"The Empire is the only remaining theater in Kansas City that was designed by Rapp & Rapp. It opened in 1921 as the RKO Missouri. Its name changed to Main Street Theater in the 1930s. In 1949, the name was changed to RKO Orpheum. The name changed again to Cinerama in 1956. Then AMC bought it in the late 1950s and changed the name to Empire.

In the 60s, the Empire was split into two theaters: The Empire and the Royal. In 1980, it was converted into four theaters and called Empire 4 Theaters. It stopped screening films and closed in 1985."

The above quote is from cinematreasures.org. It's great that AMC has committed to reopening the Empire, but it will take huge pots o' money to make it inhabitable again. Much of the original decor was destroyed when the original auditorium was plexed up. Since the building was closed, large sections of plaster have collapsed from water damage; water has gotten in everywhere; often the floor is spongy and soft.

All of the heating and cooling will have to be replaced, and this is a huge building! The original heating and cooling equipment is fascinating to see; it's massive; appears to have been built by giants; all of the machinery is heavily corroded.

The configuration of the backstage area is largely intact, including the dressing rooms and original stage rigging, but the metal is heavily corroded, wood and plaster are soggy, etc.

There is so much debris on the floor sometimes that you cannot see the actual floor; the two box seats on either side of the stage are gone and the openings are bricked up with cinderblock.