Empire Theatre (AMC Empire 25)
250 West 42nd Street | also 258 West 42nd Street | Times Square | built 1999
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1912
The Eltinge Theatre opens with Bayard Veiller's melodrama Within the Law
The Eltinge Forty-second Street Theatre, built for the producer A. H. Woods and named after the female impersonator Julian Eltinge, opened its doors on September 11, 1912, with Within the Law, a melodrama by Bayard Veiller. The play had already succeeded in Chicago and stayed at the Eltinge for 541 performances until the end of 1913. Within five years the house was known as a lucky one, partly because Woods often booked popular comedies and melodramas.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1934
Police arrest the Eltinge's burlesque operator, his assistant and performers on indecency charges
After Fiorello La Guardia became mayor in 1934, he cracked down on burlesque and made Paul Moss license commissioner. In November 1934 Max Rudnick, who ran burlesque at the Eltinge, was arrested with his assistant manager and several performers on indecency charges. They were ultimately exonerated.
“Rudnick, his assistant manager, and several performers were arrested on indecency charges in November 1934, but were ultimately exonerated.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1935
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello first work together on the Eltinge's burlesque stage
The comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello had crossed paths a few times before, but in 1935 they first worked together at the Eltinge Burlesque Theater on 42nd Street. Their first performance came about when Costello's regular partner became ill and Abbott stepped in for him. The Eltinge had been a burlesque house since Max Rudnick converted it in 1931.
“…first worked together in 1935 at the Eltinge Burlesque Theater on 42nd Street in New York City.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1942
License commissioner Paul Moss refuses to renew the Eltinge's license, ending burlesque there
In early 1942 License Commissioner Paul Moss declined to renew the Eltinge's operating license, ending burlesque at the theater for good. The house had presented burlesque, billed as follies in its last years, since Max Rudnick converted it in 1931. In July 1942 it reopened as the Laff-Movie, showing only comedic shorts and feature films.
“Moss again refused to renew the Eltinge's operating license in early 1942, marking the permanent end of burlesque at the Eltinge.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1993
Columbia Pictures covers the Empire's dilapidated facade with a replica for The Last Action Hero
By 1993 the theater's original front was in such poor shape that Columbia Pictures covered it with a replica of stucco and plywood for the film The Last Action Hero. The building had been a movie house since 1942, first as the Laff-Movie and, from 1954, as the Empire.
“By 1993, the original facade had become so dilapidated that Columbia Pictures covered the original facade with a stucco-and-plywood replica for the film The Last Action Hero.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1998
The Empire Theatre is rolled about 168 feet west along 42nd Street in a five-hour move
On March 1, 1998, the Empire Theatre was moved west along 42nd Street, after a first 30-foot shift on February 22. Hydraulic jacks pushed it in five-minute bursts of about five feet, and two balloons of Abbott and Costello were rigged to look as if they were dragging it. The 3,700-short-ton structure, which became the entrance of the AMC Empire 25, was the heaviest building relocated in the city until 2022.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Empire Theatre (42nd Street)Wikipedia
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