'A lot more deterioration and damage,' Stockton Empire Theatre to be fully demolished

Angelaydet Rocha, The Stockton Record
·3 min read
1

Memories and photographs are all that is left of the once iconic landmark of the Stockton Empire Theatre.

A theater that once filled seats for movie screenings and live performances will be erased from the Miracle Mile after years of closure and multiple fires.

Allen Sawyer, co-owner of the former Empire Theatre who also runs the Law Offices of Allen Sawyer, told The Record in August that percentage-wise on square footage, 50% of the building would be able to be saved and the other 50% would have to be demolished.

Weeks after the north half of the former empire theater was torn down, efforts restarted to demolish the rest of building on Nov. 20, 2023. The building was damaged by fires in 2018 and 2021.
Weeks after the north half of the former empire theater was torn down, efforts restarted to demolish the rest of building on Nov. 20, 2023. The building was damaged by fires in 2018 and 2021.

However, that changed once demolition began.

"Once we demolished 50% of the building, we had a lot more access to the mechanicals, the plumbing, the structure of the remaining building," Sawyer said. "And it became really clear that there was a lot more deterioration and damage to the remaining part of the building that we felt what it was acceptable to try to keep."

The north half of the former Stockton Empire Theater was torn down first. Just weeks later efforts restarted to demolish the rest of the building.

Weeks after the north half of the former empire theater was torn down, efforts restarted to demolish the rest of building on Nov. 20, 2023. The building was damaged by fires in 2018 and 2021.
Weeks after the north half of the former empire theater was torn down, efforts restarted to demolish the rest of building on Nov. 20, 2023. The building was damaged by fires in 2018 and 2021.

To avoid "a public safety risk for fire and other things" and to prevent it from structurally affecting the rest of the building as it was envisioned for the project, Sawyer decided the rest of the building had to be torn down.

"On top of that, that structure itself was becoming a public nuisance, in our opinion, to the neighborhood," Sawyer added. "Because it became extremely difficult to avoid intrusions by (an) unhoused population that was going in there and squatting."

Sawyer said his crew applied for "an additional demolition permit," which he said was granted by the city.

The plans for the space, however, have not changed or been finalized.

Sawyer who also owns the House of Shaw Café & Bakery on the Miracle Mile said the plan remains for a "mixed-use design."

The facade of the Empire Theatre remains standing in the 1800 block of Pacific Avenue along the Miracle Mile in Stockton on Jun. 27, 2023. In 2017, nine businesses in the theater complex by city officials after a long-running dispute with the then property owner Christopher "Kit" Bennitt over fire safety and unpermitted construction work. In 2018, a two-alarm fire burned the theater lobby and auditorium and adjacent spaces. In 2021, a nice-alarm fire heavily damaged the theater again.

"It's going to be 100% decided that there will be a major retail restaurant component on the main floor, that's not going to change," Sawyer said. "Now, the two variables are parking and...housing."

Sawyer said demolition is expected to be completed within the next 30 days. Proposals will be submitted to the city after the holidays, he said.

"It's a regional destination and should be," Sawyer said. "So that's why we think a parking component is so important on the Miracle Mile."

History of fires at Stockton Empire Theatre

In 2021, a five-alarm fire, taking resources from across the Central Valley, damaged part of the building.

The west wall of the historic theater was knocked down after Stockton engineers determined it was "very unsafe."

The city and fire department decided to knock it down before it caved in on its own and potentially damaged neighboring structures, Deputy Fire Chief Shannon Lewis said at the time.

The fire-ravaged Empire Theater on the Miracle Mile in Stockton was razed by the pottery owner to make way for a revitalization of the property.
The fire-ravaged Empire Theater on the Miracle Mile in Stockton was razed by the pottery owner to make way for a revitalization of the property.

In 2018, the lobby and auditorium were burned in a two-alarm fire along with adjacent spaces that once housed lively commerce.

The theater opened its doors in 1945 and had been vacant since June 2017.

City officials closed the Empire Theatre complex and evicted nine businesses after a long-running dispute with property owner Christopher “Kit” Bennitt over fire safety and unpermitted construction work.

The businesses that were shut down at the two-story building included the Empresso Coffeehouse beneath the iconic Empire Theatre marquee, Gusty’s Wings, the Casa Flores and Centrale restaurant, a Realtor’s office, a beauty salon.

"Everybody remembers when there was restaurants and merchants that were active there," Sawyer said about what he has heard from the community on this project. "And the Miracle Mile had just a dramatic more visitors and so everybody's looking to bring that back and they know the only way to do that is to revitalize that property. So the enthusiasm is very high."

Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Empire Theatre to be fully demolished