AWESOME NEWS, ED!! I’m absolutely thrilled that they’ve saved the theater and are putting it to use. I was so afraid that the wrecking ball would claim this one- it’s not a good sign when a historical space sits vacant for a decade. Can’t wait to see the finished space…
Thanks Ed.. great page and glad to be here. The last time I got a peek at the TS theater, a crew was inside and had already removed the arches/wings of the stage and were ripping up rows of seats. My jaw dropped and I grabbed the nearest contractor to ask what was happening to the theater. If I recall correctly, he said it was a being turned into an Ecko retail store and that most everything was coming out. (no idea what state it’s in now) The signage for the chain was put up on the street shortly thereafter, but as is common with these old theaters, nothing came of it. I wish I would have had a camera that day- the original box office and concession stand were still there and had prices posted from the 80’s. Corporate greed killed another beautiful building. That one was in excellent shape and completely intact, right down to carpet and light fixtures.
As a sidenote, I lived in Vegas from 93-95 and in that time witnessed the demolition of the Landmark, the Sands, the Desert Inn, etc. These were gorgeous, historical monuments to the glory days of the Strip and yet were ripped down like trash, rather than integrated into the new casinos (or parking lots) that were built in their place. I know I’m ranting here, but it’s infuriating that this country has so little interest in preserving architectural history…
I’m new to this site but glad I found it. I was the Marketing Mgr then Facilities Mgr for the Empire 25 from 2001-2005 and was fortunate enough to have been given access to the Liberty on several occasions. One day I dragged in two light stand and shot a few rolls of film with my girlfriend. We crawled up ancient stairs to the boxes and found newspapers scattered around dating from the early 80’s. It’s a shame to know that it was never utilized, but given all the setbacks over the years, I knew it was only a matter of time. She was a treasure. The Times Square was another Gem. I snuck in one day before they gutted her.. it was heartbreaking to see. Not sure if you guys are aware of this, but there’s an amazing documentary out there called “Soul of an Empire” that chronicles the physical move of the Empire but also dives into the history and renovation of the entire block. There’s some amazing footage in it and anyone that’s a fan of old theaters and/or Times Square should see this. The director contacted us one day about a screening and she ended up running it at the Anthology Film Archives (AMC, in their typical corporate fashion) wanted to charge her full price to rent a house. They should have let her screen it for FREE and paid her to run the footage in the lobbies. But that’s another battle story. Anyhoo, she and I became friends and I actually have a dub on VHS somewhere. This site has made me want to dig it up and watch it again.. those days working on the “Deuce” were life-changing for me and those theaters will always have a special place in my heart & mind.
AWESOME NEWS, ED!! I’m absolutely thrilled that they’ve saved the theater and are putting it to use. I was so afraid that the wrecking ball would claim this one- it’s not a good sign when a historical space sits vacant for a decade. Can’t wait to see the finished space…
Thanks Ed.. great page and glad to be here. The last time I got a peek at the TS theater, a crew was inside and had already removed the arches/wings of the stage and were ripping up rows of seats. My jaw dropped and I grabbed the nearest contractor to ask what was happening to the theater. If I recall correctly, he said it was a being turned into an Ecko retail store and that most everything was coming out. (no idea what state it’s in now) The signage for the chain was put up on the street shortly thereafter, but as is common with these old theaters, nothing came of it. I wish I would have had a camera that day- the original box office and concession stand were still there and had prices posted from the 80’s. Corporate greed killed another beautiful building. That one was in excellent shape and completely intact, right down to carpet and light fixtures.
As a sidenote, I lived in Vegas from 93-95 and in that time witnessed the demolition of the Landmark, the Sands, the Desert Inn, etc. These were gorgeous, historical monuments to the glory days of the Strip and yet were ripped down like trash, rather than integrated into the new casinos (or parking lots) that were built in their place. I know I’m ranting here, but it’s infuriating that this country has so little interest in preserving architectural history…
I’m new to this site but glad I found it. I was the Marketing Mgr then Facilities Mgr for the Empire 25 from 2001-2005 and was fortunate enough to have been given access to the Liberty on several occasions. One day I dragged in two light stand and shot a few rolls of film with my girlfriend. We crawled up ancient stairs to the boxes and found newspapers scattered around dating from the early 80’s. It’s a shame to know that it was never utilized, but given all the setbacks over the years, I knew it was only a matter of time. She was a treasure. The Times Square was another Gem. I snuck in one day before they gutted her.. it was heartbreaking to see. Not sure if you guys are aware of this, but there’s an amazing documentary out there called “Soul of an Empire” that chronicles the physical move of the Empire but also dives into the history and renovation of the entire block. There’s some amazing footage in it and anyone that’s a fan of old theaters and/or Times Square should see this. The director contacted us one day about a screening and she ended up running it at the Anthology Film Archives (AMC, in their typical corporate fashion) wanted to charge her full price to rent a house. They should have let her screen it for FREE and paid her to run the footage in the lobbies. But that’s another battle story. Anyhoo, she and I became friends and I actually have a dub on VHS somewhere. This site has made me want to dig it up and watch it again.. those days working on the “Deuce” were life-changing for me and those theaters will always have a special place in my heart & mind.