Eltinge Theatre facade circa 1912
Thomas W. Lamb, architect. Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

THE EMPIRE THEATRE 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 actually performed 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 Roman 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 Eltinge Theatre was known as a “lucky house” when it opened, because Woods often booked or produced popular comedies and melodramas. The Eltinge also screened films beginning in 1917, such as the educational films Birth and Trip Through China. The same year, the Eltinge’s stage was enlarged and the theater’s next show Business Before Pleasure was another hit.

The Eltinge did not host many long-lasting productions during the 1920s, though some famous performers that graced its stage included Lionel Barrymore, Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable and Laurence Olivier. The theater’s last-ever legitimate show was First Night, which closed in February 1931. After which, it became a burlesque house.

The Eltinge Follies, a burlesque show which played for over a decade, featured the debut of Abbott and Costello’s comedy act in 1935. After Mayor LaGuardia’s crackdown on burlesque houses in the 1940s, the theater was renamed Laff Movie and began showing Hollywood feature films. In 1954, new owners changed its name to the Empire, and the theater presented second-run films for the next three decades.