Empire Palace Theatre: Memories of a Leeds music hall for the masses

The Empire Palace Theatre was flanked on each side by the County Arcade and the Cross Arcade on Briggate and became a popular music hall for many years before it closed in February 1961. Stars of the stage to appear included Harry Tate George Robey, Vesta Tilley and Charlie Chaplin. In the early 1930s The Empire was converted into a full time ‘talkie’ cinema and by 1933 had returned to variety performances. It managed to survive the impact of the introduction of Television in the 1950s, which closed many of the UK’s variety theatres. It was demolished in January 1962 and became the site of the Empire Arcade in 1964 before being redeveloped as Harvey Nichol's department store. READ MORE: Fascinating photos of Leeds city centre during the 1960s LOVE LEEDS? LOVE NOSTALGIA? Join Leeds Retro on facebook