Sun Theatre

The Lucille Block was a new-build structure and at opening was also the site of J. Stuart’s New Empress Theatre that opened on August 21, 1915 with “The Broken Coin” serial. The New Empress Thetare replaced a smaller Empress Theatre located elsewhere in downtown Central City. Capacity at launch was 400 - twice as large as the previous operation.

All three downtown theatres converted to sound by 1927. The Empress Theatre changed its sound to a Western Electric system in 1931 under manager Jack Riggs and when the new neon signage was installed, the theatre became the Sun Theatre. It launched on March 23, 1931 with George Bancroft in “Scandal Sheet”. Capacity was reduced to 300.

By the early-1950’s, television was impacting the operation and the Sun Theatre dropped to just one show a week by late-1952. The Sun Theatre appears to have set in the 1950’s but the Lucille Block looked vibrant after over 100 years in downtown Central City.

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