Empire Leicester Square
theatre building in London, Uk
Built 1884 as Empire Theatre by Thomas Verity, and J. and A. E. Bull as a conversion of the 1865 Royal London Panorama. 1887 renamed Empire Theatre of Varieties. 1898 again renamed Empire. 1899 new foyer and entrance by Frank Verity. 1904 major rebuilding by Frank Verity. Closed 1927. 1928 major rebuilding, conversion into the Empire cinema by Thomas W. Lamb and F. G. M. Chancellor. 1962 major rebuilding as cinema and ballroom by George Coles, including the Ritz cinema next door as a second auditorium with a common entrance. Currently used as a cinema. 1330 seats.