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Uploaded on: June 11, 2025

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The original Empire Theatre building, built by John W. Smith and his wife Mattie.

Construction of the theater began in March 1919 on a piece of property just north of Boone Creek. The property was home for a long time to blacksmiths, Weber & Nordquist, whose shop was torn down to construct the theater. The building was constructed by Jacob Schaefer and his crew from the beginning of April until the first week of July. The building was 120 feet long and 40 feet wide, with the stage dimensions of 40x22, which gave it a larger stage than the Woodstock Opera House at the time.

The Empire’s building was constructed with wood, steel, and a stucco finish. One impressive feature of the building was that it had a rounded ceiling. The rounding offered strong, arched support and allowed for the lack of support beams that would obstruct the audience’s view. During the end of July, a dressing room was constructed on the southeast corner of the theater for live performances.