Wonder what the interior originally looked like and what condition it is in now. If anything worthwhile inside remains, will it be gutted for the project assuming it ever sees the light of day.
De Rosa was Thomas Lambs assistant . His masterpiece is the St George on Staten Island which has been renovated and is now a performing arts center and concert venue. Worth a trip to Staten Island just to see it.
Inside is still pretty much intact from what I recall, there were photos of it on here one time. It is however somewhat unmemorable, typical single balcony broadway house (think Imperial) but it had these cool domes over the boxes.
I just think the 'no loading dock on 42nd street' regulation is the stupidest think ever, in the theatre district too, and for a 6 lane street, you mean to tell me they cant bare to have one lane closed for a few weeks to load in sets. sheesh!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27199361@N08/ Phantom at the Royal Empire Theatre
Actually Roxy, it wont be completely gutted. The balcony and boxes will be preserved in its new capacity. Its in the contract. Work has been done to upkeep them. This was one (of several) reasons why the space did not go over well with retailers. Both Best Buy and (back when they had money) Barnes and Noble were interested in the space as a flagship times square store, but ultimately backed down considering the asking price and the odd setup the balcony would make for a retail space.
But something akin to a "Broadway 4D" type entertainment is the best hope for this place if you want it to remain a theatre. (If only Singer had avoided those lawsuits). The lack of loading dock/entry on 43rd makes loading in a broadway size show nigh impossible with today's standards.
How long does a load in typically take? Too bad they couldn't invest in the property and build a scenic shop/rehearsal space atop the theater, thus making loading in easier. But I guess that's a lot of money to spend. It's such a beautiful exterior. I'd love to see what the marquee would look like.