Empress Theatre
107 S. Pennsylvania Avenue,
Independence,
KS
67301
107 S. Pennsylvania Avenue,
Independence,
KS
67301
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The Lyric Theatre was opened in 1908. It was renamed Star Theatre in 1911. It became the Empress Theatre in 1912. It was relocated in 1916 to 215 N. Pennsylvania Avenue and was operating as the Star Theatre (it has its own page on Cinema Treasures as the Strand Theatre). Today the building at 107 S. Pennsylvania Avenue is in use as shared office space.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
According to a reference in Motography Motion Picture Magazine, July – September 1916 the Star was purchased by Van Hyning who was planning to remodel it.
Although it gives a drastically different spelling for the owner’s name, the October 14, 1916 issue of Motography also mentions the remodeling project at the Star Theatre:
The October 7 issue of The Moving Picture World also mentioned the project, using the same spelling of the owner’s name.The address is incorrect. There is no 101, because the corner building is very deep and faces Main. The correct address is 107. The theater building was constructed between 1902 and 1905. It was originally a two story building, which in 1905 was a meat market. The theater was open by January 1910, with an Eagles Aerie on the second floor. It was closed by July 1916, when a furniture store is shown here. It’s not clear when the second floor was removed, but it was common to remove stories during the Depression to reduce the property taxes. The building today is a scruffy-looking vacant structure.
The NRHP listing, which misidentifies the FOE as the Elks (BPOE), also has the wrong address, saying this is 109 (the vacant lot to the south). It does give three names for this theater; Lyric (1908), Star (1911), Empress (1912). Presumably those come from city directories or newspapers. The 1914-15 AMPD lists it as the Star, and gives a spurious 101 address.
The remodeling project cannot refer to this building. It would have been impossible to add 75 feet to this building, unless he intended to add 5 stories, or block the alley and demolish the rear of a building or two on the other side. The appearance of the building is identical on the 1923 map to what is shown on the 1910 version.
The Star name must have been moved. The July 1916 map shows a theater at 215 N Pennsylvania with a large extension being considered, and the 1923 map shows that building much larger.