Empress Theater

The 1918 Flint City Directory lists three theaters on this block of S. Saginaw Street, all on the same side: the Strand, at 507-509; the Orpheum, at 513; and the Empress, at 521. The State Theatre replaced the Orpheum in 1924, and its site is now occupied by Blackstone’s Pub and Grill. Multiple web sites list Blackstone’s as being at 531 S. Saginaw, which doesn’t match the historic address, but the building was just about mid-block, so 521 must have been very near the corner of 2nd Street. That’s open space now, so the Empress has been demolished.