Empire Theatre
111 8th Street,
Quincy,
IL
62301
111 8th Street,
Quincy,
IL
62301
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Additional Info
Functions: Housing
Previous Names: Hippodrome Theatre, Empire Hippodrome Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Empire Theatre opened in 1893 at 8th Street and Maine Street. On August 25, 1913 it was renamed Hippodrome Theatre and by January 1915 it was the Hippodrome-Empire Theatre. It reverted back to its original Empire Theatre name by 1921. It was closed in 1926. The building has been converted into apartments.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
if you use the street view and look at 115 north 8th you can see an arch above the front door, above that the metal connectors that held the sign to the building are visible when looking at it in person, the building at the North West corner of 8th and Maine was a Saloon and that building is still there also.
This house opened in 1893 as the Empire Theatre and was later renamed the Hippodrome, then became the Empire Hippodrome, and apparently went back to just the Empire Theatre during its last years. An item in the June 21, 1913, issue of The Moving Picture World told of the first change of name and policy for the theater:
Here is an early interior photo of the Empire Theater. The description, which does not mention the name change, says that the house closed in 1926.The same source has an advertisement for the inaugural performance at the Empire Theatre, which took place on December 21, 1893.
This advertisement for a performance at the Empire Hippodrome Theatre dates from January, 1915.
It also looks like the Hippodrome era was over by 1921. The Empire Theatre in Quincy, Illinois, is listed in the 1921 Cahn guide. I’ve come across a few references to events at the Empire Theatre in the early 1920s, but no more mentions of the name Hippodrome.
Uploaded a 1946 exterior photo, the year it closed, and an interior photo from the Quincy Public Library collection.
Of all the old theaters in Quincy, it’s a shame that one of the survivors is this cloddishly-proportioned hulk.