The Darkened Theatre, Interior Scenes of the Bristol Empire and Music Hall in the 1940s

The Empire Theatre of Varieties, as the Theatre was originally named on its opening, was built by Frank Kirk to the designs of the well known Theatre Architects Wylson and Long, constructed at a cost of almost £40,000. The Theatre had accommodation for some 2,530 people and opened with a Music Hall Bill on Monday the 6th of November 1893. In 1931 the Theatre was taken over by ABC for the showing of films continuously. However, the outbreak of war in 1939 saw the screen removed and twice-nightly live shows returning to the Theatre again. After the war however the Empire sunk to showing so called 'Girlie Shows' and was eventually taken over by the Bristol Corporation and the lease was sold to the BBC in 1954. The Theatre was demolished in the early 1960s and the site was eventually covered by a roundabout and flyover.