Empire Theater in Bridgetown Barbados

The Empire Theater is located on Probyn Street in Bridgetown. The limestone and brick building was built by a consortium in 1922 and featured live theater, vaudeville acts, and motion pictures. In the 1940's it was owned by the British Colonial Film Exchange. The theater was closed in 1975 and gradually deteriorated until 2007 when the Barbados government announced a $10 million restoration plan. The restored structure will become the home of the National Company for Performing Arts.

most of the stonework appears intact. Some of the woodwork can be restored or used as patterns for replacement

there used to be large round limestone globes sitting on each of those pedestals

wonderful stonework and woodworking

inside the theater

Siberia to the Caribbean....:-)

I left the Russian Far East in December 2005 and took a month off then got posted by Commonwealth Veco to Barbados in the Caribbean. Veco had a contract to build a prison for the Bajan Government and I was hired as project field engineer to look after the layout of 15 buildings, utilities, fencing, retention ponds, sewage lagoons, roads, sidewalks. Actually I was hired to go down and monitor the survey company that was subcontracted to do project layout but after a couple weeks it became evident that my assistant and I were going to be doing all the layout. That was fine by me and I spent the next 20 months doing what I love to do. It was a bit of a challenge to go from the cool Siberian climate to hot tropical but after a month the body acclimatizes. Here is a photo of the pool taken from my rear deck where I'd sit at night and listen to the frog's chirping and watch the firefly's dance across the sky. Phil Elliot who worked in Russia with me was on this project. We'd visit in the evening and solve all the world's problems while smoking a good Cuban Cohiba. What a life!
I had a little green friend that would visit me in the evenings. It would scurry in the window and across the ceiling. Sometimes I'd follow it outside and watch it climb the coconut tree. We always seemed to be eye to eye. I miss little greenie......