Empire Theater

Commercial office space.

You missed mentioning Sick of It All, Dee Dee Ramone, Propain, and all the local bands, one (The Bruisers) of which included Alex from the Dropkick Murphy’s – all those shows were mine – Manchester just hates Teens and goes out of its way to make them not seen and not heard

I spent many weekend here as a local teenager. Hardcore punk and heavy metal shows. I appreciate every ounce of effort that went into this venue as an outlet for local kids. The local cops were brutal towards us. Legendary bands such as the Bad Brains and Sheer Terror played here. The only other aces we had to raw music was hitch hiking to Boston. So a big “thank you” to those who made it possible…

The theater did not close because of owners, it closed because City of Manchester refused to let it operate again as a theater of any kind, though many tried to revive it over the years. The current owners had no choice but to renovate it into something different or tear it down. The City actually preferred tearing it down.

Sadly yes, it has been remodeled and it’s original design/layout is lost forever. However I do have photos of the inside of it before the remodel. Also sadly the Sealtest Icecream building located next to the Empire Theater has been torn down completely. The only good thing that was worth the fight was the restoring of Dearborn Hall on Lake Ave.

Sorry I meant Howie not Bowie

The fire only caused minor damage and was caused by some scrap workers hanging a droplight on the wall to see while they removed the old AC unit hanging from the ceiling that we were scrapping. The owners are transforming it into a kind of community center, along with their offices, and it will have all new interior lighting and HVAC (Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning). The floor has been leveled in the rear, and the lobby along with the projection room and concession stand has been gutted, and rebuilt into a modern office. The fornt of the building was extensively changed with new doors and windows.

The fire damage was limited to a small portion of a side wall in the back of the main presentation room, that was being remodeled anyway, so it really is not a bid deal. Actually the Fire Dept did more damage to the renovations than the fire did to the building.

As Mr. Tarr relates above, I am now the Property Manager of the Theater I used to run, for my Landlords, Formosa Properties.

In the years since we closed, it ahs been sold twice, goen into foreclosure once, and during those years somebody tore out all the seats and sold them for scrap. Vandlas and scrappers also stole allthe copper piping and wiring, essentially rendering the building useless. Believe me it breaks my heart.

Let me point out that despite the city claims that it could only be used as a movie theater, it has had stage since it was built, and that stage was often used for community events over the years, even by the Manchester School Dept for their Wilson Street Elementary School. Teh City simply lied in its prsentation to the court. As for movies, in the past twenty years, with the rise of the multiplex theaters, it has become impossible for single screen houses to get films to show until the multiplexes are no longer running them, and nobody is left to wnat to pay to see them. We were offered films the same day they came out on video. It is this very reason that has prevented any movie theaters from existing, or erecting, in downtown Manchester. The City ordering the live entertianment to stop, which underwrote the films we could get, was about censorship pure and simple. We offered live Rock & Roll to teens on two nights per week, and in Manchester Teens are not supposed to be seen or heard in public. Those shows sold out and gave us the money to do a lot of improvements to the theater before we were ordered to stop.

I have not given up on the theater, as I see it as having potential. Right now the ticket booth and concession stand have been torn out, and the projection booth is being torn down, but I am being allowed to save the projection equipment (what is left of it after the vandals). I hope to find a place to use it in the future.

With all the seats gone, it will take major effort to use the presentation room for anything, as it is doubtful that the city will let people stand on the slanted floor, though other cities (like Providence) have allowed such use for concerts, and most outdoor concerts allow such use on hillsides. I would love to turn it into a dinner theater, putting tiered sections along each side, with tables and chairs, and suing the theater for community and small theater events. We also have the Video Projector we bought for theater safely stored, but we would need a new screen.

But, this depends on the City of Manchester, and their bureaucratic red tape has killed many business ventures. They will ue a demand for a good number private parking spaces to block use of the building.

One correction to some previous posts: The Empire Deli or Grocery Store is not in the theater, and never was. Before we built a concession stand in 1990, you bought your candy, soda and such thorugh a window into the store next door, which was owned and part of the Bruno Theater operation.

Chris,

I so appreciate all of your help. I live in Southern California, so I’ve been doing my research online. I still have cousins in New England and they are looking through family pictures to see what they can find.

The Concord is located in Concord; 18 South Main Street. It’s still there, but apparently it’s quite run down.

Your offer to gl “mucking” around at the Historical Society is very generous and I would love to take you up on it. Anything you can find would be most appreciated. If you would like to contact me directly, my email is:

Thank you!

Chris,

Great! I’ve searched and searched for pictures of the Empire. Thank you so much for this. My grandfather, Edward Charbonneau, owned an interest in five theaters in Concord and Manchester: The Eagle, Empire, Star, Strand and the Palace. He also bought, and owned outright, the Concord, which he bought in 1933 or 1934 and owned until until he retired which, I think was in 1947 or perhaps a bit later.

I am still looking for pictures of the Eagle (I can’t find any information on that one) and old pictures of the Concord (I only have recent ones).

Thank you for responding to my post and for the great picture!

Does anyone have a picture of the Empire, either while it was a theater or even a more recent photo?

I used to go to the Empire Theater as a kid in the 70’s. It was a small theater, maybe 150 seats. It was closed for about 20 years and re-opened in the late 70’s. It still had the original seats and the walls and ceiling were painted black. The lobby was original. Though not as opulent as other theaters built at the time, it was a great neighborhood theater that ran double features on the weekends and they did a great business.It had black letters on the facade that said EMPIRE on the top of the building and 2 theater faces, happy and sad. It was plain stucco. Like a lot of small theaters, competition from multiplexes and video rentals cut business profits and people simply stopped going there. It was located on Massabesic St near the corner of Belmont attached to 2 other buildings. It was a pie piece shaped theater, narrow at the stage and wide as you moved back. It was demolished about 10 years ago after the new owners tried to make it into a rock venue. Though located in a business area known to locals as the hollow, the city would not allow them to have live entertainment there, though across the street at the fish and game club, bands are allowed. Go figure. Another classic theater gone forever.