The Empire Theatre indeed was located on Main Street. To be exact, it was located on the northwest corner of Main Street and Burdick Expressway. Today this location is the north parking lot for the Trinity Hospital & Clinic. If one looks at the 1950s photo from ken mc, which is looking north up Main Street, you can see the church, which is still there, just to the north of the auto dealer. The Main Street Medical Clinic now sets where the auto dealership was. The Trinity Hospital Emergency Room & Ambulance Parking Lot is now where the Mobile Station was. If one views the video of the theater’s demolition, from ken mc, they can see the Hospital and Clinic in the background, with the skywalk between the two clearly shown. The one thing that I will always remember about the Empire, is its huge red velvet curtains.The day that the Empire Theatre closed was a sad day, not only for Minot, but all of northwest North Dakota. I have lived an hour from Minot my whole life [i’m 44] and can remember that going to Minot for movies at the Empire was always a treat. There has always been a theater in the town I live in [i am now the projectionist there] but it was very plain & the screen was tiny compared to the Empire. Unfortunatly, as was the case with many old theaters, the multiplex became the preferred venue, and theaters like the Empire could not compete. If anyone has any photos of the interior of the Empire, please share them. I do not have any photos of the Empire, but I will always cherish the fond memories from my youth.
A couple more corrections that I forgot to include in my previous comment.
It was the Trinity Medical Center not the “Liberty Medical Center” that purchased the property.
Main Street is residential only south of 5th Avenue South and North of 4th Avenue North. Between these Avenues is Main Street’s Business District.
The Empire Theatre indeed was located on Main Street. To be exact, it was located on the northwest corner of Main Street and Burdick Expressway. Today this location is the north parking lot for the Trinity Hospital & Clinic. If one looks at the 1950s photo from ken mc, which is looking north up Main Street, you can see the church, which is still there, just to the north of the auto dealer. The Main Street Medical Clinic now sets where the auto dealership was. The Trinity Hospital Emergency Room & Ambulance Parking Lot is now where the Mobile Station was. If one views the video of the theater’s demolition, from ken mc, they can see the Hospital and Clinic in the background, with the skywalk between the two clearly shown. The one thing that I will always remember about the Empire, is its huge red velvet curtains.The day that the Empire Theatre closed was a sad day, not only for Minot, but all of northwest North Dakota. I have lived an hour from Minot my whole life [i’m 44] and can remember that going to Minot for movies at the Empire was always a treat. There has always been a theater in the town I live in [i am now the projectionist there] but it was very plain & the screen was tiny compared to the Empire. Unfortunatly, as was the case with many old theaters, the multiplex became the preferred venue, and theaters like the Empire could not compete. If anyone has any photos of the interior of the Empire, please share them. I do not have any photos of the Empire, but I will always cherish the fond memories from my youth.