattan. Furthermore, A. H. Woods and American actor
Julian Eltinge signed a contract in 1909, wherein Woods acted as Eltinge's manager for seven years. Both men earned several hundred thousand dollars from the contract.
Legitimate shows 1910s In August 1911, Woods announced that he had signed a 21-year lease for an plot just west of the
Liberty Theatre. Woods planned to build a 1,000-seat theater named in honor of Julian Eltinge. It would be the eighth theater to be constructed on 42nd Street, after the New Amsterdam, Liberty,
Harris, American,
Lyric,
Republic, and
Victoria theaters. The George A. Just Company received the contract for the theater's structural steel, while the Fleischmann Brothers received the general construction contract. By January 1912,
Variety magazine reported that the Eltinge Theatre was nearly completed and was ready to open that April. Woods moved his executive offices from the
Putnam Building to the entire upper floor in August 1912. The Eltinge Theatre opened on September 11, 1912, with
Bayard Veiller's melodrama
Within the Law. The drama had previously been successful in Chicago, and it ran at the Eltinge for 541 performances through the end of 1913. The next hit at the Eltinge was the play
The Yellow Ticket, featuring
Florence Reed and
John Barrymore, which opened in January 1914 and ran for 183 performances. Later the same year,
Edward Sheldon's play
The Song of Songs opened at the Eltinge, running for six months. and transferred to the Harris Theatre after seven months. with 286 performances over the next several months. Within five years of its opening, the Eltinge Theatre was known as a "lucky house", in part because Woods often booked or produced popular comedies and melodramas. The Eltinge screened films in early 1917, such as the documentary
Birth and the educational movie
Trip Through China. The same year, the Eltinge's stage was enlarged in advance of the 1917–1918 theatrical season. The theater's next hit was
Business Before Pleasure, starring
Barney Bernard and
Alexander Carr, This was followed by the play
Under Orders, which opened in September 1918; it ran for several months despite having only two performers, in contrast to many contemporary productions that enjoyed large casts. and Collison and
Avery Hopwood's
The Girl in the Limousine, which opened the same October.
1920s The Eltinge did not host many long-lasting productions during the 1920s, likely because of the growing popularity of larger theaters and because Woods was busy producing other shows. The play
''Ladies' Night'', which opened in 1920, was the theater's first hit of that decade, running for nearly a year. Later the same year, the theater hosted
The Demi-Virgin, which transferred from the Times Square Theatre to finish its 268-performance run.
The Demi-Virgin was the subject of a lengthy legal dispute regarding whether it was an "indecent" show, which Woods ultimately won. After
The Demi-Virgin closed, most of the Eltinge's productions ran for fewer than 200 performances, including
East of Suez in 1922 and
The Woman on the Jury in 1923. One of the exceptions was
Archibald and
Edgar Selwyn's comedy
Spring Cleaning, which opened in November 1923 and ran for seven months. and immediately resold the theaters to Maximilian Zipkes. The Eltinge continued to host plays, although they were often not very popular. In early 1925, the theater hosted
Leon Gordon's play
The Piker, which was so negatively received that its leading performer,
Lionel Barrymore, seldom appeared on Broadway again. The Shubert family withdrew from the theater's operation in February 1926, leaving Woods with complete control over the house's bookings. By then, Woods was busy with other projects, having leased the
Martin Beck Theatre and owning a half-stake in the
Broadhurst Theatre.
The Ghost Train (1926) with
Claudette Colbert, Woods leased the Eltinge in March 1927 to Lester Bryant, who was sponsored by a group of wealthy men. By then, Woods was producing multiple large shows, which the theater's small capacity could not accommodate. leased the Eltinge during the 1927–1928 theatrical season, hosting seven shows in eight months. Woods subsequently took back the theater's lease and produced the revue
Blackbirds of 1928, Following the
Wall Street Crash of 1929, Woods produced several plays, which all had short runs. This was followed the next year by
Love Honor and Betray with
Clark Gable; the
Theatre Guild's production of
A Month in the Country; The theater's last-ever legitimate show was
First Night, produced by Richard G. Herndon, which closed in February 1931.
Burlesque Woods sublet the Eltinge to Max Rudnick in February 1931. Rudnick converted the Eltinge into a stock burlesque theater, and launched his first burlesque shows there on March 6. The Eltinge was the second theater on 42nd Street to feature stock burlesque, following
Minsky's Republic Theater (now the
New Victory) which opened a month earlier. The Eltinge's conversion to burlesque was due in part to the Depression and in part to a general decline in the Broadway theater industry in the mid-20th century; from 1931 to 1950, the number of legitimate theaters decreased from 68 to 30. The Eltinge and the Republic were financially successful by mid-1931, In New York, theater licenses were subject to yearly renewal, and opponents of burlesque tried to have the licenses revoked. The nearby Republic and other theaters had been raided by police, but the publicity only boosted attendance. The Eltinge's operating license was temporarily revoked in September 1932, only to reopen the next month. The Eltinge toned down its shows whenever it was raided, but reverted to form soon after. By 1933, Rudnick had taken over the theater building, and Woods, who had continued to occupy the fourth-floor offices, relocated his office to the New Amsterdam. Rudnick, his assistant manager, and several performers were arrested on indecency charges in November 1934, but were ultimately exonerated. The Eltinge continued to operate as a burlesque house for several more years. However, after a series of sex crimes in early 1937, The Eltinge continued to host burlesque performances, which were billed as "Follies". The theater operated without a permit for several weeks in late 1937 before its license was renewed at the end of that year. Even without the word "burlesque" on its marquee, the Eltinge remained popular, although it was only one of three remaining burlesque theaters in the city by 1940. Moss again refused to renew the Eltinge's operating license in early 1942, marking the permanent end of burlesque at the Eltinge. with 759 seats. The Brandt family took over the Laff-Movie, along with the neighboring
Liberty Theatre, in December 1944. The Brandt family operated seven of these theaters, while the Cinema circuit operated the other three. The Brandt theaters included the
Selwyn,
Apollo,
Times Square,
Lyric, and
Victory theaters on the north side of 42nd Street, as well as the Laff-Movie and the Liberty Theatre on the south side. William Brandt said in 1953 that any of his 42nd Street theaters could be converted into a legitimate house within 24 hours' notice, but producers did not take up his offer. Brandt announced in August 1953 that he would renovate the Laff-Movie, showing feature films exclusively. The theater was renamed the Empire in 1954; The 42nd Street Company was established in 1961 to operate the Brandts' seven theaters on 42nd Street. By the early 1960s, the surrounding block had decayed, but many of the old theater buildings from the block's heyday remained, including the Empire. Martin Levine and Richard Brandt took over the 42nd Street Company in 1972. The other six theaters showed a variety of genres, though Levine said none of the company's 42nd Street theaters showed
hardcore porn. The Brandts' theaters had a combined annual gross of about $2 million and operated nearly the entire day. The Brandts' movie theaters on 42nd Street continued to operate through the mid-1980s, at which point the Empire was showing kung-fu and horror films.
Restoration Preservation attempts The 42nd Street Development Corporation had been formed in 1976 to discuss plans for redeveloping Times Square. The same year, the
City University of New York's
Graduate Center hosted an exhibition with photographs of the Empire and other theaters to advocate for the area's restoration. One plan for the site, in 1978, called for razing several buildings in the area, including the Empire, to create a park. Another plan, called the City at 42nd Street, was announced in December 1979 as part of a proposal to restore West 42nd Street around Times Square. Under the plan, five theaters would have been converted back to legitimate use, and the facades of three other theaters, including the Empire, would be restored. The Empire's small capacity made it unsuitable as a legitimate theater, so the interior was likely to be demolished and renovated into a restaurant. Subsequently,
Hugh Hardy conducted a report on 42nd Street's theaters in 1980. His report, in conjunction with a movement opposing the demolition of the nearby
Helen Hayes and
Morosco theaters, motivated the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to survey fifty of Midtown Manhattan's extant theaters in the early 1980s. The LPC started to consider protecting theaters, including the Empire Theatre, with discussions continuing over the next several years. While the LPC granted landmark status to many Broadway theaters starting in 1987, it deferred decisions on the exterior and interior of the Empire Theatre. Further discussion of the landmark designations was delayed for several decades. In late 2015, the LPC hosted public hearings on whether to designate the Empire and six other theaters as landmarks. The LPC rejected the designations in February 2016 because the theaters were already subject to historic-preservation regulations set by the state government.
Initial plans The
Urban Development Corporation (UDC), an agency of the New York state government, proposed redeveloping the area around a portion of West 42nd Street in 1981. The plan centered around four towers that were to be built at 42nd Street's intersections with
Broadway and Seventh Avenue, developed by
Park Tower Realty and the
Prudential Insurance Company of America. The Brandt family planned to submit a bid to redevelop some of the theaters they owned on 42nd Street. In June 1982, the Brandts' five theaters on the north side of 42nd Street were added to the redevelopment plan. Despite the Brandts' insistence that the Empire and Liberty theaters also be included in the redevelopment, the two theaters were leased to New York Mart Inc. as part of a separate plan. Ultimately, the 42nd Street Redevelopment Project was delayed for several years due to lawsuits and disputes concerning the towers. The New York Mart plan consisted of a garment merchandise mart on Eighth Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets, opposite Port Authority Bus Terminal. The project was to be completed by the Times Square Redevelopment Corporation, comprising members of the New York state and city governments. Under this plan, the Empire and Liberty theaters would be renovated, although the extent of the renovations was unclear. David Morse and Richard Reinis were selected in April 1982 to develop the mart, Subsequently, the state and city disputed over the replacement development team, leading the city to withdraw from the partnership in August 1983. The Brandts leased all their movie theaters on 42nd Street, including the Empire, to the Cine 42nd Street Corporation in 1986. Cine 42nd Street subleased the theater to Sweetheart Theatres Inc., which screened pornographic movies. Though the theater was tentatively slated to be used for fashion shows and other events, The New York state government acquired the theater sites that April via
eminent domain. The city had planned to buy out the theaters' leases but withdrew after the 42nd Street Company indicated it would lease the theaters to another developer. Although Durst protested the move, a
New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the sites could be acquired by
condemnation. Government officials hoped that the development of the theaters would finally allow the construction of the four towers around 42nd Street, Broadway, and Seventh Avenue. Even though the Empire Theatre was abandoned, government officials continued to heat the theater to preserve the plasterwork.
Relocation and restoration By 1995, real-estate development firm
Forest City Ratner was planning a $150 million entertainment and retail complex on the site of the Empire, Harris, and Liberty theaters. Madame Tussauds and AMC leased space in the complex that July. Madame Tussauds would occupy the eastern section of the site, using the entrance of the former Harris Theatre;
Bruce Ratner wanted to develop a similarly ornate gateway for AMC on the western end of the site. In June 1996, Ratner proposed relocating the theater westward at a cost of $1.2 million, using tracks to move the structure. AMC finalized its lease the same month. According to New 42nd Street president Cora Cahan, news articles about the proposed relocation were largely "filled [...] with wonder", in contrast to the mostly negative characterizations of Times Square. Urban Foundations was hired to relocate the building. Workers installed piles on the adjacent lots to the west, which had previously contained residences with basements. which supported a set of eight parallel tracks. The entire relocation was supposed to have occurred on February 17, 1998, but this was postponed because New York City officials wanted to perform the relocation on a weekend. Hydraulic jacks moved the theater in five-minute bursts, moving the theater about during each burst. Large construction markers, referencing Abbott and Costello's "
Who's on First?" comedy routine, were placed along the construction fence to mark the move's progress.
Multiplex The AMC Empire 25 opened on April 21, 2000, being the second multiplex to open on the block, after the E-Walk complex. Theatrical insiders claimed that the Empire 25 had cost $70 million, which might have made it the most expensive movie theater ever built, but AMC refused to disclose the construction cost. The Times Square Cafe opened on the multiplex's balcony level in 2001 and later closed. A digital
IMAX screen, the first in New York City, opened at the Empire 25 in September 2008. It was especially popular on holiday weekends; for instance, it hosted 131 screenings of 14 separate films on Christmas Day in 2009.
The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2011 that the Empire 25 had two million guests per year or an average of 40,000 guests per week. By contrast, the average multiplex in the United States had a third as many visitors. The Empire 25's success was attributed not only to its central location near Times Square but also because it offered independent and art films in addition to major features. and an experimental-music festival. The Empire 25, along with other movie theaters in New York state, was temporarily closed during much of 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The theater reopened in March 2021 after being dark for nearly a year. The Empire 25 remains AMC's flagship multiplex in the 2020s. == Notable productions ==