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The Biz Journal and The Star report that the on again, off again demolition of the historic but vacant Empire Theater appears to be permanently off. AMC Theatres is joining with the Power & Light District to renovate the building into a six-screen movie theater featuring art flicks and independent films. Also included is the popular Midland Theater, which will receive another renovation and continue to focus on live music and performing arts acts, but will be more aggressively marketed by the P&L team.
What’s On KC- Stargazing at the Warko Observatory
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Yeah, but will this help revive the downtown scene or is it beyond help?
Someone help me out here – been in N. California for the last 3 years – hasn’t there been some serious (successful?) efforts at a facelift downtown?
This is great news for downtown KC, for AM
C, who’s world headquarters is right downt he street, to rennovate the historic Empire Theater. I still wish the Performing Arts community would have taken on The Empire Theater.
Best Wishes, and as the songs says “Goin To Kansas City”
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I worked at the Empire as a projectionist when it was a two-plex in the 1960′s (Empire and Academy). It’s my favorite Kansas City theater (started going there to Cinerama movies in the 50s when it was RKO Missouri). I’ve watched it deterioriate through the years with water damage, trees growing out of the roof, cracked and falling terra cotta, etc. I peeked inside the other day with the restoration and only the shell is being preserved. The interior is gutted to the brick and concrete skeletal structure. Apparently water leakage and dangerous mold from the 20 years it was closed was terrible and the only thing to safely do was gut it. Too bad, but at least the building facade is being saved.
I have great memories of The Academy Theater. I worked there in the 60′s, and my girlfriend, Mary Jo Williamson, who I fell in love with, worked downstairs in the speical ticket off for The Academy. Many times Stan and Dick Durwood would bring their kids in there to watch movies. In remembering The Academy, I now remember that when the main auditorium was separated in half and a movie theater built using the balcany. It was first called The Royal Theater, not the Empire I and II.
Most of the employees were very unhappy that the auditorim was from then on, ruined. It was once very beautiful, but never again.
I felt the same anger when Stan Durwood took over the “closed” Paramount Theater up the street and ruined it and chopped the auditorium into 4 movie theaters. Too bad The Paramount is not still downtown and intacted – it would have been a great performance hall. And, The Roxy would have been a wonderful Playhouse. I do look forward the AMC Mainstreet Theater with 6 new digital screening rooms. Hopefully, they will be done with a lot of style from what the original theater had. And, when are those ugly trees going to be taken down and work begun on the outside???