AMC Empire 25 | cinema, interesting place

 cinema, interesting place

6-story Beaux-Arts movie theater originally completed as a drama theater in 1912. Designed by Thomas W. Lamb, it was originally called the Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre. Originally specializing in light comedies, it suffered during the Great Depression and became first a burlesque theater then a movie theater in 1942. It was renamed the Empire Theatre in 1954, after the demolition of the previous theater of the same name. In 1998, as part of the renewal of 42nd Street led by the New 42nd Street coalition and real estate developer Bruce Ratner, the entire theater was lifted off its foundation and moved westward approximately 170 feet. In its new location, the shell of the theater auditorium was converted into a lobby and lounge for a 25-screen AMC Theaters multiplex, the AMC Empire 25, with escalators leading to the newly built auditoriums passing through the former proscenium arch of the stage. The rebuilt theater opened in April 2000.

The preserved facade is clad in white terra-cotta, dominated by a large, 4-story, central round-arch. At the ground floor level of the arch are four sets of double-doors in brass and glass. To either side, end pavilion project slightly forward, each with a glass case with show listings, topped by keystones. Decorative cornices top the ground floor at these end pavilions, and a large, projecting marquee extends out of the central entrances, topped by giant neon letters spelling out "AMC" on the front, and smaller letters spelling out "AMC 25 THEATRES" on the sides.

The upper levels of the grand arch are filled by cast-iron framing , including paneled spandrels and narrow pilasters between window panes. Ornate patterns line the edges of the arch, which is topped by an elaborate cartouche. The end pavilions are edged with ornate vertical rope moldings lined with carved fruit, each angling slightly inward as they ascend. Between them, the center of the pavilions have slightly-projecting vertical panels with iron seashell and foliate ornament at the bottom. Large cartouches with flanking cherubs, and hanging pendants with lion's heads and green cast-iron acanthus leaves decorate the tops of the pavilions. The entire 4th floor is capped by a broad modillioned cornice.

The 5th floor has brass-framed windows in the end pavilions, flanked by paneled piers. The center section has two more paired sets of windows, also with paneled piers, and a wider, bracketed cornice caps this floor. The top floor is obscured behind modern signage. At the west end of the facade, a vertical, light-up sign bearing the Empire name is attached the the wall from the 3rd-4th floors. At its top and bottom are smaller, angled sections that read "AMC" and "25".

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