EMPRESS THEATER    53 South Main Street    Opened: 1911    Closed: 1916

The Empress Theater located at 53 South Main Street opened on November 1st, 1911.

The entrance to the theater was framed in stone and entered into a white tiled lobby, with Italian white marble partially up the walls. The ceiling was done in a cream color having accents of green and gold. At the rear of the auditorium was a glass partition that helped the audience from being disturbed when patrons came in late to the performance. The stucco work around the auditorium and boxes was beautifully decorated and highlighted in gold. The walls and ceiling were all tinted in green with colored patterns and all the draperies were of green silk velour. Every electrical fixture was silver plated with glass spangles.

On opening night the packed audience of 1,700 were welcomed with a patriotic selection from the Empress orchestra, followed by a dedicatory speech from Governor Heber M. Wells.