Heirloom Arts Theatre

header_HAT1

Heirloom Arts Theatre
155 Main Street (around the back!), Danbury, CT 06810
1 203.300.5270
Mon – Fri:6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Sat:2:00 pm – 12:00 am
Sun:9:00 am – 9:00 pm

About:

The building that now houses the Heirloom Arts Theatre was built around 1850. It originally opened as a vaudeville venue called the Princess Theatre and its surviving flyers and advertisements portray a colorful history. When motion pictures arrived, the Princess was transformed and its name changed to the Empress Theatre in time to host a preview of D.W. Griffith’s groundbreaking film “America” in 1924. The Palace and the Empress became side-by-side movie theatres owned by Warner Bros. and were a focal point of activity in downtown Danbury.The Empress closed around 1969 and the area where seats once occupied was leveled out and converted into office space (the modern Heirloom Arts Theatre was built on the original vaudeville stage portion of the original building).
In the late ’70s and early ’80s, the space became a tire warehouse and soon after fell into disuse. In 2000 it was renovated and converted into the Empress Ballroom, the only premier all ages, no alcohol venue in the area playing to mostly hardcore, metal, indie, emo, etc., shows. This incarnation of the space paved the way for what the Heirloom Arts Theatre is today.

Building further on the renovations done by the Empress Ballroom staff, the Heirloom Arts Theatre continues the spaces long tradition of music and other performing arts as well as motion pictures and visual art showcases in a professional working atmosphere. We are Danbury’s artistic and cultural alternative continuing the legacy of the space, a space that is a true heirloom of the past.

Booking:

info@heirloomarts.org

Directions:

ON FOOT: From MAIN ST. walk down PALACE WALK. We are the last door on your right. Palace Walk is a walkway that runs between the Palace Theatre and 155 Main Street right before the corner of MAIN and KEELER.

I-84 EAST: Take Exit 5 (in Connecticut) go straight through stop sign at end of ramp. Make right at first light (at Bottom of hill) onto RT 53 (Main St). Go straight through 5 lights. At 6th light make left onto KEELER ST. Park in the 1st or 2nd lot on the left.

I-84 WEST: Take Exit 5 (in Connecticut) make a right off the ramp onto RT 53 (Main Street). Go straight through 6 lights. At the 7th light make a left onto KEELER ST. Park in the 1st or 2nd lot on the left.