The Empire music hall in Ardwick Green was opened in 1904 and offered the traditional range of acts and pantomime including comedians, singers, acrobats and animals. That, together with the good acoustics, ventilation, space and safety provided by Frank Matcham's architecture, meant the Empire was viewed as a high-quality entertainment venue. After the closure of the Hippodrome on Oxford Street, the Empire was re-opened as the New Manchester Hippodrome in 1935 with an extensively modified interior designed to preserve the atmosphere of the original Hippodrome. Star acts such as Larry Adler and Max Wall appeared there and popular musicals also attracted large audiences, but by the late 1950s decline had set in and the theatre was closed in 1961. A fire in 1964 meant that the building could not be preserved and put to further use and it was demolished that same year.
