Empire Theater
2094 Richmond Terrace,
Staten Island,
NY
10302
2094 Richmond Terrace,
Staten Island,
NY
10302
6 people
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The theatre has now been transformed into a church. The lower half of the facade has been renovated and there is now a set of wooden double doors at the entrance. I did not see any name of the facility, there is still a Farrell Lumber sign on the side of the building. Unknown if it has opened for services.
The other day I passed by on the bus. The doors were wide open , and it looked like the interior was vacant. The marquee is gone. I think someone bought it and may be preparing it for demolition….
I’m quite sure that the Empire was showing porn even back in the late sixties, Garth. I turned 14 in 1968, and the theater ran porn all my young life. Except for the brief time it ran regular movies in 1977 I mentioned above. I wish the lobby poster in the 1968 shot was visible, but I’d bet the farm the theater ran porn in ‘68.
That’s a great photo Lost. Any idea what kind of movies they were showing? I notice the marquee says open evenings only , but I don’t think they started showing porn until the early ‘70s…
Here’s an article from the S.I. Advance about the local theaters of yesteryear. The “Empire” is mentioned.
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Maybe someone will resurrect it as a “dirty movie” theatre…..
Hi. Leo also had a storefront built on Port Richmond Avenue, located at 112-114 Port Richmond Ave – now ZAZA’s Thrift shop. His mansion once stood on the same site. Perhaps SI’s James Whitford is the architect? He was known for these types of buildings. I am involved with efforts to landmark its exterior. Th neighboring church- the Dutch Reformed Church is on the NY state register and nominated to be a city landmark. For more updates visit www.sitreasure.com/Blog
Farrell Lumber has closed its doors, and is now out of business. This occurred sometime around March 1, 2009.
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Does anyone remember my grandfather, Harry Allen? He ran the place during the 50’s when women received free dishes and kids movies were shown. He was a great guy.
Yes Garth, I’m positive it was the Empire. I even took my friend Jim to “Black Sunday” (it was my third trip to see that movie) and I saw another guy at the movie that I remembered from high school. I was surprised when the theater dropped the porn films it had run since I was a kid (it would run them again in short order.) By the way, the first flick under the dollar policy was Streisand’s “A Star Is Born,” sometime in the spring of 1977. I don’t remember what the last one was.
Adam , not to dispute your comments , but I followed these theatres closely back then and I don’t recall this policy. Are you sure it was the Empire?
We went to the Empire Theater two weeks ago and the friendly boss of Farrell Lumber company accepted us to go inside the auditorium.
It’s used as storage but keeped its original ceiling with little ornaments, even if the theater had a very simple design.
Projector room is still there too but was stripped from any projectors or original artifacts.
I never saw porn at the Empire, but I sure remember it. For a brief time in 1977, in between stints as a porn house, they ran regular movies, albeit third or fourth-runs. I saw “Annie Hall” and “Black Sunday” there, for a dollar per film. The place was really seedy, and poorly attended. And although “Black Sunday” was a wide-screen film, the screen didn’t open wide to accomodate it. I guess the “dollar-a-film” policy didn’t work, because by the end of 1977, the theater went back to running porn. It closed soon afterward, when Farrell Lumber took it over.
a buddy who deals with farrell lumber tells me he’s been in the theatre , all remnants (seats , etc.) of being a movie theatre are gone and it is strictly a storage area. he said you would never know (from inside) that it was once a theatre. too bad….
i recently attended the film festival at the st. george and spent most of the time admiring the spectacular theatre. i started to think of how many of these magnificent movie palaces ended their life as porno houses . the empire was the only one on s.i. to go out that way. i only visited twice as a teen , it was showing porn and i recall it being non-descript , but then it was hard to tell because they kept it pitch-dark in there…..
while driving by today i actually stopped and got a good look at the exterior of the Empire , it is in surprisingly good shape compared to other shuttered theatres. i suppose farrell lumber maintains it well since it is a storage facility. i was hoping the employees would be going in to retrieve supplies , i was going to ask to have a look around as a movie theatre enthusiast . maybe next time…..
1971
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i drove by the other day and the former theatre is still in use as a storage area for farrell lumber.
i fondly recall seeing my first x-rated flick there, at age 16 (they werent too concerned about patrons being 21 ). my buddies were annoyed there was no concession stand. a part of the ceiling near the screen collapsed during the screening. the theatre closed about a week later.
The Empire Theatre seated 775 people.
Formerly known as Leo’s Empire.