page_title: Empire Theatre (41st Street)
section_title: Ownership and management
hierarchical_section_title: Empire Theatre (41st Street) / Ownership and management
caption_attribution_description: Charles Frohman's office, NYC. Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theatrical producer.
context_page_description: The Empire Theatre in New York City was a prominent Broadway theatre in the first half of the twentieth century.
context_section_description: Frank Sanger and Al Hayman were the owners and developers of the uptown vacant lot that became the Empire Theatre. Hayman suggested that theatre producer Charles Frohman have the Empire Theatre built there, believing everything theatrical was moving uptown at the time.
  The original lessees were listed as Charles Frohman and his partner William Harris of the firm Rich & Harris who were set to take possession of the building on January 23, 1893 which was also set to be the theatre's opening night.
  The Empire Theatre's business manager was Thomas F. Shea for over 20 years from its opening till the death of Charles Frohman. After Frohman died on the RMS Lusitania in 1915, Al Hayman took over ownership of the Empire Theatre.
  The theatre was sold in 1948 to the Astor estate; in 1953 it was announced that the building would be torn down to make way for an office tower.
caption: Office of Charles Frohman at the Empire Theatre
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