[2] Built in 1916 by the Western Theatre Corporation, the venue originally opened to provide entertainment to the mine workers of the town.

Most of those buildings have been left vacant and neglected over the past 50 years, however, as the prime commercial district has shifted further west and south and the depressed local economy has dried up most businesses in the old Main Street area.

The Empress Theatre is one of the best preserved of the older commercial buildings along Main Street, and it is easily the most sophisticated in terms of its architectural design.

[4] Starting in 2006, the Oquirrh Hills Performing Arts Alliance (OHPAA) – succeeded in once again making the Empress Theatre a working theater.

Since that time, the volunteers, actors, and, board members of the OHPAA have worked tirelessly to improve both the organization and the building in order to continue to bring quality family entertainment to this corner of the Salt Lake Valley.