page_title: Glasgow Empire Theatre
section_title: Beginning and reopening
hierarchical_section_title: Glasgow Empire Theatre / Beginning and reopening
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo on public brochure issued by Moss Empires Ltd 1931 Company liquidated in 1960s
context_page_description: Glasgow Empire Theatre, known as the Glasgow Palace Empire until the early 1900s, was a major theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, which opened in 1897 on the site of the Gaiety Theatre at 31-35 Sauchiehall Street.
  It was one of the leading theatres in the UK chain of theatres owned and developed by Moss Empires under the chairmanship of Sir Edward Moss, who served his apprenticeship in Greenock
  and elsewhere.
context_section_description: The Empire Theatre  was designed by the renowned theatre architect Frank Matcham for the Moss Empires theatre chain. Vesta Tilley topped the opening bill. Its predecessor the Gaiety Theatre  had opened in 1874 under Charles Bernard, staging pantomime, opera, musicals and plays but changed to variety, which Moss Empires developed further.
  Expanding westwards towards Renfield Street and after a major Art Deco redesign by Sunderland-based architects W & TR Milburn, the Empire re-opened in 1931 with a seating capacity of 2,100. The main attraction on the re-opening was Jack Payne and the BBC Dance Band.
caption: Empire Theatre, Glasgow auditorium designed 1931
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