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Home » Theater Guide » Location » United States » Alaska » Fairbanks » Empress Theatre

Empress Theatre

Fairbanks, AK
535 2nd Avenue
, Fairbanks, AK, United States
(map)
Status: Open
Screens: Single Screen
Style: Unknown
Function: Unknown
Seats: 670
Chain: Unknown
Architect: Unknown
Firm: Unknown
Add a photo for this theater!
Built for "Cap" Lathrop in 1927 by archictect Paul G. Carlson, the 670-seat Empress was the first Fairbanks structure built with concrete, which many thought would not hold up through the frigid Alaskan winters.

Besides movies, the Empress featured live stage shows, legitimate theater, and concerts. In the early 50s, the theater was heavily modernized, with bold new decor including a large, neon-lit marquee.

In 1961, the Empress, which was a center for Fairbanks nightlife for decades, was closed.

The former theater today serves as a shopping center, called the Co-Op Plaza, with its facade restored to it's simple 20s appearance, the garish 50s marquees long since removed.

The Empress is just down Second Avenue from the Lacey Street Theatre, an Art Deco gem that now houses the Fairbanks Ice Museum.
Contributed by Bryan Krefft

YOUR COMMENTS

 
Here is a photo of Co-Op Plaza (former Empress Theater).
posted by Lost Memory on Oct 22, 2005 at 10:21am
This website has a photo of the Empress Theater and some background on it.
posted by Lost Memory on Nov 28, 2005 at 9:53am
Status should be closed, I think. Here is an interior photo from 1927:
http://tinyurl.com/qt4sx
posted by ken mc on Sep 22, 2006 at 2:10pm
Here is a photo from the late 1940s:
http://tinyurl.com/mjzee
posted by ken mc on Sep 22, 2006 at 2:22pm
Here is a recent photo of the former Empress theater building.

posted by Lost Memory on Oct 4, 2006 at 4:41am
This is a January 14, 2007 article about the Empress Theater.

posted by Lost Memory on Mar 28, 2007 at 8:03am
A Kimball theater organ size 2/7 was installed in the Empress Theater in 1927.

posted by Lost Memory on Sep 4, 2007 at 7:23pm
More photos are here.

posted by Lost Memory on Apr 6, 2009 at 7:04pm
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