Empire Theater - San Antoio, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 29° 25.571 W 098° 29.477
14R E 549344 N 3255312
The Empire Theatre opened on December 14, 1914, six months after the start of World War I. During the theater’s golden years some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Charlie Chaplin and Mae West, made appearances.
Waymark Code: WMXTDG
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/24/2018
Views: 4
The Rivard Report
The catastrophic flood of 1921 caused nine feet of water to collect inside the Empire, severely damaging the theater and many other downtown buildings even as 51 people were reported killed with dozens more missing and presumed drowned. The gold leaf was covered with a white coat to camouflage water damage and mould.
After World War II, the Empire fell into a period of decline. It was no longer a destination theater by the 1960s. By then the Empire was referred to by some as “The Impure Theater,” an adult film house in a district that became home to other so-called adult businesses on Houston Street.
With the advent of expressways, new suburban neighborhoods and shopping centers, downtown San Antonio continued to decline and stagnate. The venerable Empire Theatre, a shell of its former self, closed its doors in 1978.
Joci Straus and the Las Casas Foundation raised the funds to save and restore the Majestic and Empire theaters, beginning in 1988.
The Majestic’s restoration was completed in 1989, while the Charline McCombs Empire Theatre didn’t open until 1998. The Empire was renamed after Charline McCombs in honor of the $1 million gift that Red and Charline McCombs gave to Las Casas that enabled the foundation to complete the restoration.