On this day in 1912, The Empress Theater was set to open at 418 Frederica St and was built exclusively for movies. Ownership changed over the years and the name changed around 1941 to The Malco Theater. It was remodeled and on November 17, 1949 became The Center Theater until 1967.
After another major remodel, the building opened as The Malco again on January 25, 1968 and the owners moved the Malco marquee from their Third Street building to this location. It remained The Malco until January 19, 1989, when it was closed as a movie theater.
At the time of its closing, it was the 2nd oldest movie theater in the US. In 1992, new owners turned it into Goldie’s Opryhouse, and in 2011, Theatre Workshop of Owensboro purchased the building. It is once again known as The Empress Theater.
Gallery from 2015 prior to renovations: https://flic.kr/s/aHskgcHFdW
Featured Image by: DCPL
Comments 1
As a 12-yr old kid, my dad would drop me off in front of the Center Theatre to watch Randolph Scott and other ‘kid’ movies for a quarter. I mistakenly walked into the Malco where an adult flick was on and I didn’t know what to do but to sit there through the whole movie. Dad was waiting out front when I got out and I got a real tongue-lashing for going into an “adult” movie. Am I correct that the Malco and Center Theatres were right next door?